In preparation for Singapore’s 6G future, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) – Singapore’s state regulatory agency for the converging infocomm and media sectors – is collaborating with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to launch the Future Communications Connectivity (FCC) lab. The new lab is part of Singapore’s S$70 million (~US$49 million) Future Communications Research & Development Programme (FCP), and is supported by Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) through its Research, Innovation, and Enterprise (RIE) efforts.
The FCCLab will be the first physical 6G lab in Southeast Asia and will seek to combine 6G research and development with SUTD’s AI Mega Centre. It is expected to accelerate research of future communications technologies, unlock breakthroughs in 6G research, and hasten the commercialisation of emerging technologies – such as holographic communications and intelligent sensing capabilities for use in autonomous vehicles and drones.
“The innovations of today are not possible without constant investment and keeping our eyes on the next bound,” said IMDA’s chief executive, Lew Cheun Hong. “ We are excited to partner SUTD to launch Southeast Asia’s first 6G Lab. This is the start of our efforts to tap into the promise of future communications tech and become a global node of excellence.”
Working with the IMDA, the FCP program will coordinate multidisciplinary research efforts across the RIE ecosystem. The lab will follow the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) – a group of standards organizations which develop protocols for mobile telecommunications – and Open RAN Standards to support easy evaluation of research outcomes. To promote future talent in the field, FCP has also supported 14 Masters-level scholarships for local students to pursue research and translations in future communications technologies.
SUTD president Professor Chong Tow Chong said, “SUTD is pleased to partner IMDA, to progress the industry’s research and educational institutions for talent development in Singapore’s wireless communications ecosystem. We look forward to accelerating the research translation of future communication technologies.”