During the past two years, 5G has emerged as a key focus area for stakeholders across the telecom value chain in Southeast Asia (SEA). This is because 5G promises seamless interconnection of industry verticals such as internet of things, smart cities, smart vehicles, smart grids, smart buildings and e-health, which would open up immense opportunities for players across the value chain. Further, the advent of 5G will facilitate the use of emerging technologies like augmented reality, artificial intelligence, etc.

Recognising these benefits, governments, operators as well as equipment vendors have been working towards establishing a comprehensive 5G environment in the SEA region. Both operators and governments have been actively involved in the process of creating an ecosystem conducive to 5G deployment. Further, equipment vendors like Huawei Technologies, Ericsson and Nokia are working in collaboration with operators in the region to conduct trials for 5G technology.

Southeast Asia Infrastructure takes stock of the current state of 5G in the SEA region and the future plans of operators in this space…

Regional market scenario

Singapore: Singapore has been a pioneer amongst the countries striving to jump onto the 5G bandwagon before the year 2020. It had started making efforts towards 5G deployment in end 2014, a time when most countries were still struggling to adopt 3G services. In recent years too, operators in Singapore have been actively involved in developing a 5G ecosystem. In August 2016, Singapore Telecom (Singtel) completed tests for 5G technology in collaboration with Ericsson. In the tests, which used Ericsson’s 5G radio prototypes, the pair achieved a peak throughput of 27.5 Gbps along with a latency of 2 milliseconds. Further, the tests also introduced what Singtel and Ericsson claimed to be the world’s first end-to-end low latency live video streaming over 5G. In November 2016, Singapore-based operator StarHub partnered with Nokia to conduct trials using centimetre wave frequencies, which achieved a peak throughput of 4.3 Gbps and a latency of 1 millisecond. The 5G demonstration was conducted at StarHub’s headquarters as part of the operator’s ongoing trials for future technologies to facilitate emerging use cases such as virtual and augmented reality streaming and e-health applications. In January 2017, another operator, M1 Limited conducted trials for 5G in collaboration with Huawei at its operations centre in Jurong. The trials utilised millimetre wave frequencies and were conducted over the 73 GHz spectrum band using an E-Band to validate the performance of 5G in high frequency bands and open up a new landscape for the standardisation of 5G in Singapore. The operator achieved a peak throughput of 35 Gbps, which is the highest data speed ever seen in terms of 5G in Singapore.

In February 2017, Singtel partnered with Ericsson to conduct trials for massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and cloud radio access network (RAN) technologies, which are both essential for 5G evolution. Further, the two companies also partnered in October 2017 to establish a centre of excellence (COE) in Singapore to facilitate 5G development and deployment in the country. The COE will be co-funded by Singtel and Ericsson with an initial investment of S$2 million over the next three years.

Apart from operators, Singapore’s telecom regulator, the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), has also been making concerted efforts to strengthen the 5G ecosystem in the country. In January 2017, the IMDA announced its intention to launch public consultations on developments related to 5G and the spectrum requirements needed to support it. The IMDA also announced plans to continue promoting greater technological innovation by encouraging trials in 5G technology to explore its potential benefits and applications. Further, in March 2017, the IMDA asked operators to shut down 2G services to free up spectrum and redeploy it to offer more advanced services like 4G and 5G. In May 2017, the IMDA decided to waive frequency fees for 5G-suitable spectrum until December 2019 to encourage 5G industry trials in the country.

Philippines: Another country that has been involved in fast-tracking 5G deployment is the Philippines. Philippines-based operator PLDT has been at the forefront in terms of undertaking initiatives for developing 5G technology. To this end, PLDT’s mobile division, Smart Communications, completed 5G network trials in partnership with equipment vendor Nokia in December 2016. Under the partnership, PLDT and Nokia conducted trials for 5G technology using the 100 MHz spectrum band and achieved transmission speeds of 2.5 Gbps along with a latency of 1 millisecond. The partnership entailed collaboration between the Nokia Manila technology centre and Smart’s innovation team for conducting research on 5G technology. In February 2017, PLDT signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei Technologies to jointly conduct research on and develop 5G technology. Under the MoU, PLDT and Smart Communications will work with Huawei to shape the strategic and commercial development of a new 5G ecosystem. Further, the companies aimed to set up an innovation laboratory and develop a showcase 5G network in the country.

Other countries: Countries like Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos have also recently jumped onto the 5G bandwagon. Thailand’s telecom regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has been actively involved in encouraging operators to work towards developing the technology. In January 2017, the NBTC enlisted Sweden-based equipment vendor Ericsson to perform the first live 5G end-to-end demonstration in Thailand, using its 5G test bed and 5G-ready core infrastructure. The trials achieved a peak throughput of 5.7 Gbps. In April 2017, Thailand-based operator True Corporation partnered with Ericsson to conduct 5G trials. Further, in Indonesia, Ericsson completed the first demonstration of 5G technology in Indonesia, including a 5G test bed trial, 5G new radio and live 4K video streaming. Subsequently, in May 2017, Indonesia-based operator Telkomsel conducted a trial for 5G technology in Jakarta. The trial was conducted in collaboration with Huawei.

In Malaysia, Celcom Axiata conducted the country’s first 5G trial using the 28 GHz spectrum band. In August 2017, Laos also became a new entrant in the 5G space as Lao Telecommunications Company signed an MoU with Nokia Shanghai Bell for jointly working on 5G technology.

The way ahead

All in all, stakeholders across the SEA’s telecom value chain are extremely optimistic about the 5G opportunity and are taking initiatives to keep pace with global developments in this space. Although efforts towards developing 5G technology in the region are still at a nascent stage, the long-term outlook for 5G services in the SEA markets looks positive. Going forward, the region is expected to witness considerable activity in the 5G domain, as all operators would strive to launch services before their rivals. However, these activities will bear fruition only when key stakeholders, including the government, telecom operators and equipment vendors follow a collaborative approach for establishing a comprehensive 5G ecosystem.