Singapore Ups 5G Spectrum Allocation to Four Operators

Singapore’s communications regulator, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has revised its plans for the allocation of 5G-suitable spectrum, saying it now intends all four mobile network operators (MNOs) to roll out 5G networks starting from next year, up from its original plan to have just two, reports Telegeography. “It intended to assign 5G-suitable spectrum to two winning submissions through a call for proposal (CFP) regulatory instrument, rather than conducting an auction of spectrum, with telcos’ proposals assessed instead on the quality of their deployment schedules… However, the regulator now wants all four of its carriers – Singtel, StarHub, M1 and TPG (Singapore) – to introduce 5G services, with half the city-state covered by a standalone network by 2022 to ‘maintain competitiveness in developing technology’.

As such, it now aims to select two network operators to deploy 5G using the 3.5 GHz band, while the other two MNOs will be assigned additional bandwidth to upgrade their existing 4G LTE infrastructure to 5G.” The plans suggest a reserve of SGD55 million ($40 million) for each bandwidth allocation (for a standalone network), with a view to awarding the spectrum by the middle of 2020. The operators will also be given the millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum in the 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands free of any licence fees, although an annual utilisation fee of SGD1.232 million will apply for each operator. “Meanwhile, operators of the two smaller 5G networks will only be given the mmWave spectrum (but will be subject to the same utilisation fees). The spectrum licences will have a minimum duration of 16 years, according to the regulator’s presentation.” Read more