Huawei and SingTel team up to build 5G in race to set the global standard

Chinese smartphone and telecommunication equipment manufacturer Huawei will launch a “Joint Innovation Program” with Singaporean mobile carrier SingTel to develop 5G technology, according to a press release.

Unveiled yesterday at a forum in Shanghai, both companies will contribute to a team to conduct 5G trials.

A year ago, Huawei announced it would invest US$600 million into 5G research and development over the following four years. Network trials are expected to begin in 2018, with commercial availability by 2020.

5G speeds are expected to be 100 times faster than the fastest 4G LTE currently available, and 1,000 times faster than 3G. Users can download entire movies onto their phones in seconds. Additionally it will triple the maximum number of connections.

China and Singapore aren’t the first countries to team up for 5G development. South Korea and the European Union, backed by Samsung, are also in the race to set the global standard. India and Israel likewise have set up a joint effort to develop the technology.

See: How deliberately crippling its 4G rollout will help China bust a global monopoly and make billions