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Singtel achieves 95% 5G network coverage three years ahead of target

By Liu Hongzuo - on 22 Jul 2022, 1:23pm

Singtel achieves 95% 5G network coverage three years ahead of target

Image courtesy of Singtel.

Are you on a Singtel 5G phone plan? You’ll be pleased to know that the mobile network you’ve signed up for is now readily available in nearly every corner of our little city-state. 

According to its official press statement, Singtel’s 5G standalone (SA) network in Singapore now (22 July 2022) offers 95% nationwide coverage - a world's first. This includes more than 1,300 outdoor locations, over 400 in-building deployments, and underground networks.

This milestone is more than three years ahead of its regulatory target of end-2025. Initially, when Singtel and other telcos won the rights to deploy 5G networks, the local authorities (IMDA) required telcos to have 50% coverage by end-2022, and nationwide coverage three years after.

To celebrate this achievement that came ahead of its time, Singtel will be streaming the National Day Parade (NDP 2022) fully in 5G. Users at the parade location can “enjoy high-speed connectivity, enabling seamless streaming or uploading of high-resolution content from the Parade”. 

For Singtel, this meant that the telco relies on its 5G network to distribute UHD content to multiple 5G-enabled devices around the parade and to global online networks. This is also a test of the 5G network’s reliability through scale and real-time transmission demands.

Singtel customers will also get unlimited 5G data on National Day (9 August) and free access to Singtel Cast and Singtel TV programmes between 6 to 9 August 2022. The red camp is also running a host of other promotions to celebrate both National Day and its 5G rollout, and we’ve appended the list provided by Singtel below.

Click to enlarge.

“We’re extremely excited about this important milestone for both Singtel and Singapore as nationwide standalone 5G coverage is a major leap in technology that will spur unprecedented digitalisation. Despite disruptions from COVID and the knock-on impact on manpower and resources, our planners and engineers managed to accelerate our 5G deployment, working through the pandemic to lay the groundwork and build a whole new infrastructure for a secure and resilient 5G network. This means that Singapore can now exploit the full capabilities and best applications that 5G can offer, paving the way for innovation and new growth that will propel our country forward,” said Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel’s Group Chief Executive Officer.  

Singtel’s road towards 5G has been nothing short of rapid. The telco started putting up live 5G NSA networks for consumers in late-2020, before announcing its live 5G SA network and two-thirds coverage of our nation in mid-2021. In between these milestones, we also saw 3.2Gbps real-world speeds for its mmWave 5G deployment, the first shopping mall with indoor 5G, and a complete 5G rollout for a fully underground MRT line.

Its progress and attention to quality networking and coverage have earned validation from users in Singapore, as encapsulated in our annual Tech Awards findings. For Tech Awards 2022, our readers voted Singtel as the Best Telco Service Provider in Singapore, overwhelming the telco's competition.

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