The first overseas 5G video call has been made between Singapore and Australia, putting the two countries one step closer to a future of smart appliances and driverless cars.

Using test equipment from Chinese cellphone maker Oppo, Singtel engineers in Singapore successfully conducted a three-minute 5G video call with engineers at Optus, a Singtel subsidiary in Australia.

During the call, the engineers made instant on-screen annotations via an augmented-reality video application without a glitch. This was done over Ericsson's 5G network.

"This call is a significant marker in our journey to 5G," Singtel's group chief technology officer Mark Chong said in a statement yesterday.

On the new network, users will be able to surf at speeds that are up to 100 times faster than on 4G networks. The increased capacity and speeds offered by 5G networks will also be able to support industrial applications such as driverless cars and smart appliances that require a constant connection.

Oppo is expected to be among the first manufacturers to commercialise a 5G smartphone.

Last month, Singtel and Ericsson set up 5G Garage, Singapore's first live 5G facility, located at Singapore Polytechnic. At the facility, users can test the 5G innovations they are developing.

Last November, StarHub and Nokia conducted a series of tests over a live pilot 5G network installed at StarHub's Ubi headquarters.

The tests demonstrated, among other things, how sports fans can turn to virtual reality headsets to enjoy live events virtually lag-free over 5G.

M1 has been conducting multi-vendor 5G technology trials since early last year.

The local authorities in Singapore will allocate airwaves for 5G commercial services later this year, with Singapore telcos expected to be among the first in the world to start launching the first 5G services some time next year.