Singapore’s infocomm industry posted its strongest growth in five years to reach S$83 billion in 2011 – an 18 per cent increase over the revenue for 2010. Of this, the proportion attributed to exports grew from 66 per cent to 71 per cent or S$59 billion, bringing Singapore within striking distance of its iN2015 goal to achieve S$60 billion in infocomm export revenue by 2015.

On the manpower front, the number of people employed in infocomm roles grew from 141,300 in 2010 to 142,900 in 2011.

The latest figures on Singapore’s infocomm industry and manpower were announced by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, at the opening ceremony of the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) on 19 June 2012.

“The infocomm industry is a key contributor to Singapore’s economy and plays a vital role in enhancing competitiveness and productivity,” said Dr Yaacob. This year, IT spending in Singapore predicted to grow 5.5 per cent, driven by the innovative use of ICT, adoption of mobile devices and services and increased demand for ubiquitous and high-speed connectivity.

Accelerating infocomm adoption

During imbX, several IDA initiatives were announced to further accelerate infocomm adoption in various sectors of the Singapore economy. Among these was the launch of a S$21-million Call for Collaboration (CFC) to develop high-impact sector-specific Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) targeting sectors where many small and medium enterprises are largely manual in their core operations, such as the education, attractions, maritime and logistics sectors.

“While businesses generally recognise the advantages of ICT, heavy investments in hardware, software and maintenance services are stopping some smaller enterprises from adopting ICT. The adoption of Software-as-a-Service solutions will help lower ICT expenditures, as enterprises can pay per use, for software services hosted by SaaS solution providers,” said Dr Yaacob.

The SaaS CFC was issued by IDA in collaboration with SPRING Singapore, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education and e2i (Employment and Employability Institute).

Other IDA announcements at imbX included the results of an earlier Mobility Solutions CFC targeting the retail, food and beverage, hotels and attractions sector, as well as the introduction of a new tax incentive to encourage data centre operators to invest in more energy-efficient equipment.

Also on the industry development front, the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) announced that it has kick-started a master class series under the National Infocomm Industry Productivity Roadmap, in partnership with IDA and Singapore Workforce Development Authority. Announced in March 2012, the S$46 million roadmap is aimed at transforming Singapore infocomm companies and raising their productivity.

This was in view of the fact that a large percentage of the 15,000 infocomm enterprises in Singapore have been generating below S$5 million in revenue. To address this, the roadmap will support the transition of ICT companies in the software development, system integration and consultancy sub-segments from labour-led business models towards product or cloud-based models.

SiTF’s Infocomm Productivity Seminar on “Building Insanely Great Products” drew almost 70 senior executives. Another 30 senior management and product managers were also trained in a three-day course on “Product Management and Product Marketing”. “SiTF Academy together with our partners will be rolling out more master places to support the drive for productivity, said SiTF Chairman Mr Eddie Chau, in his opening address at imbX.

Singapore, Brunei pledge to reduce mobile roaming rates

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim (right) and Pehin Dato Abdullah Bakar announced a pledge to reduce mobile roaming rates between Singapore and Brunei by the first quarter of 2013.

At the sidelines of the Ministerial Forum on ICT which was held as part of imbX, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam also announced a pledge to reduce mobile roaming rates by the first quarter of 2013.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, said studies conducted by ASEAN indicated that prices for most of the retail international mobile roaming services were found to be high relative to domestic retail prices. The studies also recommended that ASEAN countries exercise some level of intervention to address the high roaming prices between their countries. “Doing so will benefit consumers and allow them to use roaming services with a greater peace of mind,” he said.

The telecoms regulators of Brunei and Singapore – the Authority of Info-communications Technology Industry of Brunei and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore – are currently exploring the lowering of mobile roaming rates between both countries for services such as voice calls, SMSes and data usage. Both the wholesale inter-operator charges and the retail subscriber charges will be reviewed.

His Excellency Pehin Dato Abdullah Bakar, Minister of Communications, Brunei Darussalam, said his country was looking forward to further progress in this arrangement. “With the reduction in voice, SMS and data roaming services charges between the two countries, international mobile roaming services can be utilised in a more efficient and beneficial manner by our users. It will also spur further growth in the mobile industry,” he said.

IDA@imbX

IDA continued to have a strong presence at this year’s imbX, showcasing 10 exhibits under the Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan to guide Singapore in its transition into an intelligent nation and a global city through infocomm.

The exhibits covered areas such as education, geospatial technologies, people sector applications, wireless services, the digital media ecosystem, cloud computing, start-ups, and the workplace of the future.

IDA also organised the Smart Mobility@SG 2012 conference, to promote the local mobile industry and provide a platform for global mobile leaders to share ideas about the future of the mobile industry.
Held at the Marina Bay Sands and Suntec Singapore, this year’s imbX attracted participation from almost 2,000 companies and over 53,000 delegates from around the world.