Infocomm is a key enabler behind Singapore’s prominence as a global city and economic hub, contributing significantly to its reputation as one of the easiest and most competitive places in the world to do business.
In 2010, Singapore topped the IMD World Competitiveness ranking, up from third position in 2009, and also moved up two notches to take second place in the World Economic Forum Global IT Report ranking. Singapore was also one of two Asian countries in the top 10 of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2010 Digital Economy ranking.
These achievements have been made possible through continued investments in hard and soft infrastructure, which in turn continues to attract organisations to locate their premium economic activities in Singapore.
The Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) is Singapore’s nationwide ultra-high speed network that supports access speeds of up to 1Gbps. As of end-2010, network rollout reached 60 per cent of homes and buildings in Singapore, and is on track to achieve 95 per cent coverage by mid-2012.
OpenNet, the appointed Network Company for the Next Gen NBN, launched commercial operations offering wholesale fibre services in April 2010, while Nucleus Connect, the appointed Operating Company, began offering co-location and inter-operability testing services the following month, in May 2010. Under the principle of effective open access, the services are being offered on a non-discriminatory basis, with prices regulated by IDA to ensure that the benefits of the Next Gen NBN are available to all industry players.
Various Retail Service Providers (RSPs) have taken advantage of the Next Gen NBN offerings and as of March 2011, more than six of them have announced retail plans over the Next Gen NBN. Collectively, these RSPs offer over 30 fibre-based broadband access plans for enterprise and residential users. Several of them have also packaged ultra-high speed broadband with value-added services such as online storage, high-quality video-based applications and cloud-based software-as-a-service solutions.
The Next Gen Service Innovation Programme (NGSIP) supports and co-funds the deployment of innovative and impactful Next Generation services. Several of the services supported under the first Call-For-Proposal (CFP) are now commercially available and include a secure online storage solution and a Software-as-a-Service product, leveraging cloud technology. A second CFP was launched in September 2010 and three companies were awarded in March 2011 to deploy services such as cloud gaming and e-learning.
Another initiative aimed at unlocking the potential of the Next Gen NBN is Project Next Generation Interactive Multimedia, Applications and Services (Project NIMS), which seeks to build up capabilities, infrastructure and the industry ecosystem in the area of interactive multimedia application and services. As part of the NIMS programme to foster a more vibrant and competitive ecosystem for interactive multimedia, applications and services, IDA and the Media Development Authority (MDA) launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) in September 2010 for the design, building, financing and operation of an open access video delivery platform over Next Gen NBN that is capable of supporting the provision of interactive video services from multiple retail service providers. The RFP is due to close in 2011.
Complementing the wired Next Gen NBN is the Wireless@SG network with more than 7,500 hotspots offering free Wi-Fi services with speeds of up to 1Mbps. In 2010, enhancements were introduced to Wireless@SG, allowing users to seamlessly and automatically login to the network to access personalised services and applications using the Seamless and Secure Access (SSA) feature. The SSA deployment to all hotspots has further encouraged the usage of Wireless@SG – as of December 2010, users have been clocking in usage hours of approximately 13.5 hours per user per month.
The Wireless@SG operators and their partners have also rolled out a variety of enterprise services such as facility monitoring, cashless payment systems, location-based services and digital advertising. These and other Wireless@SG applications can be accessed via another new feature called Wireless@SG Connect, which also helps configure popular mobile devices for SSA. In addition, a Centralised Location-Based Engine has also been implemented to enable application developers to deliver location-sensing services over the network.
To enhance the Internet environment for local and international Internet Protocol traffic, the Singapore Internet Exchange (SGIX) was launched in June 2010 to provide domestic and international telecom carriers, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and content and games providers with a neutral and efficient Internet traffic exchange facility. By serving as a central point of Internet traffic exchange, SGIX plays a role in helping to attract players such as content service providers, data centre players and ISPs to interchange their international Internet traffic through Singapore, thereby strengthening Singapore's position as an attractive infocomm hub.
SGIX aims to improve the overall broadband experience for end users by facilitating ISPs to exchange the local Internet traffic with one another directly instead of via an overseas network. Such efficient traffic exchange helps to reduce latency, hence delivering an enhanced broadband experience with faster access to content such as videos, games and software in the “Cloud’.
Infocomm Experience Centre (iExperience)To give Singaporeans a first-hand experience of the services that will be available over the Next Gen NBN, IDA set up iExperience at Esplanade Xchange to showcase interactive and engaging exhibits related to four aspects of daily life - live, work, learn and interact.
iExperience was opened to the public in July 2010. In the “Live” area, the public can try out media-rich applications such as personalised healthcare, remote learning and interactive Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services. The “Work” section demonstrates services such as real-time collaboration via telepresence, remote surveillance, as well as cloud computing. The “Learn” area features a mock-up of a future classroom that demonstrates the use of interactive learning solutions such as classroom management and learning management systems. As for the “Interact” section, examples of exhibits include the Smart Kiosk, which allows visitors to the Centre to virtually select and “try on” cosmetic products.
