As South Korea, China top Asia-Pacific internet speeds, can ‘very proud’ 5G roll-out extend to rest of region?

Some nations in Asia such as Singapore and Thailand have strong governmental support in rolling out 5G networks, while others like Indonesia do not
The high cost of deployment also makes it hard for poorer nations such as Bangladesh to justify the returns on a 5G investment – let alone 6G

Singapore

Su-Lin Tanin Singapore

Published: 5:23pm, 8 Jun 2023

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If you’re in Beijing, Shanghai or Seoul, you’re likely to have easy access to some of the highest internet speeds in the Asia-Pacific with 5G, as will those in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

But there remains some way to go before the rest of the region can enjoy similarly speedy web surfing, with 5G infrastructure development still lagging in nations such as Indonesia and Bangladesh, experts at the four-day Asia Tech x Singapore expo said.

The 5G network provides users with high-speed mobile internet, and while inroads have been made to get 5G on every device and handset in the region, progress has been varied.

“Asia should be very proud of its 5G deployment with some very rapid outreach and capacity markets. South Korea, China, and India now are very much on the roll. Australia already has 80 per cent coverage,” said Magnus Ewerbring, Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson’s Asia-Pacific chief technology officer, at the expo on Wednesday.

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Singapore has a regulatory framework that allows innovation in 5G development but there are countries such as Indonesia that do not yet have strong roll-outs, Ewerbring said.

Singapore and Thailand, for example, have strong government support and policies to roll out the 5G “spectrum” – different bands of capabilities – so there was a lot of “buzz” in these countries about 5G, said Dennis Wong, vice-president at Singtel, Singapore’s biggest telecoms company.

A country’s regulation and government policies offer insights into its 5G roll-out, said Duncan Kenwright, managing director of global solutions at Verizon, a telecoms company based in the US. Aside from Singapore and Thailand, Japan and Australia were also in the same class.

Coverage is one way to measure 5G deployment success. Other metrics include speed, regulatory support, “bands” of 5G deployed, the number of base stations and uptake by users that also depends on the availability of 5G compatible handsets, said experts.

About 16 per cent of Asia has 5G coverage while nearly all of Asia has 4G coverage, said Jake Saunders, Asia-Pacific director at technology research firm ABI Research. But about 36 per cent are “internet offline”, meaning they have no access at all, he said.

This compares with more than 50 per cent in the US, for example. Global 5G population coverage stands at around 30 per cent but this will change by 2027 when 5G subscriptions exceed 4G ones, according to research by Ericsson.

Asia-Pacific is on track for 5G subscriptions to exceed 4G ones but governments should offer stronger tax subsidies and incentives, according to Saunders.

Much investment and technology changes are required to successfully deploy 5G, Singtel’s Wong said, but the rewards will be plentiful.

For a country like Bangladesh, it is sometimes very challenging to justify the return on investment

Ahmed Armaan Siddiqui, Bangladeshi mobile network operator Robi Axiata

But not every country in the Asia-Pacific will deploy 5G quickly as costs outweigh benefits for many emerging countries such as Bangladesh, said Ahmed Armaan Siddiqui, executive vice-president of market operations at Bangladeshi mobile network operator Robi Axiata.

“Apart from infrastructure, fibre optic connectivity is actually pivotal. For a country like Bangladesh, it is sometimes very challenging to justify the return on investment,” he said.

Experts agreed that, despite the hype, it remains too early to discuss rolling out 6G networks. Research can begin but investing in 6G would be costly and could take a while before it is affordable, said Jim Lim, an executive education fellow at the National University of Singapore.

“A lot of people think that importing a new cellular technology is just about the network readiness but it’s actually more than that,” Lim said.

Jointly organised by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority and tech industry market insight provider Informa Tech, Asia Tech x Singapore is one of Singapore’s biggest expos with more than 1,000 exhibitors aiming to cover the intersection of technology, society and the digital economy.