The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and M1 Limited joined forces with Airbus to conduct coastal 5G standalone (SA) network trials at the Singapore Maritime Drone Estate.
The partners aim to carry out 5G SA trials in real-world environments to ensure that drones can operate in a safe and efficient manner, during all phases of their flights, including operations in the designated drone-fly zones.
In addition, M1 will partner with TeamOne Technologies Pte Ltd, a local enterprise, to support the development of local capabilities within Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises. The latter will design and develop the world’s first aeronautical certified 5G SA communication modem for urban air mobility (UAM) operations. This 5G modem will be tested and optimised during the trials.
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.
It is stated that the findings from the trials will help form a better understanding of evolving 5G standards, their feasibility and requirements for UAM applications, and future citywide UAS operations in Singapore’s urban and coastal environment.
Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive, MPA commented that
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.
