The two partners will use the 5G pilot network to conduct drone trials later this year
Singaporean carrier Singtel and Ericsson announced plans to launch what it claims to be Singapore’s first 5G pilot network in the last quarter of the year. The two companies said that the 5G pilot network will be deployed at the One-North district in Buona Vista, which is the country’s science, business and IT hub.
Using Ericsson’s 3GPP standard-compliant 5G technology with the trial spectrum allocated by Singapore’s Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), the 5G pilot network will deliver 5G coverage with enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) speed and low latency communications, the two companies said.
Enterprises can also work with Singtel and Ericsson at one-north to develop new 5G use cases.The partners said that some of the industries which will benefit most from 5G will be transportation, healthcare and manufacturing.
“5G has the potential to accelerate the digital transformation of industries, as well as empower consumers with innovative applications. We are pleased to take another bold step in our journey to 5G with our 5G pilot network at one-north and invite enterprises to start shaping their digital future with us,” said Mark Chong, Singel’s CTO.
“This is an encouraging step towards commercialization with live 5G trial networks made possible with the regulatory sandbox IMDA has in place. IMDA will continue to work closely with mobile service providers such as Singtel in their journey to build communication capabilities of the future and complement Singapore’s efforts towards a vibrant digital economy,” said Aileen Chia, Deputy CEO and general director at IMDA.
Singtel and Ericsson also said they will use the 5G pilot network to conduct drone trials later this year.
Singtel and Ericsson have recently demonstrated innovative 5G use cases including 3D augmented reality (AR) streaming over a 5G network operating in the 28GHz millimeter wave spectrum.
The partners highlighted that this demonstration enabled participants to view and interact with lifelike virtual objects such as a photorealistic human anatomy and a 360-degree image of the world. The immersive experience was then streamed in real-time to a remote audience via 5G.
In October last year, Ericsson and Singtel had announced plans to jointly establish a center of excellence (CoE) to facilitate 5G development and deployment in the Asian country.
The new 5G center will require an initial investment of $1.7 million over the next three years. The companies also said the new facility will support Singapore’s smart nation initiatives. The 5G center will also be open to Optus, an Australian telco controlled by Singel.
Ericsson and Singtel also said that the center will carry out 5G demos, live field trials and host collaboration with third parties.
Singapore’s other telcos also kicked off their own 5G network trials. M1 in June said it had partnered Huawei to run 5G tests in the 28GHz millimeter wave spectrum, while StarHub last year said it also was working with Huawei on its 5G network trials.
In May 2017, Singapore’s telecom regulator said the government will waive spectrum fees for 5G trials to encourage industry tests of the emerging mobile technology. At that time, the watchdog said frequency fees for 5G trials would be waived until December 2019.
