Being made a guinea pig is not something anyone happily acquiesces to, but MyRepublic’s Mobility Trial project sounds like a legit deal.
Some 13,000 people have already signed up to be part of its eight-week road test that starts on Oct 22, though only 500 will be chosen.
They will be kitted out with a mobile phone (likely a Xiaomi Mi 4i) and a SIM card. Mobile coverage will be limited to the Jurong East area, but data usage will be unlimited.
“The freedom of unlimited data has been a cornerstone of our 4th telco campaign and this is a chance to give people a small taste of what that reality can be like,” says Malcolm Rodrigues, MyRepublic CEO, “We really want people to put our network to the test. Go nuts! Watch all the videos you want! Everything we learn here will better prepare us a real rollout.”
How will MyRepublic be different from more established players SingTel, Starhub and M1? Unlike traditional mobile technologies that use expensive base stations to provide mobile network coverage over an area, MyRepublic engages new small cells spread across an area. It’s supposedly more cost-effective and reliable.
“As small cells can be deployed inside vehicles, lifts and narrow corridors, the technology promises an unprecedented level of faster, disruption-free mobile connectivity, enabling everyone to be connected online all the time,” the company explains in a news release.
On Jul 7, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore proposed a maximum of one new entrant into the local mobile network market. OMGTel is another company that is vying for that slot.
