SINGAPORE (May 22): For one of the most digitised countries in the world, the wait is soon over. Singapore is now on track to roll out the 5G network as soon as this coming January with country-wide coverage by 2025.
Two weeks ago, Singtel and StarHub-M1 joint venture won rights to build nationwide 5G networks. This announcement comes at a time when the virus outbreak has completely overhauled the way we work, play, and learn — and with it the realisation of how reliant we are on the internet connection for all of these. So the news of the fifth generation of high-speed data and more bandwidth to carry growing levels of web traffic — could not come at a better time.
We are now at a clear tipping point after which 5G-related innovations and test cases will be accelerated. This in turn will drive increased adoption of the technology among consumers and businesses alike, not just in the telecom industry but in the overall economic growth of Singapore including the region.
5G is about digital value creation
When we look back at the evolution of mobile connectivity through history, each generation has had something new to offer. 2G was about voice, 3G enabled better internet browsing and 4G improved video streaming. With 5G, it will all be about digital value creation.
To understand this, we need to look at a couple of aspects of 5G. It promises speeds up to 50 times faster, 10 times more responsiveness, and much lower power connectivity than 4G. The combination of speed, low latency, and enhanced connectivity will help telecom operators provide super-fast Internet connections that enable streaming of high-definition videos, cloud gaming, and delivery of interactive-augmented and virtual reality-powered content to consumers. This will certainly please the avid gaming community in the city given Singaporeans spend an average of 7.44 hours per week playing games. This is not only among the highest in the region, but the world.
These trends, coupled with increased penetration of mobile devices, will accelerate the adoption of 5G services among consumers in Singapore and across Asean. According to a recent study by Kearney, 5G penetration is expected to be around 25–40% in major countries in the region by 2025, with Singapore seeing more than 50% penetration. The total number of 5G subscriptions in Asean is forecast to exceed 200 million in 2025.
Enterprises will be the big winners
Businesses, large and small, have always been looking how to best leverage technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, advanced robotics, and wearables to increase their efficiency and boost growth. This is especially true in countries like Singapore, where the labour pool is limited and relatively expensive.
But the successful adoption of these technologies will largely be dependent on the underlying connectivity — and this is where 5G will be a gamechanger.
Largely because 5G networks could offer latency of just 1ms for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). To put that in context, human latency — which is the time between one person speaking, the other party listening to it, registering the speech in their brain, and deciding on the response — is about 30–40 milliseconds. 5G is expected to be 30-40 times faster than that.
It is important to note that most of the prototypes and technology demonstrators of new industrial “connected” concepts have not been able to realise their full potential because even a small lag takes away the magic of solutions. 5G, because of its low latency and unified architecture, can address this issue, especially on the following fronts:
Machine to Machine (M2M) communications: For this to succeed, latency needs to be low, and the machines need to connect without draining out power. 5G networks will make M2M communications possible in networks that offer virtually unlimited capacity.
The full potential of IoT: This has been talked about for some time, but the available networks can only demonstrate the possibilities, not fulfil them. The way 5G can address this was best demonstrated at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where Intel flew over 1,200 drones with precision to form different shapes, creating a world record. This is an indication of how 5G will enable things to remain connected with each other, in a way that does not require human interaction, working autonomously.
Singapore, a Smart Nation
Singapore has always had a very progressive attitude toward the adoption of technology.
The Smart Nation innovation vision encompasses a combination of technologies. These include intelligent transportation systems which use dynamic traffic lights and collision avoidance systems leading to improved traffic safety. Services like smart grids, smart garbage collection, and disposal are key to sustainable infrastructure for providing critical infrastructure to residents. These rely on the ability to be able to exploit the full potential of IoT among other technologies. Similarly, smart governance relies on the use of technology and data analytics — many times to have the ability to analyse data right where it is being generated — to assist in better policy-making.
On all these fronts, 5G offers the opportunity to deploy technologies like edge computing and achieve the Smart Nation dream.
A virtuous cycle
The Covid-19 pandemic is by far the most significant theme to affect the telecom industry this century. Billions of users worldwide are more connected and familiar with digital tools. Telco networks have gained first-hand experience in dynamic network traffic management while businesses and their customers will have a better understanding of how remote working and learning can be made to work effectively. The need for digitalisation, automation, network virtualisation, security predictors and cloud management tools will provide a shot in the arm for telco innovation around AI and machine learning and a catalyst for future growth, powered by 5G.
5G is not just a standard that supplements existing networks. It is a true gamechanger. To me, the most interesting statistic is that it will generate a staggering US$12.3 trillion ($17.4 trillion) economic output globally by 2035. Fifteen years after its proposed rollout, 5G’s contribution to global GDP will equal that of India’s GDP. Being one of the most digitally connected economies in the world, 5G will obviously have a huge positive impact on Singapore’s telecom operators’ own business.
This is mainly because of two factors: Firstly, consumers are excited about the technology and the experiences it will offer. They are willing to pay for it. Second, with 5G enabling businesses to fully exploit the potential of technologies including IoT, AI, edge computing. It will accelerate innovation and bring new opportunities to life thereby creating better opportunities for business use cases.
As more businesses adopt this technology, it will see telecom operators increase their revenue from enterprise customers. Telecom operators in Asean could see their enterprise revenues grow by between 18–22 % by the year 2025. In Singapore, the rollout of 5G services next year could boost the annual revenues of telecom operators by as much as US$510 million by 2025. This, in turn, could drive investment in the sector and trigger further growth. It is the kind of virtuous cycle countries hope for, especially at a time where economies are looking for innovative ways to rebuild themselves post-crisis.
Sanjay Kaul is president, Asia-Pacific & Japan, service provider business, Cisco
