Philippines’ Smart Telecommunications has chosen Nokia as its partner to launch Internet of Things (IoT) services across the country.

Nokia will provide Smart with its Worldwide IoT Network Grid (WING) services, its cloud-native, Software as-a-Service (SaaS) platform that enables a smooth upgrade to 5G.

“The Nokia WING IoT Platform solution bolsters our capability in solving our customers IoT-related requirements quickly and helping them get to market faster and with greater scale,” said Jovy Hernandez, ePLDT President and CEO, and SVP and Head for PLDT and Smart Enterprise Business Groups.

Smart will be able to leverage Nokia’s WING solutions to deliver automated, real-time control features across its IoT deployments.

“Nokia’s technology helps us to maintain PLDT’s leadership position and assist our customers in maximizing the potential of IoT services.” he added.

Nokia also recently announced a partnership with Equinix to bring next-generation edge architectures and services to market, particularly as 5G is expected to increase the need for edge data centers.

Smart is changing the digital landscape in the Philippines 

A subsidiary of Philippine conglomerate PLDT Group, Smart has been upgrading its telco offerings to support the Philippines in its digital transformation journey. Besides teaming up with Google to deploy Wi-Fi hubs nationwide, in September, Smart became the first to roll out commercial 5G in the country.

“We are excited to work with Smart on this deal that will deliver superior experiences to their customers. IoT services are increasingly becoming a necessity as part of any operators’ digital transformation strategy,” said Ankur Bhan, Head of Nokia’s WING Business.

Smart is also promoting digital literacy in the public sector: in early October, the Philippine Air Force selected the domestic telecommunications giant to train its officials to counter rising cyberthreats as a result of the pandemic.

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