More than 200 students from different parts of the country visited the PLDT and Smart Technolab during the first quarter of the year. The facility, located in Makati, is where PLDT Inc. and its wireless arm, Smart Communications Inc., explore new technologies for future use in the telecom industry.
Students from Bulacan State University Meneses Campus, University of San Agustin in Iloilo, and De La Salle University in Manila were among the visitors who got a hands-on experience with the technologies.
“It was an interesting experience,” said Jaina Mae Jumaquio, a fourth-year student at BulSU. “We were able to learn about the different uses of the devices that we only see installed at cell towers. Our exposure to these technologies will help us prepare for our future work.”
Testbed for new digital technologies
The Technolab, operated by the PLDT Group’s Network Strategy and Transformation Office, is a testbed for new digital solutions. It showcases next-generation innovations such as Open Radio Access Network (ORAN), extended reality, new Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) technologies, and tools for home automation and cloud-based networks.
“The PLDT and Smart Technolab plays a critical role in helping the PLDT Group decide which upcoming technologies to pursue. It gives us the opportunity to explore digital innovations that are not yet available commercially, and see how they could enhance customer experience,” said Radames Zalameda, head of Wireless Network Strategy and Architecture at Smart. “These opportunities to meet with next generation leaders is the best part of this project. We hope they’ll explore careers in telco in the future.”
These efforts are part of the PLDT Group’s broader digital transformation plans to improve services and make networks more efficient.