Asian telco SingTel has partnered with hardware giant Ericsson on a small-cell pilot program meant to bring more robust 3G and LTE coverage to enterprise buildings and public venues in Singapore.
The two companies announced the project on Dec. 29. SingTel has deployed for trial Ericsson’s Radio Dot System in Changi Business Park, a more than 160-acre facility that comprises a shopping mall, hotels, restaurants, the Singapore University of Technology and Design, and offices for Cisco, IBM and many other banking and tech interests
The Radio Dot System introduces a new antenna element, the “dot,” which delivers broadband access; dots are connected and powered by category 5, 6, or 7 Internet LAN cables connected to radio units that link to a base station.
SingTel’s Group CTO Tay Soo Meng stressed the “elegant design and simple installation” of the small-cell set up.
“Knowing the importance of delivering not only good in-building coverage but also having good data throughput for our customers, this new pilot will help us to enhance and improve the SingTel customer experience in both commercial and public buildings.”
According to research from Statista, Singapore has the fourth-highest rate of smartphone penetration (71.7%) in the world behind the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. The United States comes in at the 13 spot on that list.
Nicholas Seow, president of Ericsson Singapore and Brueni, said in-building solutions will become increasingly important given that data traffic is expected to grow by a factor of 17 over the next five years – driven largely by apps and video content.
“Leading operators like SingTel are focused on improving indoor network performance and coverage,” he said.
“Ericsson and SingTel enjoy a great technology partnership that leverages the strengths of both companies,” Seow continued. “Ericsson worked closely with SingTel to ensure the success of their world-class LTE network, and addressing indoor opportunities with the Radio Dot System is a natural evolution of this relationship.”
