APT Secures Approval for 5G Trial

Taiwan’s Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT) has secured government approval for a 5G trial in preparation for a planned commercial launch in 2020.

APT has become the market’s first operator to secure permission for 5G trials from the National Communications Commission, and plans to complete deployment of a trial network in less than six months, the Taipei Times reported.

APT plans to be conducting trials in Taipei’s Neihu District, New Taipei City’s Tucheng District and the National Chiao Tung University’s (NCTU) Hsinchu campus, the report states.

The operator’s parent company Hon Hai Precision Industry has applied to jointly conduct the trials with its subsidiary and the university.

APT has revealed it expects 5G technology to allow it to expand its portfolio of smart services. The company currently offers eight major smart services, including smart home, smart retailing and smart transport applications as well as its humanoid robotics service Pepper.

But Taiwanese regulator NCC warned last month that the ongoing price war in the local mobile industry could hamper the development of 5G in the market and may not be sustainable through to the commercial launch of 5G services. – Telecom Asia