Singtel to launch Next Gen GPON pilot service for residential customers

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (Singtel) on Tuesday said that it will soon deploy Next Generation GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) on its Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) network for residential customers, potentially making it the first telco in Singapore to offer this service.

For a start, the service will be offered to a selected group of customers during a pilot phase that will begin in the next quarter.

It will offer customers the option of a 10 gigabits-per-second (gbps) fibre broadband service, useful for applications such as running multiple 4K video sessions, where users will enjoy sharper pictures and richer colours, said Singtel in a statement.

For instance, a 50-gigabyte high-definition video can be downloaded within a minute using a 10-gbps line, said Singtel.

Currently, the maximum bandwidth available to customers is one gigabit per second on Singtel's Unlimited Fibre plan.

"Over 70 per cent of our customers are on fibre. We believe in constantly innovating and looking for ways to bring them better speeds using the newest technologies," said Tay Soo Meng, Singtel's chief technology officer.

"Most of these households already have multiple devices connected to their home network. The adoption of this technology will help us meet demand as the number of applications increase and become even more bandwidth intensive."