Singtel soups up mobile data speeds by 200% for special events

Singtel has announced plans to deploy Massive MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology commercially on its LTE-Advanced mobile network to enhance mobile data speed experience by up to 200% at special events for its customers. Globally, large crowds gathered at events, such as concerts and festivals, use high volumes of data to share their experiences via real-time videos on social media. This behaviour generates a dramatic spike in network traffic, presenting a challenge for operators to provide fast and consistent data speeds. Singtel has identified Massive MIMO as one of the solutions to the problem.

Singtel will team up with Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE to deploy Massive MIMO technology at the Marina Bay area. For a start, Singtel will roll out the network boost at the upcoming National Day celebrations on August 9, with other deployments planned for the Singapore F1 Night Race and the New Year countdown event. Singtel estimates that over 150,000 people will gather to celebrate National Day in the Marina Bay area.

Mark Chong, Group CTO, Singtel, said: “On the joyous occasion of our National Day celebrations, Singtel is pleased to be pairing our newly-acquired 2.5GHz spectrum with Massive MIMO technology to expand our network capacity and offer our customers an enhanced mobile experience at this and other special events. We look forward to rolling out new technologies and innovative solutions to support the anticipated growth in mobile data.”

A precursor to 5G technology, Massive MIMO technology can be used to boost network capacity in highly dense environments. Singtel will use Massive MIMO base stations featuring a large array of 64 antennas that improve spectral efficiency and cell capacity using innovations in radio technologies. The antenna system channels signals to users’ specific locations instead of broadcasting across a geographical area. This multiplies the number of data paths from the cellular base stations, thus increasing network capacity and improving user experience.
 
Singtel provides Singapore’s fastest nationwide mobile data speeds at 450Mbps and recently launched 800Mbps speeds in the high-traffic Orchard Road area. In addition to having the island’s widest outdoor 4G coverage as rated by IMDA1 for 10 consecutive quarters, Singtel is also ranked the fastest telco in Singapore by global metrics leader, Ookla.

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