Singtel launches 450Mbps LTE-A nationwide

Singtel has announced the nationwide deployment of its 450Mbps LTE-Advanced service as part of the operator’s journey to 5G.

The company has upgraded its LTE network in Singapore to support the pre-5G technology 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (256 QAM).

The technology is designed to increase the number of unique waveform shapes to allow the carriage of up to a third more data, as well as increased spectral efficiency.

Singtel will make the 450Mbps service available to all its 4G customers with compatible devices at no extra cost.

Customers with Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones can take advantage of the faster speeds already, and Samsung plans to release a software update to also support the LG V20. More compatible smartphone models are expected to reach the market early this year.

“Singtel is investing ahead to deliver faster speeds and wider connections with the steady deployment of innovative technologies on our live network,” Singtel CEO consumer Singapore Yuen Kuan Moon said.

“With more customers consuming and sharing mobile videos, 450Mbps speeds will enable them to download movies in a flash and give them a better entertainment experience while on the go.”

Singtel also announced it teamed up with Ericsson to demonstrate download speeds of 1Gbps in a live 4G network pilot at two sites. The speed was achieved by combining 256 QAM with 4×4 MIMO and tri-carrier aggregation technologies.

The operator plans to roll out 4×4 MIMO technology on its network from next year. The first compatible devices are expected to be ready for launch by the end of 2017.