Telecom operator CTM still waiting for 5G license green light

Declan Leong, vice president of CTM’s Network Service

Local telecom operator CTM is waiting for the government to approve its license to release the 5G network to the public, with the network otherwise ready for activation, as the first phase of network construction will be concluded by the end of this month.

The first phase of the network construction is already over 80% complete.

On the sidelines of the company’s brief event for the media yesterday, Declan Leong, vice president of CTM’s Network Service, said that they have already expressed their eagerness to the government regarding launching the latest technology standard for cellular networks. However, the government has not still given approval to launch the network.

During the first phase, only the historic city center is equipped with the latest technology, meaning the 5G experience will only be available to those working and residing within the area, once the government approval is granted.

“The government is still working hard on the licensing and we have expressed our concerns. We are willing to support the government’s policy on the launch of 5G,” said the executive.

“At this moment we are still waiting for the update from the government on when we can launch. For us, we want it to be as soon as possible but for the time being we have no date,” he added.

Upon the approval of the license, Macau will become the first city with full 5G outdoor coverage in Asia.

Yesterday, results of a speed test showed that CTM 5G’s downlink exceeded 1.2Gbps in Leal Senado.

In less than ten seconds, a 1GB video was downloaded using the 5G network.

The telecom operator is set to commence works for the second phase of the 5G network installation by next month to enhance both indoor and outdoor coverage.

CTM aims to achieve full coverage across the SAR by the end of 2020.

“We will immediately start the works for the second phase once the first phase is concluded. We will introduce all the new functions in the network to support the continuous development of 5G. It’s a new technology so […] it will still take years to be developed,” Leong explained.

The golden spectrum for 5G lies between 3,400 MHZ to 3,600 MHz as the best spectrum resource to support the network. Therefore, the company is calling on the government to allocate spectrum resources based on the operators’ deployment plan and capability of achieving full coverage within the designated time and speed.

CTM noted that the government should not only support the operators to actively develop 5G but also to fully utilize the spectrum resources.

With sufficient spectrum resources, the theoretical speed of CTM 5G network could reach 2.6Gbps.