Singtel, Ericsson to study 5G deployment

Singtel says it is working on a blueprint for 5G deployment in Singapore and also will work with telecoms equipment maker, Ericsson, to identify potential 5G deployments.

The telco said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Ericsson to "study the future of 5G networks and its applications" for enterprises and consumers. The partnership agreement will encompass workshops establish 5G requirements, as well as exchange ideas and work on pilots involving potential technologies on the next-generation mobile network.

Singtel Group CTO Tay Soo Meng noted that the mobile network standard offers key improvements such as near-zero delay in the delivery of applications for remotely operated systems, high data throughput speeds of more than 1Gbps, and support for multiple connected smart devices.

The Ericsson partnership follows an earlier initiative Singtel inked in November with Chinese network equipment giant, Huawei, to work on a 5G Joint Innovation Program, which served as a research hub for next-generation mobile broadband technologies. Research stemming from this is aimed at eventually enabling both Singtel and Huawei to conduct 5G trials.

The Singapore telco also said it was pushing for the completion of a global 5G whitepaper that will serve as a blueprint for the mobile communications industry, detailing guidelines for potential uses of the network as well as performance requirements, network architecture, spectrum, and intellectual property rights.

The whitepaper is currently being developed by the Next Generation Mobil Network (NGMN) Alliance, which comprises 24 operators worldwide including Singtel, and is scheduled to be presented at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2015.