Communications & Information
What's the buzz about 5G?
11 April 2025
5G will provide faster and more reliable mobile broadband, and enable exciting new services to benefit businesses and consumers.
Over the past 40 years, each mobile generation or “G” has introduced something new that we can transmit with our phones:
In the 1980s, 1G gave us sound.
In the early 1990s, 2G gave us texts.
In the early 2000s, 3G gave us the mobile web.
From the 2010s, 4G made possible live streaming.
What is 5G and what are its benefits?
5G today provides faster and more reliable mobile broadband, and enables exciting new services to benefit businesses and consumers. With 5G, consumer and enterprise users can enjoy:
Faster Speeds: 5G offers significantly faster mobile broadband speeds of up to 10Gbps or more (10 times faster than 4G), enabling faster downloads and uploads. This is crucial for applications like streaming high-definition videos, online gaming, and virtual reality.
Reduced Latency: 5G's near-zero latency means that data is transmitted almost instantaneously without delay in sending and receiving information between devices. This enhanced reliability and responsiveness is essential for real-time applications such as autonomous vehicles, remote surgery, and industrial automation.
Improved Capacity: 5G can better support the connection of a vast number of devices simultaneously, thus reducing congestion, improving overall performance, and enabling the Internet of Things (IoT) on a massive scale. This includes smart cities, smart homes, and industrial applications.
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Communications, explains 5G and how it will benefit Singapore.
What is the status of 5G networks in Singapore?
5G Standalone (SA) Mobile Networks. In 2019, we made the decision to build 5G SA mobile networks directly, instead of building incremental Non-Standalone (NSA) networks that are grafted onto existing 4G networks and can only deliver faster speeds. This was to realise the full range of capabilities that 5G has to offer, including low latency and extremely high connection density of devices.
5G coverage. Singapore is one of the first countries in the world to achieve nationwide 5G SA coverage. The first two 5G SA networks have achieved 95% nationwide outdoor coverage as at end-2022.
We are also the first country to extend 5G SA coverage to the sea in Aug 2022, so that 5G solutions can be enabled for the maritime industry and support growth of our maritime hub.
5G costs. Based on past trends, mobile subscription costs become more competitive as the technology matures and global deployment becomes more pervasive. This was the case for 3G and 4G networks, and now 5G. For example, some mobile service providers offer 5G without extra cost, at prices comparable to that of 4G services.
What are some innovative applications enabled by 5G in Singapore?
Companies have been able to tap on 5G to bring new services and efficiency to Singaporeans. With these performance and capability improvements from 5G, businesses are unlocking innovations in sectors such as manufacturing, logistics, maritime, healthcare and security.
5G Innovation Programme. These innovations have been supported by testbeds and grants. IMDA’s 5G Innovation Programme has supported the development of use cases that leverage 5G’s higher speeds and lower latency to unlock benefits for enterprises and citizens. Some examples include:
A smart factory by the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS) and ST Engineering that increases productivity and efficiency in precision manufacturing processes.
Smart warehouses by DBSchenker that optimise warehouse operations and reduce turnaround time.
Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality (AR/MR) applications for remote monitoring and assistance in maritime, construction, and public safety by Keppel Offshore & Marine, Gammon, and SCDF respectively; and
Holomedicine capabilities using MR that enhance healthcare delivery by the National University Health System.
Is 5G secure?
Security must be an integral and upstream consideration in designing and protecting our digital infrastructure. This is vital to ensuring that our digital environment remains safe and trusted. To ensure that our networks are secure-by-design, requirements including measures to protect, detect, respond to and recover from cybersecurity incidents are imposed. Singapore’s 5G mobile networks adhere to the security-by-design principles.
Beyond baseline requirements, we work in partnership with network providers to uplift the cyber security skillsets of their engineering teams and develop programs to strengthen their capabilities in detecting vulnerabilities, and threats.
Is 5G safe?
There have been concerns raised on the possible health risks of radiation exposure since the introduction of mobile phones over 20 years ago.
Like the previous generations of mobile networks, 5G networks rely on radiofrequency (RF) waves to connect users. Radiation from RF waves are non-ionising and too weak to break chemical bonds in our cells. In fact, RF waves are also used extensively for many services that we use on a daily basis such as watching TV and listening to the car radio.
Overall, the level of RF radiation Singaporeans is exposed to is very low – typically 0.7%, or less than one-hundredth of the acceptable levels below international guidelines[1].
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and National Environment Agency (NEA) closely monitor radiation levels in Singapore, as well as international guidelines and policies regularly to ensure that mobile network services, including for 5G, will be safe for Singapore.
[1] In Singapore, we take guidance from the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. ICNIRP is an independent international organisation recognised by the World Health Organisation. Its safety guidelines on public exposure to RF radiation are widely accepted by many countries.
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