Singapore continues to drive 5G innovation around port operations, and incident management and response with the Infocomm Media Development Authority, M1 Limited and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore partnering with Airbus to conduct coastal 5G standalone network trials at the Singapore Maritime Drone Estate.
IMDA, M1, MPA and Airbus plan to conduct 5G SA trials in real-world environments to ensure unmanned aerial vehicles can operate safely and efficiently during all phases of their flights, including operations in the designated drone-fly zones.
“Given the growing need to create more efficient and sustainable solutions for the maritime industry, MPA supported the world’s first ship-to-shore drone delivery trial by Airbus and Wilhelmsen last year. We look forward to deepening the collaboration with Airbus and M1 to pilot innovative use cases for 5G technology in the maritime industry,” said Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
Local Enterprise Partner to Develop 5G Technology
M1 will also be collaborating with TeamOne Technologies Pte Ltd, a local enterprise, to support the development of local capabilities within Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises.
TeamOne aims to design and develop the world’s first aeronautical certified 5G SA communication modem for urban air mobility operations. This 5G modem will be tested and optimised during the trials.
“Singapore continues to forge ahead with our efforts for 5G innovation in support of the nation’s Digital Economy. We believe that 5G will sharpen Singapore’s competitive advantage as a key trading and connectivity hub in the region and beyond.
“IMDA is pleased to see tremendous interest by companies to develop innovative 5G use-cases. It is especially encouraging to see SMEs such as TeamOne playing a role in 5G innovation, and I would like to encourage other enterprises big and small to join us in building an open and inclusive 5G ecosystem,” said Mr Tan Kiat How, Chief Executive, IMDA.
Opportunity to trial 5G innovation in live environment
M1 will provide 4G and 5G network planning, including data collection for performance and coverage analysis of mobile network in the operating areas, network parameter optimisation and implementation of interference minimisation methods.
M1 will assess the use of 4G and 5G technologies to provide enhanced geo-location positioning information for all phases of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight using network-based information and will assess the network performance enhancement in connection stability, uptime and data throughput by aggregating seamlessly both 4G and 5G networks.
Airbus will provide a fleet of unmanned aircraft systems for safe-flight testing and use its expertise in the integration of the unmanned aircraft for the trials, ensuring that the flight operations meet safety and regulatory requirements.
This collaboration is an opportunity to trial 5G innovations in a live environment. The partnership will act as a test bed for Urban Air Mobility technologies using advanced 5G standalone network.
The findings from these trials will help form a better understanding of evolving 5G standards, their feasibility and requirements for Urban Air Mobility applications, and future citywide unmanned aircraft systems operations in Singapore’s urban and coastal environment.
