IDA Blog
State of Play for Broadband Today
Recently I came across a
study released in December
, where 90% of Gen Y surveyed worldwide said that they check their smartphones for updates in email, texts and social media sites - often before they even get out of bed or brush their teeth. The same survey also highlighted that 40% of IT professionals said they check their smartphones at least every ten minutes.
Indeed, while observers may debate how much bandwidth people may need or what kind of connection speeds one should enjoy, it is a matter of fact to many that broadband access is now almost seen as a public utility in many countries, playing an important role in facilitating innovation, as well as social and economic development.
Together with 58 other representatives from government, academia, international organizations and industry leaders from around the world, I have the honour to sit on the
Broadband Commission
for Digital Development, a commission which defines strategies for expanding broadband access worldwide. Launched in May 2010, the Broadband Commission was set up by the
International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (
UNESCO
). It is working to get countries around the world to formulate a national broadband strategy, envisioning that by 2015, we will have digital inclusion for all.
The Commission comprises individuals from a wide spectrum of organisations and countries with different expertise and experience in broadband development and deployment. There are countries like Singapore who are preparing for future challenges through the
Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network
and a
nationwide 4G network
. There are others advocating investments in broadband infrastructure and use of connectivity to solve present-day challenges in simpler, but nevertheless important life-changing ways. For instance, mobile phones and other platforms
provide English lessons to millions of people in Bangladesh
, while the
Milliennium Villages Project
relies on public-private partnerships to provide basic data connectivity to schools, health clinics and ICT kiosks in sub-saharan Africa.
In the Commission’s annual report (State of Broadband 2012) in September, we are heartened that Singapore received positive mentions for good broadband connectivity. Besides highlighting the growing use of tablets in our schools, Singapore came up among the tops in the report’s ranking on mobile broadband penetration (150% as of March 2012) and in smartphone penetration.
Singapore’s residential broadband penetration is also relatively high, standing at 85% of resident households in Singapore with broadband access in 2011. The take-up rate for our Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) has also garnered strong responses from consumers, businesses and government agencies.
With the high penetration rates, the mobile network has increasingly become a key delivery platform for communication and data exchange. Besides tightening Quality of Standards for 3G Mobile Services last January, IDA also works to ensure our infrastructure and regulations meet the needs of both the public and industry, through the development of existing and emerging technologies. For example, we look at more efficient ways to use spectrum to meet increasing consumer demands and need for data. IDA has laid out plans to make available spectrum for 4G, so that operators are able to roll out nationwide 4G services quickly. We also issued a Call-for-Collaboration in August to invite interested service providers to collaborate with IDA and other partners for the next phase of the
Wireless@SG programme
.
IDA is also looking at growing Singapore’s capabilities in location-based services. With the rise in use of smartphones with sensors for location positioning, we hope to develop a platform scalable across multiple sectors including hospitality and retail, that offers accurate, easily accessible and competitively-priced location positioning and analytics services to enterprises and consumers.
These are exciting times as we stand at the start of 2013. We are at an inflection point, where there is no single formula for developing the broadband world - we look to a learning, consultative and balanced approach, to ensure that the infocomm infrastructure continues to benefit individuals and communities.
Mr LEONG Keng Thai
Deputy Chief Executive & Director-General
(Telecoms & Post)