Singtel has launched its 450-Mbps LTE-Advanced service, available to all Singtel 4G customers nationwide at no additional charge, as it continues to make inroads towards 5G.
Singtel upgraded its LTE network to support 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (256 QAM), a pre-5G technology that increases the number of unique radio waveform shapes to carry up to 33.33% higher data and elevates spectral efficiency.
Customers who own a Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge can take advantage of the 450-Mbps speeds immediately. LG V20 users will also be able to harness the higher speeds with a soon-to-be released software update. More compatible smartphone models are expected to be launched early this year.
Meanwhile, Singtel and Ericsson have demonstrated download speeds of up to 1 Gbps in a live network pilot at two sites in Pasir Ris, which was achieved by deploying a 256 QAM downlink, 4×4 MIMO and triple carrier aggregation technologies. 4×4 MIMO doubles the number of data paths between a cellular base station and mobile phones, delivering a speed boost of up to two times normal speeds.
Singtel will progressively rollout 4×4 MIMO technology on its network starting next year to deliver up to 1-Gbps speeds at selected high-traffic locations. Supporting mobile devices are expected to be ready by the end of 2017.
“Achieving 1-Gbps speeds on our live network marks a significant milestone in our journey to 5G,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Consumer CEO at Singtel.”We’re focused on driving further network innovation to extend our leadership and deliver the benefits of the latest technological advances to meet our customers’ digital lifestyle needs.”
Martin Wiktorin, Country Manager of Ericsson Singapore and Brunei, said Ericsson is “pleased to collaborate with Singtel to deliver innovative and advanced services to their customers and to further explore the opportunities that will arise with 5G.”
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