Singtel launched 450 Mbps 4G LTE-Advanced service in its home market of Singapore.
The 450Mbps service is available to all Singtel 4G customers at no additional charge. The first device to support the speed are the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. LG V20 users will also be able to harness the higher speeds with a soon-to-be released software update. More compatible smartphone models are expected to be launched by early 2017.
“Singtel is investing ahead to deliver faster speeds and wider connections with the steady deployment of innovative technologies on our live network. With more customers consuming and sharing mobile videos, 450Mbps speeds will enable them to download movies in a flash and give them a better entertainment experience while on the go,” stated Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Singapore, Singtel.
The boost is made possible by Singtel’s nationwide LTE network upgrade to support 256 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation, or 256 QAM, which increases the number of unique radio waveform shapes to carry up to 33.33% higher data and elevates spectral efficiency.
Separately, Singtel and Ericsson have demonstrated download speeds of up to 1Gbps in a live 4G network pilot at two sites in Pasir Ris. This was achieved by deploying 256 QAM downlink, 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (4×4 MIMO) and triple carrier aggregation technologies. 4×4 MIMO doubles the number of data paths between a cellular base station and mobile phones, delivering a speed boost of up to two times normal speeds.
Singtel said it plans to progressively rollout 4×4 MIMO technology on its network starting next year to deliver up to 1Gbps speeds at selected high-traffic locations. Supporting mobile devices are expected to be ready by end 2017.
