SingTel yesterday launched Singapore's first 300Mbps LTE-Advanced cell site, and announced it has reached a deal to offer 4G data roaming in China.
The company has gone live with a 300Mbps LTE-Advanced site at Singapore Expo. The company aims to cover more than half of Singapore with the service - including the CBD and Changi Airport - by the end of the year, and achieve nationwide coverage by end-2015.
A MiFi dongle from Huawei will be the first compatible device to be offered in Singapore, SingTel said, and is expected to launch in mid July. Smartphones will follow shortly after.
SingTel vice president of consumer marketing Johan Buse said the upgrade will be needed to meet Singapore's anticipated traffic demands. “Our customers are seeking higher speeds for their increasingly bandwidth-hungry multimedia applications,” he said.
SingTel also announced it has teamed up with China Mobile to offer 4G data roaming in China to its customers.
An unlimited daily data roaming package will be offered for S$20 ($16) per day. The roaming service is initially only available on the iPhone 5S and 5C, as these are the only handsets SingTel offers that are compatible with China Mobile's TD-LTE network.
SingTel now offers 4G roaming in eight markets – China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Switzerland.