M1's Nationwide 4G LTE Network Coverage Tested

Overview

M1 announced that it is the first telco in South East Asia to launch a nationwide 4G LTE network. A remarkable achievement over its competitors, isn't it? SingTel only had 50% coverage at launch and will only complete its islandwide roll-out in early 2013. StarHub will launch its first phase of its LTE network by the end of the year.

We put M1's claim to the test with our ambitious mission to check out its 4G connectivity on SMRT's train network. In response to readers' feedback on our previous article, we decided to run the Speedtest.net app this time to provide our readers a rough idea of what download and upload speeds to expect on the train platforms.

This is on the premise that the majority of users will be surfing on their mobile devices while waiting for the trains to arrive. This article will be a guide for 4G subscribers (with 4G-enabled phones) as to where they can switch to the LTE network to enjoy a faster and better web browsing experience. We also drove to several areas across the island to check if M1's 4G network truly provides nationwide coverage.

Before we proceed with the rest of the article, please take note of the following:

• For the purpose of this article, we used the HTC One XL. As the hardware specs differ across various LTE smartphones, signal strength, reception and performance may differ.
  
   
• M1's 4G network coverage currently does not extend to underpasses, tunnels and underground MRT stations. This is no different from SingTel's 4G network. Therefore, we only covered stations that are above ground. 
  
  
  
   

East-West Line

North-South Line

Random Areas  

We popped by several locations across the island to check if M1's 4G coverage was available. Well, let's just let the pictures speak for themselves.

North: Woodlands 

North-East: Punggol 

East: Changi / Pasir Ris

South: Jalan Bukit Merah to Marina Bay Sands Area

Central - Mount Faber

West - NTU / Lim Chu Kang

Conclusion

Our random drive around Singapore revealed that M1's 4G LTE network is a little short of nationwide coverage. As you can see from the screenshots above, there are a couple of locations (along Lim Chu Kang Road and Sungei Dekar) where there was no 4G signal. Granted, these two locations are quite deserted and we doubt anyone would visit these places regularly.

Other than these two locations, we hardly found any blind spots when traveling around over the weekend. The MRT stations that are above ground all had 4G connectivity, although this doesn't necessarily equate to having a stable connection in the particular area, town or during the journey to the next station.

There was one particular location in the vicinity of Suntec City that we were unable to get 4G signal. After a long day of traveling around the island, we decided to have our dinner at Paulaner Brauhaus German Micro Brewery Bar around 8 pm. We checked the phone and noticed that there wasn't any 4G connectivity.

M1's nationwide 4G network will be made available from 15th September. For early adopters who are signing up for the 4G plans, you may want to share your findings on locations in Singapore with 4G connectivity here.

Basically, it is a public Google Maps where anyone can pin a location on the map where there is 4G connectivity. A group of HardwareZone forum members has created one for SingTel when it launched its 4G network in June. SingTel's 4G subscribers can contribute to the map here.

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