Last we, we received our M1 5G SIM card. Last weekend, we went around parts of Singapore to test out the M1 5G Standalone coverage.
The tests were done at 5 different locations near the town area. There were at the grass patch right outside Newton MRT statoin, Bugis Junction near Macdonalds, outside Fu Lu Shou Complex, Opp Sim Lim Tower (at traffic junction) and outside Rochor MRT station exit A.
Speeds were quite promising on the 5G SA network ranging from 342 Mbps to 500 Mbps for download and 25.4 Mbps to 62 Mbps for upload.
During the test, the trickiest part is at Bugis Junction area. It seems that it has both 5G SA and 5G NSA covered. Thus the Samsung S21 Ultra 5G seems to be connecting to which ever that gives a better signal.
Sometimes we get connected to the 5G SA network but most of the time it was connected to the 5G NSA network. That is probably the reason why we see a lower download speeds but a higher upload speed.
To confirm that, we check the SIM Status of the phone and it is indicated as NR (NSA).
As for the other locations, they are detected as NR SA. The voice network is Voice over NR (VoNR).
With VoNR, you can make crystal voice calls without dropping to LTE.
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The tests are conducted and here is a breakdown of the speed we attained at the 5 different locations.
| Location | Download Speed (Mbps) | Uplink Speed (Mbps) | Ping time (ms) |
| Newton (SA) | 363 | 26.6 | 16 |
| Fu Lu Shou (SA) | 342 | 25.4 | 17 |
| Sim Lim Tower (SA) | 493 | 60 | 18 |
| Rochor Station (SA) | 459 | 62 | 13 |
| Bugis Junction (NSA) | 148 | 81.8 | 17 |
We also tried to stream 4K youtube videos. There was no buffering while we skipped though sections of the video clip. This is just the similar kind of experience you will get on your fibre broadband at home.
Just imagine if you this 5G connection is shared through a router like the Linksys 5G router, 5G SA can easily replace fibre broadband provided the telcos is able to cope with unlimited data usage. In fact the speed is even faster than my 500 Mbps fibre braodband at home.
Nevertheless, the experience is a good start as M1 has only covered just 50% of the island. We hope to see better speeds inching towards 1 Gbps.
Currently, M1 is having a National day promotion – $17 for 65 GB. It is probably the cheapest entry point to enjoy True 5G speeds. Starhub entry price is S$38/mth (with contract) while Singtel is around S$65/mth (with contract)