Malaysia’s U Mobile and Singapore’s StarHub have announced on Monday (Dec 30) that they will be conducting one of the world’s first 5G standalone (5G SA) roaming trials.
The 5G SA roaming trials will be carried out solely on 5G without relying on existing 4G infrastructure.
With this joint exercise, both telcos could monitor the performance and gather insights, which will help them establish key aspects, such as the right configurations and settings. This exercise will ensure a seamless 5G roaming experience for customers when 5G becomes commercially available.
The telcos will also look into aspects like the optimal commercial price point for 5G roaming in both Malaysia and Singapore.
StarHub’s Chief Technology Officer, Chong Siew Loong said: “When 5G arrives, we want to continue delivering to customers the same best-in-Singapore connectivity wherever they may be. There is no better place to start 5G roaming trials than in Malaysia, our closest neighbor, and one of our customers’ top travel destinations.”
Meanwhile, Chief Technology Officer of U Mobile, Woon Ooi Yuen said: “U Mobile believes that these 5G SA trials will not only benefit the business and travel communities who regularly commute between the two countries; we also think it will be beneficial to the healthcare industry as 5G SA may enable remote surgery to be done across borders. This collaboration between U Mobile and StarHub will accelerate the take up of 5G services between both countries.”
U Mobile and StarHub have scheduled the first 5G SA roaming trials between the two to take place in the first quarter of 2020. These will include use cases such as live cross-border holographic calls and multi-party video calls. The two telcos will partner with Huawei.
U Mobile is already a roaming partner of StarHub. Besides, the 5G roaming trials are the third 5G-related initiative StarHub announced in December 2019.
Earlier in the month, StarHub announced a collaboration with the National University of Singapore to use 5G technologies to design and test virtual reality and artificial intelligence solutions in a net-zero energy building.
The telco also held a two-day pop-up 5G showcase for the public at its StarHub Green headquarters.
Across the causeway, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has today identified certain spectrum bands as pioneer spectrum bands for the rollout of 5G technology in the country.
Picture credit: RCR Wireless News
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