By Juan Pedro Tomás
Singaporean mobile operator M1 Limited launched a commercial trial of its 5G Standalone (SA) network, the telco said in a release.
The Asian operator highlighted that its 5G SA network is up to 10 times faster than the 4G network and four times quicker than the 5G NonStandalone network. It is also 50% more responsive as compared to the 4G and 5G NSA networks, according to the operator.
Additionally, M1 said its customers will be able to enjoy a “truly elevated” call experience via the Voice over 5G New Radio (VoNR) service on M1’s 5G SA network that allows customers to experience crystal clear high definition voice calls, improved productivity with 5G speeds on data driven activities throughout the duration of voice calls as well as faster call setup time.
With the new 5G SA network, consumers will have access to innovative digital experiences such as 5G cloud gaming, real-time interactive streaming and entertainment, as well as immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications very soon, M1 said.
“Being Singapore’s first network operator to move our entire back-end system to a cloud-native platform, we will be able to unleash the full potential of 5G by riding on 5G SA’s cloud native architecture to create the latest and most superior services available in the country. The commercialization of 5G SA unlocks new business opportunities and revenue streams for us, while bringing about revolutionary advancements across various industries,” said CEO at M1, Manjot Singh Mann.
M1’s 5G SA network covers nearly 50 per cent of Singapore including CBD, Marina Bay Financial Centre, key town centers and high data usage areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Chinatown, Clementi, Orchard Road, Pasir Ris, Paya Lebar, Sengkang, Tampines and Woodlands. M1 plans to accelerate the roll out of its 5G SA network and extend its coverage to about 75 per cent nationwide by the end of the 2021, with the rest to be covered by 2022.
M1 also said it had already developed 15 5G use cases and trials across consumer, enterprise and government sectors.
In April last year, local telco Singtel and a joint venture between StarHub Mobile and M1 were awarded licenses to build two nationwide SA 5G networks in Singapore.
The winners were each allocated 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band.
Earlier this week, Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said it was seeking views from the public and industry on the potential use and allocation of the 2.1 GHz spectrum band for 5G.
The regulator said that the band is currently used for 3G services and will expire at the end of 2021. IMDA proposes to use the 2.1 GHz spectrum band to support the nationwide deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) networks, while allowing flexibility for 3G services to continue.
