M1 : collaborates with industry partners to advance Singapore’s maritime business operations and productivity

SINGAPORE, 9 April 2019 - Highly secured and reliable connectivity is a key cornerstone of Singapore's industry transformation. To accelerate advanced technology adoption in the maritime industry to deliver more innovative smart solutions, M1 is pleased to collaborate with industry partners to advance Singapore's maritime business operations and promote greater efficiencies.

Unveiled at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Maritime Innovation Lab launch, M1 is partnering Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) for the test bedding of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) in Singapore's water. The trial will utilise autonomous vessel technology and leverage on M1's ultra-low latency 4.5G network connectivity to establish reliable ship-to-shore communication links, and support mission-critical Internet-of-Things (IoT) maritime applications.

'Developing autonomous vessels requires diverse competencies ranging from communications to hydrodynamics modelling and simulation. We are glad that M1 is supporting the MASS projects with their telecommunications capability,' said, Mr Kenneth Lim, Chief Technology Officer, MPA.

'M1 has been a long-time partner of MPA in supporting the maritime community to drive adoption and application of smart technologies, as well as enhance competitiveness in the maritime sector. We are very pleased to be the network partner for this autonomous maritime vessel project as the valuable hands-on experience gained from this trial would further strengthen our engineering capabilities to design and build a ultra-reliable and low latency 5G network for future smart maritime use cases,' said Mr Denis Seek, Chief Technical Officer, M1.

'We are pleased to work closely with M1 in the development of autonomous vessels. Leveraging the synergies of the Keppel Group, we are able to devise a multi-pronged strategy of innovation, technology adoption and digitalisation to deliver the most advanced technologies, such as autonomous vessels, to our customers,' said Mr Aziz Merchant, Executive Director, Keppel Marine and Deepwater Technology.

In the latest Info-communications Media Development Authority's (IMDA) IMconnected half-yearly interactive report^[1], M1 was ranked first for 4G latency, attaining the fastest data responsiveness time, which is essential for the remote real-time operation of IoT sensors, devices and applications. As a leader in network innovation, M1 is well-positioned to capitalise on its deep experience in latency-sensitive network connectivity to support the development of innovative smart solutions, across various industry verticals.

Yet another key milestone, this trial strengthens M1's capabilities and readiness in harnessing new technologies, which will support Singapore's vision to be a global maritime hub for connectivity and innovation, while driving Singapore's Smart Nation agenda.