A visiting senior US State Department official on Friday warned against engaging the services of telecommunications entities that may be involved in “malicious” cyber activities amid Washington’s continuing concerns over potential surveillance and espionage by Chinese tech firms.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Kritenbrink announced that the US Trade and Development Agency is providing Philippine firm NOW Telecom Company, Inc. a $2.15-million grant to fund a feasibility study for the development of reliable and secure nationwide 5G mobile and broadband networks in the Philippines.
It will also include the establishment of a 5G pilot network at multiple sites in Metro Manila to validate network performance, test 5G use cases, and provide data to inform larger scale deployment.