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4G networks must cover at least 95 pct of outdoor areas in Singapore starting July

Xinhua, June 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) on Wednesday announced that telco operators will have to ensure their 4G networks cover at least 95 percent of outdoor areas in the country starting July.

The authority said that operators who fail to meet the standards may be fined up to 50,000 Singapore dollars (36,290 U.S. dollars) per month for each instance of non-compliance.

The coverage standards for 3G and 4G are similar, and IDA will continue to roll out the standards progressively. IDA said that 4G coverage requirement for outdoor areas will be increased to 99 percent from July 2017, and 4G coverage in tunnels must be at least 99 percent by July 2018.

As for coverage inside buildings, the operators must ensure 4G networks cover at least 85 percent of all floors from January 2019.

The new requirement was announced at the opening of CommunicAsia 2016 by Gabriel Lim, chief executive officer (Designate) of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) who is also co-managing director at IDA.

Lim said as 4G enabled phones are becoming an increasing norm, it is timely to implement standards to better protect consumers' interests.

IDA revealed that it will gather feedback via the MyConnection SG app about mobile users' quality of experience when using mobile broadband.

About 4.2 million mobile users have subscribed to 4G services in Singapore as of February this year. Enditem