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Singapore Government Invests inLaser Startup as 5G Race Heats Up

Singapore Government Invests inLaser Startup as 5G Race Heats Up

A Singapore government arm has invested in Transcelestial, a local startup developing low-cost networking equipment, as the race for 5G rollout intensifies across Asia.

Founded in 2016, Transcelestial is developing devices that use laser technology to send data to each other, rather than fiber optic cables. The company says the devices, which are about the size of a shoe box and mounted on poles or cell towers, are easier to set up and more affordable than laying fiber in a city.

The cost of rolling out 5G telecom infrastructure is considered a major challenge for network operators. 5G requires a dense network of base stations because it uses radio waves that do not travel as far as 4G. Rohit Jha, Transcelestial co-founder and CEO, said its product could make it up to 90% cheaper per kilometer for telecoms operators to deploy fiber in the 5G network.

Transcelestial has conducted trials with South Korea's SK Telecom as well as carriers in Southeast Asia. Bad weather conditions have been a key bottleneck in the adoption of laser technology, but the company said its devices work under heavy rain and thick haze.

The $9.6 million funding was led by Singapore's EDBI, the investment arm of the government's Economic Development Board, and venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners. Airbus Ventures, the venture capital arm of European aircraft maker Airbus, also participated, along with other new and existing investors. Transcelestial said it will use the proceeds to ramp up production of its devices.

The deal signals Singapore's ambitions to nurture homegrown telecommunications technology at a time when political concerns over Huawei Technologies, the leading Chinese telecom equipment maker embroiled in the U.S.-China trade war, are growing.

Source : Asia Nikkei Review

Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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