In the past year, the private and public sectors have made good progress in cloud adoption. IDA launched the first of three calls for cloud computing proposals in May 2010, as part of its efforts to promote the adoption of cloud computing. The first two calls have seen 35 projects awarded cloud resources to undertake testbedding, proof-of-concepts and research.
On 4 May 2010, the IBM Cloud Lab at IBM Changi Business Park Building was officially launched. A joint collaboration between IDA and IBM, the Lab’s efforts have resulted in the High Performance Computing (HPC) cloud platform at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) – a first-of-its-kind in the world – which will offer a combination of the best of high performance computing from HPC infrastructure, and the flexibility, self-services, scalability and virtualisation from cloud computing. This is currently being developed for use by NTU researchers.
For the inaugural Youth Olympic Games hosted by Singapore in August 2010, cloud computing played a key role in supporting the infocomm needs of this large scale event as it had a low setup cost that eliminated hefty capital investment in hardware and was fast, cost-effective, robust and highly scalable. The cloud-based infrastructure eliminated the need for post-Games management of hardware inventory, and ensured secure data centre services to drive many key applications - games and results management, management of location passes, Internet applications, email services and web hosting, among others.
IDA puts its policy and regulatory framework under constant review as part of a continuous effort to enhance consumer protection and promote competition in the Singapore telecom market.
In December 2010, several revisions were made to the Telecom Competition Code after its second triennial review. For example, without express agreement from the consumer, telecom licensees are no longer allowed to automatically charge for a service after a free trial has ended. Licensees will also be prohibited from "cross-terminating" a consumer's service agreement if the consumer breaches the terms and conditions of another service agreement from an affiliated operator or if the consumer is subscribed to a basic telephone service. To promote competition, an amendment was made to allow IDA to prevent licensees with significant market power from abusing their dominant position.
New consumer protection measures for mobile and broadband services were also introduced in March 2011. These included options for consumers to bar chargeable premium rate services (PRS) and to limit data roaming usage, a review of the Quality of Service framework for mobile telephone services, and a requirement for licensees to be more transparent about actual broadband speeds in their offerings. The new measures complement existing regulations such as the PRS Code and the Telecom Competition Code 2010.
In April 2010, IDA also introduced a package of enhancements to its telecommunication dealer licensing and equipment registration framework to significantly simplify licensing and equipment registration processes and offer telecom licensees more convenience and time and cost savings.
With its experience in the area of regulation, IDA has, since 2007, hosted an annual five-day executive training programme for telecom officials and regulators of other countries. This Telecom Regulatory Course (TRC), titled “Enabling Framework for ICT Development — The Singapore Experience”, provides an opportunity for IDA to share its experience with participants from various developing countries, allowing these participants to study and analyse Singapore’s model as a means to catalyse ICT development in their own countries.
From 2007-2010, over 110 participants from around 30 countries attended the course, which has gathered positive feedback.
In 2010, IDA made several moves to further strengthen Singapore’s infocomm infrastructure. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Assurity Trusted Solutions Pte Ltd , was set up to operate the National Authentication Framework (NAF), a nationwide authentication platform that uses 2nd Factor Authentication (2FA) to enhance the security of online transactions for Government, businesses and consumers. Assurity will own the NAF infrastructure and offer NAF 2FA services to service providers and consumers at a national level.
In February 2011, IDA announced the issuance of a set of mandatory practices for ISPs to promote information sharing, security best practices, and effective response. The Secure and Resilient Internet Infrastructure Code of Practice comes under the telecommunications regulatory framework and defines a set of specific security controls and outcomes to ensure that sound security is in place to deal with current and emerging cyber threats. ISPs will be required to achieve full compliance by January 2013.
In FY2010, IDA signed two collaborative agreements with its counterpart agencies in Japan and Republic of Korea. The agreements enable the countries to share early and pertinent information on cyber threats, undertake joint development and training in enhancing technical capabilities and enhance security of respective national infrastructure. IDA has also conducted a mid-term review of the Infocomm Security Masterplan 2 to ensure that the Masterplan stays relevant and capable of addressing the evolving cyber security threat landscape.
As part of the continuous efforts to promote awareness and adoption of essential security practices in Singapore, publicity was conducted for the inaugural Cyber Security Awareness Day prior to its launch in April 2011. Championed by the Cyber Security Awareness Alliance jointly led by IDA and SiTF, the Awareness Day has garnered more than 300,000 pledges from the people, public and private sectors to change their passwords to stronger ones.