Singapore , 18 November 2009 - Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) today announced its plan to conduct a regional trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology inAustralia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in collaboration with Optus, Globe Telecom and Telkomsel.

 

The trials, which are scheduled to commence in the first half of 2010, will take place over a period of six to nine months. They will help Singtel and its associates and joint venture companies better understand LTE and determine the best approach and strategy for its adoption in their respective local markets. 

 

The trials will also lay the groundwork to establish a regionally compatible LTE network to facilitate growth in the mobile broadband business for the Singtel Group.   This high-speed network will also allow the Group to deploy new services across the region quickly, giving customers faster access to the widest selection of mobile service offerings in these markets.

 

LTE base stations and core network equipment will be installed for detailed field tests that will evaluate the features and end-to-end performance of the technology, which promises a peak speed of 340 Mbps.   Tests will be conducted for a wide range of scenarios and conditions, including different frequency bands and urban environments.

 

By coordinating the LTE trials across the region, the Group aims to optimise the resources used and gain better technical insights through knowledge sharing.

 

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Singtel's CEO International Group, said: "The LTE trials are an example of the strong cooperation between companies in the Singtel Group to develop products and services for the region.

 

"LTE will open doors to new and more powerful mobile solutions that will transform the way our customers across the region live, work and play.   The regional trials underscore Singtel's commitment to offering our retail and enterprise customers more innovative services that are at the cutting-edge of technology. 

 

"With our footprint of regional associates serving 273 million customers in eight markets, we are in an excellent position to drive the adoption of LTE technology in the region and beyond."

 

Six leading network vendors have been invited to participate in the LTE trials: Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks and ZTE. 

 

In recent years, Singtel has worked closely with its regional associates to launch innovative products and services such as a cloud computing platform and an online mobile applications store.   These offerings leverage the Singtel Group's extensive international networks to meet the fast-changing needs of consumers and businesses across the region.

 

The Singtel Group also has major investments in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Thailand. Together with its regional partners, Singtel is Asia's largest multi-market mobile operator.

 

About Singtel

Singtel is Asia's leading communications group with operations and investments around the world. Serving both the corporate and consumer markets, it is committed to bringing the best global communications solutions to customers in the Asia Pacific and beyond. 

 

With significant operations in Singapore and Australia (through wholly-owned subsidiary Singtel Optus), the Group provides a comprehensive portfolio of services that includes voice and data solutions over fixed, wireless and Internet platforms, as well as infocomm technology and pay TV.

 

To serve the needs of multi-national corporations, Singtel has a network of 37 offices in 20 countries and territories throughout Asia Pacific,  Europe and the United States. These offices enable Singtel to deliver reliable and quality network solutions to its customers, either on its own or jointly with local partners.

 

The Group also has major investments in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippinesand Thailand. Together with its regional partners, Singtel is Asia's largest multi-market mobile operator, serving more than 273 million customers in eight markets.