Starhub announced a NSA 5G network just 2 days ago. To most people, it is another 5G network but technically speaking it is not the real 5G. The real 5G will be a Stand alone (SA) design where the current 4G bandwidth won’t be shared and labeled as 5G. For example, Starhub’s implementation uses 2100 MHz for it’s “5G” network, a NSA implementation that probably relies on Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) to slice the bandwidth to support both 4G and 5G handsets.

We queried M1 and it seems that M1 will also be launching something similar in the near future.

M1 remains committed to work closely with IMDA to offer our customers some early 5G experiences and benefits through the deployment of transitional 5G NSA architecture, which will improve customers overall experience. We have made good progress on our journey to roll out future-ready full-fledged 5G SA networks through various early 5G SA trials* and will continue to support Singapore’s Smart Nation building through the deployment of 5G NSA capabilities to develop early innovative business use cases to meet early demand.

We are launch ready on the 5G NSA network and will provide more details when we officially launch the network. 

By Harry