July 24, 2006 Singapore -- SingTel today announced the start of trials for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and residential metro Ethernet technology in two selected condominiums in Singapore. The technologies will allow SingTel to offer customers ultra-fast broadband speeds of up to 80 Mbits/sec that will enable advanced triple-play voice, video, and data services.
Residents of the 80-unit Leonie Hills Residences started their FTTH trial over the weekend, while residents of the 756-unit The Gardens at Bishan condominium will be able to try metro Ethernet technology beginning August 10, 2006.
Alcatel is the provider of the equipment and associated support in the trials, while 2Wire is the customer premise equipment provider.
The trials feature free unlimited high-speed Internet access to the residents for six months.
"We are pleased to be the first to initiate FTTH and residential ME trials here in Singapore," contends Hui Weng Cheong, SingTel's vice president of consumer products and CEO of SingNet. "These trials will be an effective test bed for the delivery of faster and more advanced broadband applications to our customers."
"With speeds of up to 80 Mbits/sec, the trial participants will be able to watch video-on-demand, play games with low latency, download large music and video files more quickly, and make video calls using their computer or laptop," Hui adds. "We look forward to receiving their feedback on the user-experience and the services offered over these new technology platforms."
Together with the 80-Mbit/sec broadband access package, SingTel has bundled applications and value-added services worth up to $1,600 to residents who sign up for the trial. The complimentary applications include on-demand full-length movies and videos of Real SuperPass (Asia Pacific edition), My Album, online gaming, Video Call on Broadband, as well as high-speed 2-Mbit/sec hotspot access at Leonie Hill Residences.
"We remain committed to meeting our customers' need for speed and being responsive to market interest in emerging high-speed broadband technologies," asserts Hui. "As such, SingTel has been actively developing technology platforms other than ADSL for residential consumers. These new technologies will enable us to provide downstream and upstream access speeds from 80 Mbits/sec to 1 Gbit/sec to meet future demand and deliver greater value to our customers."
For more information about the trials, visit www.singtel.com/80m.