M1, SGInnovate team up to help startups use 5G in products and solutions

M1 and Singapore Innovate (SGInnovate) on Tuesday announced a collaboration to help startups use 5G technology for their products and solutions by connecting them with corporate partners and providing technical support. 

The collaboration is expected to benefit startups with a proof of concept or commercially ready products, as well as spark innovative 5G applications such as real-time health monitoring, remote diagnosis, and immersive learning.

M1 will identify potential corporate partners who are keen to explore the benefits of certain 5G use cases for their business, while SGInnovate will identify Singapore-based startups (or international startups, where relevant) and match them to 5G use cases for business to consumer (B2C) or business to business to consumer (B2B2C) solutions.

In addition, M1 will provide a 5G testbed to help startups accelerate the adoption of 5G technology into their use cases and real-life test scenarios, it said.

Selected startups will work closely with M1 engineers on the development, testing and application of 5G technology for their products or solutions.

This will allow the telco to continue building its technical competency in 5G system deployment, while catering to specific requirements for different use cases.

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Under a joint venture with StarHub, M1 last month won the rights to build and operate one of two 5G networks across Singapore. It will have to scale up to provide nationwide coverage by 2025.

As part of their collaboration, M1 and SGInnovate are also planning to create knowledge-sharing and community-building opportunities  within the startup ecosystem on the potential and benefits of 5G technology.

These opportunities, such as roundtables and innovation challenges, will provide startups with the chance to join SGInnovate's deeptech community.

There could also be opportunities for startups to connect with broader deeptech ecosystem players, share their innovative solutions, and get updated on 5G trends.

SGInnovate chief executive Lim Jui said 5G would "unlock a digital future with endless new possibilities for both consumers and industries", with the collaboration aiming to discover new use cases for the technology.

M1 chief executive Manjot Singh Mann said that in the future, 5G would be "the backbone of Singapore's digital economy", with the startup community playing a "key role in fuelling the Republic's economic growth and transformation".

M1 was delisted from the Singapore bourse last year after being acquired by Konnectivity, a Keppel Corp-led joint venture with Singapore Press Holdings, which publishes The Business Times. Konnectivity is majority owned by Keppel.