Now Corp. to partner with US-based company; shares rise nearly 5%

NOW CORP. said on Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US-based enterprise networking company Celona, Inc. for 5G local area network (LAN) solutions.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said the signing took place on Thursday together with Now Telecom Co., Inc.

“Under the MoU, the parties agree to pursue, collaborate, and focus on the expansion of Now’s current broadband telecom network by rolling out turnkey stand-alone private wireless networks specifically engineered for the enterprise market,” the company said.

It also said that it would leverage the complete end-to-end portfolio of products and technology of Celona to hasten the rollout of private wireless network applications.

Celona, a company based in Silicon Valley, California, has been providing 5G LAN solutions to customers such as BMW, Schneider Electric, Verizon, and St. Luke’s Hospital, among others.

Now Corp. said that the partnership will target vertical markets such as manufacturing, oil and natural gas, logistics and transportation ports.

The solutions are expected to help businesses streamline costs, mitigate operational challenges, improve customer experience and enable scaling up as they automate business processes.

Now Corp. has three wholly owned subsidiaries which are J-Span IT Services, Inc., Porteon SEA, Inc., and I-Resource Consulting International, Inc. It also has equity interest in I-Professional Search Network, Inc. and Softrigger Interactive, Inc.

At the stock exchange on Thursday, shares in the company rose by 4.63% or five centavos to P1.13 apiece. — Justine Irish D. Tabile