StarHub partners U Mobile for world's first 5G standalone roaming trials

SINGAPORE (Dec 30): StarHub will be partnering Malaysian telco U Mobile to conduct one of the world’s first 5G standalone (5G SA) roaming trials.

The 5G SA roaming trials will be done completely independent of 4G network infrastructure, differing from most other roaming trials which use 5G non-standalone (5G NSA) technology.

In this partnership, the duo will be monitoring the performance and gathering insights through the testing process, which will essentially establish key aspects, such as the right network configurations and settings to ensure seamless 5G roaming experience for customers when 5G rolls out commercially.

The telcos will also be looking into aspects such as the right commercial price point for 5G roaming in both countries.

The two telcos expect to start the first 5G SA roaming trials in 1Q20. The trials will include use cases such as ‘live’ cross-border holographic calls and multi-party video calls. The 5G SA trials will be conducted in collaboration with Huawei.

In a media release issued on Monday, Chong Siew Loong, chief technology officer of StarHub says, “When 5G arrives, we want to continue delivering to customers the same best-in-Singapore connectivity wherever they may be. There is no better place to start 5G roaming trials than in Malaysia, our closest neighbour and one of our customers’ top travel destinations.”

Woon Ooi Yuen, chief technology officer of U Mobile says, “In our 5G efforts, apart from fully supporting the government’s National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan, we thought it would be beneficial if we took a step further to be one of the first in the world to conduct 5G SA roaming trials.”

As at 11.55am, shares in StarHub are trading at $1.41.