A testing facility opening in September will boost industry efforts to develop new 5G applications such as virtual reality and other forms of immersive media.
The Living Lab@Pixel 5G test-bed in one-north will also enable businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, to experiment with 5G applications.
Several firms have already expressed interest in using the facility, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said yesterday.
Local start-up Serl.io is developing a platform that uses virtual reality to enable real-time collaboration between team members working remotely and those physically present.
This mixed-reality feature - called holoportation - aims to capitalise on 5G's increased speeds and lower latency.
Local virtual reality content producer Hiverlab and Shanghai-based virtual reality firm UCCVR are also keen to use the test-bed at the Pixel facility.
Hiverlab's StoryHive is a virtual reality and augmented reality storytelling tool for interactive presentations and broadcasting.
The company has started to explore mobile-based augmented reality broadcasting over 5G networks to make its content more accessible to consumers.
Meanwhile, UCCVR is also developing augmented reality-based video tools for remote collaboration, among other 5G-enabled ideas aimed at enhancing productivity.
The IMDA issued the final 5G awards to Singapore's four telcos yesterday.
Singtel and a joint venture between StarHub and M1 won the rights to build the two nationwide 5G networks, while TPG Telecom can operate smaller 5G networks that provide spot coverage.
"We are investing in (5G) infrastructure for the long run," said Information and Communications Minister S. Iswaran yesterday.
"Even as we make a strong effort to overcome the short-term impact of Covid-19, we do need to be very clear about the longer-term economic transformation of Singapore because that is what is going to sustain our... competitiveness."
Lester Wong
