NEWS & VIEWS
August 2015
5G network to become a reality in Asia?
SINGAPORE – Some of Asia’s top mobile carriers, including
China Mobile, South Korea’s KT, and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo,
have recently signed an agreement to jointly develop 5G
network technology, which is said to offer much faster
video downloads than current 4G networks, provide denser
network coverage, and allow the possibility of connecting
100 milion electronic devices.
To track the development of 5G’s development in Asia-
BBC has established a new HQ in Singapore, a
move that aims to bring its Asia news, business
and digital teams together.
BBC launches
APAC news HQ
in Singapore
SINGAPORE – BBC News is opening its
doors this month to a new state-of-the-art
digital newsroom and studio in Singapore.
The facilities, which will be the main hub for
BBC World News and bbc.com in A sia, are
located on the outskirts of the republic’s CBD
and will bring the BBC’s news, business and
digital teams together.
The building is now the new home of BBC
World News’ primetime Asia programmes,
including a revamped Newsday and Asia
Business Report, the weekly show Talking
Business and the Asia edition of the bbc.
com/news site.
The bureau is equipped to deliver news
across TV, radio and all digital services, and
allows journalists to respond quickly and ef-
fectively to news stories, offering audiences
the news as it breaks in the format they want.
Coincidentally, the opening of the new
newsroom marks 15 years of live BBC World
News programmes from Singapore, where all
broadcasts have now switched to HD.
Jim Egan, CEO of BBC Global News, said:
“The evolution of the Singapore bureau
has been central to our plan to reinforce
the BBC’s position as a major player in the
Asia-Pacific media market.
“Over the past 15 years, we have built
up a strong team of world-class journalists
in Singapore and, as the country celebrates
a landmark moment, I can’t think of a better
time to further demonstrate our commit-
ment by investing in state-of-the art facilities
that make us fit for purpose for many more
years to come.”
This move came following the BBC’s
appointment of Karishma Vaswani as its new
Asia business correspondent.
Based in Singapore, Vaswani was most
recently the Indonesia editor for the BBC
World Service in Jakarta. Prior to that, she
held the position of the BBC’s Indonesia
correspondent from 2009 to 2014, where
she covered daily news stories, including the
July 2009 Jakarta bombings and the five-year
anniversary of the Aceh tsunami.
Pacific, LTE Asia will be held from Oct 5-7 at the Suntec
Convention Centre in Singapore, as Asian telcos explore
new radio technologies and virtualised networks as the
road to 5G begins.
Dr Lee Hyeon Woo, chair, 5G Forum Korea, who will join
the 5G Asia Summit to address the technical requirements
for 5G, commented on the importance of LTE in the 5G
network and how the network might continue to progress
after 5G: “5G is not the ultimate destination for mobile
communication as we may have 6G, 7G and more in the
future. So far in mobile communication, new generation has
gradually replaced old generation. However, in my view,
5G will incorporate 4G LTE at its base and will go together
for the time being. In other words, with the support of 4G,
5G will emphasise its features like ultra-mobile broadband,
low latency and massive connectivity.”
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