SP Telecom today announced it is collaborating with Nokia to implement Singapore’s “first 5G-ready software defined network”.
The firms will be working together to “enable faster go-to market solutions for 5G deployment in Singapore”, and will leverage on its data fibre network to do so.
For the unacquainted, SP Telecom is a joint venture company of ST Engineering and SP Group that builds and powers communications and infrastructure services in Singapore.
It is building its fibre network using “unique fibre pathways that combine leased SP Group infrastructure and owned fibre pipes, laid alongside the power network cables”.
Under the partnership, Nokia will be incorporating its “latest FP4-based Service Router, optical transport and cloud software solutions, together with its service automation and network orchestration application suite” into SP Telecom’s infrastructure in a bid to introduce a 5G-ready network.
This will be ready in 2020, and the network will enable both fixed and 5G carriers to “deploy Cloud-based Virtual Private Network (VPN) and 5G offerings for their government and enterprise customers”.
5G carriers will also have the option of leveraging on SP Telecom’s hubs around the island as locations for their 5G base stations.
A 5G network is set to be “many times faster” than a 4G one with “near zero latency response”, and will be able to support applications like industry automation, autonomous vehicles, remote robotics, AR and VR, and event live streaming.
SP Telecom’s infrastructure and fibre pipes are said to be “highly efficient [in order to] support ultra-low latency for 5G players”.
In the press release, SP Telecom also announced that it will be launching an Innovation Hub and Innovation Lab by the end of June 2019.
The Innovation Hub will serve as an experiential space for partners and customers to “experience and experiment with the actual pairing and testing of their solutions and applications on SP Telecom’s intelligent, data fibre network”.
It will be available for access by invite only, and customers will be able to “experience a day where their businesses are supported by the Software-Defined Networking-Network Functions Virtualization (SDN-NFV) network, the real-time and zero-touch provisioning of services, and on-demand bandwidth service through the Customer Service Portal”.
Said Titus Yong, CEO of SP Telecom: “We are well-poised to facilitate the rollout of 5G in Singapore, working closely with our technology partners to deliver a reliable, high-performance and seamless network for 5G players and their customers.”
“The Nokia solutions deliver a dynamic, highly scalable network for Cloud, Ultra-Broadband and IoT services in our partnership with SP Telecom,” added Stuart Hendry, Head of Transport, Energy and Public Sector for Asia Pacific and Japan, Nokia.