To improve Singapore’s future communication and connectivity skills and talents, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has partnered with Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), one of the world’s leading scientific research universities in the field of telecommunications.
Anticipating Singapore’s 6G future, Minister of Communications and Information Josephine Teo inaugurated SUTD’s Future Communications Connectivity (FCC) Lab, the region’s first physical 6G lab, which will also seek to leverage 6G R&D and AI Bringing together the mega center of SUTD.
“SUTD is excited to partner with IMDA to advance the industry’s research and education institutions for talent development in Singapore’s wireless ecosystem. We look forward to accelerating research translation of future communication technologies,” says Professor Chong Tow Chong, President of SUTD.
FCCLab will strive to achieve breakthroughs in 6G research and support the development of technologies such as holographic communications and advanced sensor capabilities to enable the next generation of self-driving cars and drones.
According to Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive, IMDA, the breakthroughs would not be possible without consistent investment and a focus on the next frontier. They are excited to be collaborating with SUTD to build the first 6G lab in Southeast Asia.
This is the beginning of their effort to capitalize on the promise of future communications technology and become a global center of excellence.
The FCCLab is part of Singapore’s S$70 million Future Communications Research & Development Program and is located on the SUTD Campus (FCP). The National Research Foundation, Singapore (NRF) funds FCP as part of their Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) initiatives, with SUTD acting as the host institution.
FCP will coordinate various research efforts across the RIE ecosystem with Research Institutes (RIs), Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and other RIE efforts.
FCCLab Testbed will adhere to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP1) and Open RAN standards to facilitate easy evaluation of research results. Individually exchangeable network components enable customer-specific study.
SUTD will host collaborations across Singapore’s ecosystem including A*STAR, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) as a host university.
SUTD currently has 20 FCP grants for research and translation. The research projects focus on multi-access edge computing, network orchestration, non-terrestrial networks and security, while the translation projects focus on use cases and have a thematic focus on emerging mobility capabilities for air, land and sea applications.
FCP has also provided 14 master’s level scholarships for local students to conduct research and translations in future communication technologies to boost the pipeline of Singaporean talent.
Singapore has already secured 6G agreements with leading 6G institutes around the world, including Finland’s 6G flagship and the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences. SUTD also works with local and multinational companies through the FCP program.
In addition, the 5G communication networks are said to be the backbone of the digital transformation and enable major technological changes for all industries.
Expected to deliver enhanced mobile broadband and mission-critical Internet of Things (IoT), 5G will bring the Internet of everything, everywhere. As 5G is implemented, it is crucial to consider the gaps left by 5G and begin developing 6G technologies to fill them.
This is a good start to explore some of the unmet needs of 5G and consider the driving needs for 6G technology.
