5G Innovation

Globally acknowledged to be the next big leap in mobile and wireless communications, 5G technology is widely touted to enable the development of new business models and advanced applications, fostering business innovation and spurring economic growth. With a growing pool of 5G talent in Singapore, communities, businesses, and industries are expected to benefit from the transformative impact that 5G enables.

IMDA has adopted a multi-prong approach to facilitate the development of 5G and the enhancement of the 5G network infrastructure in Singapore.

IMDA is facilitating the deployment of the commercial network through the 5G spectrum allocation and regulatory framework, a 5G public consultation was launched on 7 May 2019.

IMDA is focusing efforts to drive industry technical trials to demonstrate the transformative impact of 5G for enterprises and support the innovation and research ecosystem for 5G technologies and applications under the 5G Innovation Programme.

To catalyse 5G development and adoption in Singapore, as a start, IMDA is exploring six strategic clusters to focus on where 5G bears the most potential: (i) Maritime Operations; (ii) Urban Mobility; (iii) Smart Estates, (iv) Industry 4.0, (v) Consumer applications and (vi) Government applications.

• Maritime
  • IMDA has partnered sector leads, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (“MPA”) and PSA, to identify problem statements and explore the usage of 5G for the maritime sector, supporting use cases such as the use of drones, autonomous vessels, automated guided vehicles, communication etc. In March, IMDA and PSA together launched a 5G Trial Technology Call to invite interested parties to test on the possibilities of 5G to enhance port operation. IMDA has awarded the 5G Technology Call.
  • Moving forward, IMDA and MPA aim to continue to assess and validate the performance and capabilities of 5G technologies in other areas of the Maritime live environment, such as Maritime Drone Estate (MDE) located near Marina South Pier, coastal areas, etc with the broader aim of growing the 5G ecosystem in Singapore.
  • The proposed 5G Maritime trial (1.17MB) should include the deployment of the 5G trial network, the provision of the 5G equipment and trial service, the necessary support, the trial location, and propose use case(s) leveraging capabilities of 5G technology to address the challenges faced by the maritime sector or propose innovative solutions to evolve or transform the maritime business.

• Industry 4.0
  • To accelerate Singapore’s Industry 4.0 transformation, A*STAR and Singtel and JTC will deploy 5G at A*STAR’s Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) as part of Industry 4.0 efforts.

Working closely with sector leads, telecommunications operators and technology companies IMDA will offer funding support, 5G trial licences and technical inputs to facilitate the development of innovative 5G applications and services in the above six clusters.

IMDA will work with the industry to provide training in frontier 5G tech skills, including nurturing 5G talent in Singapore, through the Tech Skills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative. Companies who are planning to deepen the skills of their employees in 5G and related skills may partner with IMDA on TeSA programmes such as the Company-Led Training (CLT) programme which is a structured development programme to enable fresh and mid-level professionals to acquire tech skills and competencies for jobs in demand. Information on various TeSA programmes can be found at IMTalent.sg.

5G Testbeds

IMDA, in partnership with Institutes of Higher Learning, technology companies and other government agencies, will develop a series of open testbeds for both government and industry use. These 5G testbeds will help to foster collaboration and capability development for 5G applications and services, helping accelerate the growth of the ecosystem.

The key objectives of the 5G Testbeds are:

1. To test and validate mature R&D efforts and facilitate translation.
2. For technology companies to leverage the testbed to integrate with new functionalities/capabilities of 5G to create new products and solutions.
3. Enable industry to have an open platform to experiment and innovate.

The first testbed will be at PIXEL in One-North:

• IMDA’s PIXEL innovation space will be the first open testbed to serve as a shared 5G Living Lab for the One-North tech and media start-up community. Targeted to be ready in 1H 2020, the PIXEL open testbed will enable them to experiment with 5G applications and use cases across tech and content.

IMDA will like to invite participants to propose the required infrastructure and equipment to meet the key objectives required for the 5G Testbeds. Please write in to 5GSG@imda.gov.sg with the email subject heading “5G Testbed - <Company Name>”.

Research & development

IMDA, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) will support research and development in 5G Cybersecurity. More research funding to support other areas of 5G research, such as in communications networks, will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the grant, click below.