Next Generation National Broadband Network to be rolled out nationwide
by 2012

By 2012, homes and offices nationwide will be connected to Singapore's ultra high-speed and pervasive Next Generation National Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN).

This is the timeline specified in the winning proposal by the OpenNet Consortium, which has been selected by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to design, build and operate the passive infrastructure for the Next Gen NBN.

Dr Lee: The Next Gen NBN propels Singapore to the forefront of broadband development internationally.

Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister For
Information, Communications & The Arts, described the award of the Next Gen NBN Netco Request-for-Proposal as "a significant milestone" for Singapore. "The Next Gen NBN propels Singapore to the forefront of broadband development internationally," he said.

OpenNet is led by Axia NetMedia with Singapore Telecommunications, Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications as the other members of the consortium. Mr Art Price, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Axia NetMedia, said, "I believe that Singapore will be the showcase for how compelling the no-conflict open access fibre-to-the-premise solution can be for end-users in metropolitan communities.

The NetCo Request-for-Proposal (RFP) was launched on 11 December 2007
and closed on 5 May 2008 with proposals from two consortia - Infinity
and OpenNet.

As the selected NetCo, OpenNet will design, build and operate the passive infrastructure of the Next Gen NBN that will be capable of delivering speeds of up to 1 Gbps and beyond. The Government will provide a grant of up to S$750 million to the NetCo to support the network rollout.

OpenNet will offer wholesale prices of S$15 per month per residential fibre connection and S$50 per month per non-residential fibre connection to the Operating Companies or OpCos. Such wholesale prices are expected to bring about competitive retail prices in the ultra-high speed broadband market.

To encourage premise owners to connect their homes and businesses to the network, OpenNet is required to waive installation charges for home and building owners when the network first reaches their premises. Under a Universal Service Obligation, which will take effect from 2013, OpenNet will also fulfil all subsequent requests to install fibre termination points in homes, offices and buildings.

According to its proposal, OpenNet will deploy and own all the fibre optic cables and offer wholesale dark fibre services to downstream operators on a non-discriminatory basis as set out in the RFP. OpenNet will make use of relevant existing underlying passive infrastructure assets, such as ducts, manholes and exchanges, belonging to its partner, SingTel, to facilitate the deployment of its fibre network.

As part of OpenNet's proposal, SingTel has committed to transfer these underlying assets to a neutral party within 24 months of the NetCo's Contractual and Financial Close (CFC). The CFC will take place within seven months of the NetCo RFP award. The neutral party, called the Asset Company or AssetCo, will be an independent and separately managed company. It will be owned by a registered business trust or will be structured in a similar manner to be approved by IDA.

SingTel, as a member of OpenNet, has also committed to reduce its stake in this AssetCo within five years of the CFC and seek the relevant shareholders' and regulatory approvals, where required. As part of the successful close of the RFP, SingTel is also required to submit to IDA for approval, a detailed implementation plan on the formation of the AssetCo and subsequent partial divestment of its relevant underlying assets.

Commenting on the AssetCo, SingTel's Chief Executive Officer, Mr Allen Lew, said, "In an open access environment envisaged under the iN2015 plan, passive network assets like ducts and manholes will no longer be a telco's competitive advantage as every service provider has equal access to the infrastructure. Therefore, SingTel will view the AssetCo as an opportunity to unlock value. The capital released will be deployed to other businesses and for capital management initiatives. SingTel's focus on its business will also shift from network to customer-centric services to drive its customer and
revenue growth."

At the December 2007 launch of the NetCo RFP, Dr Lee said the Government views Effective Open Access through a structural and/or operational separation as key to the achievement of a vibrant and competitive next generation broadband market. "The RFP has achieved this outcome for the Next Gen NBN. Nevertheless, Government will continue to consider the need for legislation to entrench Effective Open Access in this market over the long term," he said.

With the selection of the NetCo, OpenNet is expected to work closely with IDA to provide the necessary network information for Next Gen NBN Operating Company (OpCo) RFP bidders to finalise their bid submissions, which are expected to be due on 14 November 2008.

• Opening remarks by Dr Lee Boon Yang, Minister For Information, Communications & The Arts, at the media briefing for the award of the Next Gen NBN Netco RFP.

Infocomm-enabled innovation is transforming different sectors of the economy and driving growth in organisations ranging from large corporations and government agencies to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

At this year's National Infocomm Awards (NIA), a real estate agency, an IT solutions provider and a digital imaging company are among the organisations that strongly illustrate how infocomm-enabled innovation can enhance a business. The three - HSR International Realtors, LGA Telecom and Pictureworks - are finalists in the category of Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Sector - SME), which is being introduced at this year's NIA.

Mr Liew: HSR SmartPlus supports HSR in managing the business 24x7, allowing us to plan, strategise and execute our programmes more effectively and efficiently.

HSR International Realtors has implemented a web-based multi-tier sales and management system for the real estate industry. The solution, HSR SMART Plus, comprises a public web portal which contains information on HSR activities, and an intranet - the HSR SMARTPlus Asso Corner - which allows HSR advisors to access their individual performance reports, match buyers and sellers, and register online for in-house courses. These functions are integrated with a content management system and with internal processes such as advisor management, accounting-related activities and various reporting systems.

