Philippines, Japan Sign Grant Aid for Open Radio Access Network System

Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya signed the diplomatic notes on the Open RAN Grant Aid project. (Photo by DFA-OPD Johannes Adrian De Guia)

MANILA 13 February 2025 – Secretary for Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique A. Manalo and Japanese Ambassador ENDO Kazuya signed and exchanged the diplomatic notes pertaining to the Government of Japan’s Grant Aid for an Open Radio Access Network (RAN) at the University of the Philippines (UP) in a ceremony held today at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The grant has a total amount of JPY 444,000,000 or approximately PHP 169.79 million. It aims to assist UP in building an Open RAN Laboratory—including hardware, software and all necessary network components to enhance capabilities, with the view to establishing it as a testing hub for Open RAN vendors throughout Southeast Asia. 

The Open RAN Laboratory is envisioned to be a center for collaboration among mobile network operators (MNOs), ICT vendors, industry organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and other development partners, and aims to promote open and disaggregated network technologies, particularly open radio access networks, to foster a robust telecommunications environment. To complete the said project, UP has been working with external partners such as Japan. END