Singtel chooses Ericsson for 5G Center of Excellence

The launch of Singapore’s first 5G Center of Excellence has been claimed by operator Singtel in partnership with kit vendor Ericsson.

The two will chuck an initial $1.5 million onto the pot over the next three years to get things going. On top of all the usual 5G R&D, the CoE will focus on the commercial implications of 5G and will align itself to the state-sponsored Smart Nation initiative.

“This is a critical next step in our journey to 5G,” said Mark Chong, Group CTO of Singtel. “We’re pleased to partner Ericsson to enhance our 5G core competencies and create a robust 5G ecosystem that will allow Singtel and our enterprise customers to benefit from the anticipated growth opportunities 5G will bring. We invite customers in various verticals, such as transportation, port operations and next-generation manufacturing, to start shaping their new digital business models with us.”

“The establishment of the 5G CoE is timely and goes hand in hand with the Government’s move to encourage industry trials in 5G,” said Ericsson Country Manager for Singapore Martin Wiktorin. “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.”

The various 5G use-cases that will be explored by the CoE include opportunities created by low-latency connectivity such as remote control. Most tech megatrends are exploited first by industry and that seems to be the focus here. Singtel and Ericsson have a long established partnership, and cited their joint winning of the ‘Advancing the Road to 5G’ Global Telecoms Award as evidence of their great double-act.