Singtel on Wednesday said it would collaborate with Swedish telecoms equipment provider Ericsson to launch a center of excellence (CoE) to facilitate 5G development and deployment in Singapore.
5G, the next-generation mobile network technology, is expected to roll out globally from 2020 and will enable advanced applications such as smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, and autonomous vehicles.
CoE, which will be co-funded by Singtel and Ericsson with an initial investment of S$2 million over the next three years, aims to spearhead the development of Singapore's 5G mobile network infrastructure to support future Smart Nation initiatives, the company said in a statement.
"This first-of-its-kind collaboration in Singapore will feature four pillars: upskilling, demos, live field trials and collaborations with tertiary institutions," it said.
The 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.
"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," said Martin Wiktorin, President and Country Manager for Singapore, Brunei & Philippines, Ericsson.
