Singtel has made investment in 4G LTE-Advanced network to offer 450Mbps Internet speed in Singapore.
Singtel says the telecom operator is close to 5G, which is expected to become a reality in 2020 for several telecom operators in Asia.
4G LTE-Advanced service delivers up to 50 percent faster download speeds than prevailing LTE services. The peak speed will allow customers to download a full length HD movie in less than two minutes over mobile data.
Singtel is not charging extra fee to offer the 450Mbps service to all 4G customers.
“Singtel is investing ahead to deliver faster speeds and wider connections with the deployment of technologies on our live network,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, chief executive officer of Consumer Singapore, Singtel.
The global telecom operator, which has a strong presence in India through investment in Bharti Airtel, has enhanced mobile broadband speed by upgrading its nationwide LTE network upgrade to support 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, or 256 QAM.
256 QAM, a pre-5G technology, increases the number of unique radio waveform shapes to carry up to 33.33 percent higher data and elevates spectral efficiency.
At present, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge customers can get 450Mbps speeds in Singapore. LG V20 users can get 450Mbps speed after a software update. More compatible smartphone models are expected to be launched by early 2017.
Singtel and Ericsson demonstrate up to 1Gbps LTE downlink data speeds on live network Singtel and Ericsson have also demonstrated download speeds of up to 1Gbps in a live 4G network pilot at two sites in Pasir Ris.
Singtel and Ericsson achieved the ultra-fast download speed by deploying 256 QAM downlink, 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (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 rollout 4×4 MIMO technology on its network starting next year to deliver up to 1Gbps speeds at selected high-traffic locations. The availability of supporting mobile devices are expected by end 2017.
Ericsson said achieving 1Gbps speeds on live network marks a significant milestone in its journey to 5G.
