Singtel and Ericsson will jointly establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to facilitate 5G development and deployment in Singapore with an initial investment of 2 million Singapore Dollars over the next three years.
Starting next year, a mobile 5G test bed will also be deployed to carry out live 5G field trials with key enterprise customers, said the Operator.
The CoE will also be open to Optus, and Singtel’s regional associates across Asia and Africa to encourage knowledge sharing within the Singtel Group.
An integral part of CoE’s strategic goal is also to help industries and enterprises understand the value of 5G in transforming their business and the importance of shaping their long-term planning.
Activities will kick off in the later part of 2017, starting with Ericsson providing 5G expertise and conducting workshops, followed by field testing and hands-on experience to equip more than 100 Singtel engineers with critical competencies in designing and operating a 5G network.
5G demos will be set up in Singtel’s Comcentre headquarters to showcase future 5G application possibilities such as, immersive experience on Augmented Reality, enablement of haptic feedback in surgical operations, and remote medical education.
Singtel will also engage research and tertiary institutions on potential collaboration opportunities to test 5G radios and possible applications that can benefit from the high speeds and low latency provided by 5G.
Mark Chong, Group CTO, Singtel
This is a critical next step in our journey to 5G. We’re pleased to partner Ericsson to enhance our 5G core competencies and create a robust 5G ecosystem that will allow Singtel and our enterprise customers to benefit from the anticipated growth opportunities 5G will bring.
Martin Wiktorin, President and Country Manager, Singapore, Brunei & Philippines
Together with Singtel, we plan to set up a 5G test bed in 2018 for trials with key enterprise customers, with the objective of enabling a strong foundation to help design Singapore’s 5G future.
