Singtel has hit 1.5 Gbps speeds for LTE

Singtel has achieved peak LTE speeds of 1.5 Gbps using five-carrier aggregation* in Singapore. This is the fastest in Asia and 50% faster than the prevailing 1 Gbps speed.

The enhanced network speed was achieved in collaboration with Ericsson with a first-of-its-kind carrier aggregation of five carriers, which boosts network bandwidth. A combination of two 1800 MHz frequencies, together with 2,100 MHz, 2,600 MHz and TDD 2,500 MHz spectrum bands and technologies such as FDD, TDD, 256QAM and 4X4 MIMO** were used to achieve the peak speed of 1.5 Gbps. When introduced in the live network, such capability improves the user experience and enhances network capacity. For instance, customers would be able to download a two-hour 4K video in eight minutes. 

“We are constantly investing in innovative technologies to boost network speeds, enhance coverage and expand capacity to give our customers the best network experience,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO, Consumer Singapore and Group Chief Digital Officer at Singtel. 

“As our customers’ lifestyles increasingly revolve around their smartphones, we do our best to ensure they enjoy fast, reliable, comprehensive and secure connectivity.” 

“Ericsson has been a leader in pioneering technologies,” said Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei & the Philippines. “By leveraging five-carrier aggregation across both FDD and TDD, we continue to lead the way to meet customers speed and capacity demands. We are proud to be working on new capabilities and advancements on LTE.” 

Singtel will gradually deploy the new speed across the island as more spectrum bands are allocated for the LTE network. Singtel and Ericsson will launch a pilot 5G network in Singapore Q418. Smartphones supporting 1.5 Gbps speeds are scheduled to be launched in 2019.  

Singtel was recently recognised by global metrics leader Ookla for having the fastest mobile network speeds in Singapore. 

*Achieved in a lab environment on a Viavi Solutions and Stellent Networks’ TM500 test system. 

**FDD stands for Frequency Division Duplex, and TDD for Time Division Duplex. QAM stands for quadrature amplitude modulation and MIMO is an acronym for multiple input, multiple output.