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From today's Straits Times news article, for those who are wondering why Simba is always so slow and why they need to acquire M1:
The airwave bottleneck
Simba’s more than one million customers are not any better off.
If Simba’s goal in pursuing M1 is to acquire mobile airwaves for reliable, high-capacity mobile surfing, then failing to secure these airwaves would naturally limit the telco’s ability to deliver network improvements.
Despite having launched its 5G network, Simba’s capacity is nowhere close to those of its rivals – M1, StarHub and Singtel. For instance, on a crowded train during peak hours, Simba users may see the 5G logo and five bars of signal and yet have trouble streaming videos or surfing the internet at higher speeds.
This is because Simba does not have enough mid-band frequencies (between 2.1GHz and 3.5GHz in Singapore’s context) to provide the necessary capacity for delivering reliable 5G services that can support millions of users.
These airwaves are important as they enable signal coverage across all of Singapore with minimal 5G infrastructure. However, these frequencies are limited in supply. A substantial portion of the 3.5GHz band was already allocated in 2020 when IMDA awarded 5G licences, with Singtel receiving part of it and the remainder shared between StarHub and M1.
Simba had none of the premium airwaves from the 2020 contest. But later in 2021, it won a small slice of the 2.1GHz radio frequency band through an airwave auction, allowing it to build a nationwide 5G network at last. Still, the slice is too small to significantly boost its capacity for future growth.
M1’s mobile airwaves are meant to plug the capacity gap. But now that the deal is off, Simba’s options are limited to two:
One, pay more for the rights to convert its existing 4G airwaves to deliver 5G services.
Two, install a lot more equipment to transmit 5G signals using other radio frequencies. This second option is time-consuming, expensive to implement and likely to spark public fear over radiation.
It is difficult to predict what lies ahead. The May 21 contractual deadline was extended once from March 26. Simba has yet to announce its next steps, possibly because it is busy with IMDA’s probe and internal investigations into the allegations.
The airwave bottleneck
Simba’s more than one million customers are not any better off.
If Simba’s goal in pursuing M1 is to acquire mobile airwaves for reliable, high-capacity mobile surfing, then failing to secure these airwaves would naturally limit the telco’s ability to deliver network improvements.
Despite having launched its 5G network, Simba’s capacity is nowhere close to those of its rivals – M1, StarHub and Singtel. For instance, on a crowded train during peak hours, Simba users may see the 5G logo and five bars of signal and yet have trouble streaming videos or surfing the internet at higher speeds.
This is because Simba does not have enough mid-band frequencies (between 2.1GHz and 3.5GHz in Singapore’s context) to provide the necessary capacity for delivering reliable 5G services that can support millions of users.
These airwaves are important as they enable signal coverage across all of Singapore with minimal 5G infrastructure. However, these frequencies are limited in supply. A substantial portion of the 3.5GHz band was already allocated in 2020 when IMDA awarded 5G licences, with Singtel receiving part of it and the remainder shared between StarHub and M1.
Simba had none of the premium airwaves from the 2020 contest. But later in 2021, it won a small slice of the 2.1GHz radio frequency band through an airwave auction, allowing it to build a nationwide 5G network at last. Still, the slice is too small to significantly boost its capacity for future growth.
M1’s mobile airwaves are meant to plug the capacity gap. But now that the deal is off, Simba’s options are limited to two:
One, pay more for the rights to convert its existing 4G airwaves to deliver 5G services.
Two, install a lot more equipment to transmit 5G signals using other radio frequencies. This second option is time-consuming, expensive to implement and likely to spark public fear over radiation.
It is difficult to predict what lies ahead. The May 21 contractual deadline was extended once from March 26. Simba has yet to announce its next steps, possibly because it is busy with IMDA’s probe and internal investigations into the allegations.
