currently SingTel is using the same towers and cells for 5G NSA and SA. I did some research and found this is technically possible. Using the same cells, premium SingTel postpaid users can use SA connectivity, while MVNO and prepaid uses NSA.Don't forget, telcos also have to phase out and replace existing hardware. It's not just a matter of a firmware upgrade to "enable 5G".
If you have to buy a new base station/cell to replace the older ones anyway, would you buy a 5G one with ROI spread out over a longer time, or buy an older-spec 4G+5G (NSA) one that has a limited lifespan that you eventually still have to replace with a 5G/6G model?
Which would be the more sensible thing to do?
So if SingTel decides to maintain the situation and differentiate premium users and non-premium (us), they can still do so... NSA and SA can co-exist