"HSR SmartPlus supports HSR in managing the business 24x7, allowing us to plan, strategise and execute our programmes more effectively and efficiently," said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Patrick Liew. "This has enabled us to be more responsive to the market, more scalable, and highly differentiated."

Mr Ang: Technology-wise, everyone has the same. Our advantage lies in service delivery. ERP helps to automate processes and allows us to scale the business.

Another example of successful infocomm adoption is LGA Telecom's implementation of the Compiere Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which has enabled the company to eliminate redundant business processes and to generate more timely and accurate management reports.

LGA, which provides IP-centric communications services, used to have nine discrete applications and processes which resulted in a great deal of inefficiency. A lot of time was wasted pulling together information that was needed for decision-making. The deployment of the Compiere ERP solution has helped address this by enabling LGA to consolidate these applications into one.

"Business process is a key strategic advantage over our competition. Technology-wise, everyone has the same. Our advantage lies in service delivery. ERP helps to automate processes and allows us to scale the business," said CEO Daniel Ang. "Whether you take two hours to deliver a service or two minutes to deliver a service, it makes a lot of difference."

Mr Cheong: PictureAnywhere successfully leverages on the latest technologies to enhance the lifestyle of the community.

The third finalist in the SME sub-category, Pictureworks, provides digital imaging and multimedia services for mobile devices, the Internet, vending kiosks, theme parks and major events. Its PictureAnywhere solution allows pictures to be taken and transmitted wireless for printing at
an instant.

Through PictureAnywhere, Pictureworks opens up new revenue streams for its customers and provides them with greater convenience and cost efficiency. The technology first saw action during the National Day Parade 2005 and is currently being used in various theme parks in Singapore. PictureAnywhere has also been deployed in many major events, both public and private.

"PictureAnywhere successfully leverages the latest technologies to enhance the lifestyle of the community," said General Manager Cheong Chia Chou. "It has created a brand new form of entertainment which is increasingly becoming an event 'must have'. It introduces the 'fun' element, providing a memorable souvenir for everyone, whatever the occasion."

The biennial NIA is jointly organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF). Besides the SMEs, the other Award categories are for the Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Public Sector), the Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Sector - General), and the Most Innovative Infocomm Product/Service. A total of 15 finalists have been shortlisted for the Awards this year, and the winners will be announced at the NIA Gala Dinner on 14 October 2008.

Singapore-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company AKSAAS (www.aksaas.com) has launched one of the first SaaS incubation centres in Asia to promote and accelerate the adoption of SaaS in the region. The AxSaaS Incubation Centre (AiC, www.axsaas.com) will offer consultancy and technical services to aspiring SaaS providers (independent software vendors or ISVs seeking to move from an upfront licensing model to a SaaS model) in Singapore and subsequently extend its services to other countries across the Asia Pacific.

SaaS is an emerging model for the delivery of software in which an application is hosted as a service and provided to customers on a utility pricing model across the Internet. By eliminating the need to install and run the application on the end-user's computer, SaaS reduces the total cost of ownership for the user by transferring the burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support to the service provider.

AiC will provide a staging platform for testing and commercialisation by new SaaS providers, helping them in technology augmentation and in the implementation of proof of concepts for industry consortia. The facility will also provide a demonstration area for end-user customers.

Mr Lye: AiC will go beyond the common definition of SaaS to provide a more integrated, community-oriented platform service.

Mr Alan Lye, Managing Director of AKSAAS said the incubation centre will bring about a radical change in the SaaS operating model and lead to the creation of new business ecosystems. "AiC will go far beyond the common definition of SaaS as provisioning of mere IT infrastructure and application services to a more integrated, community-oriented platform service,"
he said.

The incubation centre aims to bring about the creation of more complex and diverse applications leveraging on newer technologies such as business rule engines and the latest infrastructure software. These will enable AiC to provide ISVs with an elastic cost model that can scale in tandem with their own subscription-based revenue model.

AKSAAS has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with strategic partners like Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), Exploit Technologies (www.exploit-tech.com), HP (www.hp.com), Microsoft (www.microsoft.com), SingTel (www.singtel.com), SCS (www.scs.com.sg), Haley (www.haley.com) and Gigaspaces (www.gigaspaces.com) to provide a trusted and branded production environment for its incubatees.

RADM(NS) Ronnie Tay, Chief Executive Officer, IDA, said, "Singapore envisions a Grid market hub by 2013 where businesses can share, buy, and sell infocomm resources, on-demand and on a pay-as-you-use basis. To realise this vision, nurturing a SaaS ecosystem that allows ISVs to commercialise pay-per-use services is essential. The AiC is in line with this vision where businesses will be able to deliver new services based on innovative business models that Grid Computing promises."

Exploit Technologies, the strategic marketing and commercialisation arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), will identify a pipeline of A*STAR's market-ready technologies for joint development with AiC, under the Commercialisation of Technology programme. Exploit, which incubated AKSAAS for close to 20 months after the start-up began operations in January 2006, has also committed S$50,000 to seed this effort, and help grow the aspiring local SaaS providers.

Microsoft will make its technology platforms and developer tools readily accessible to ISVs who partner with AiC, and provide business direction and technology support through its Local Software Economy and Software-plus-Services Incubation Centre programmes. HP will provide hardware solutions and align its Developer & Solution Partner Programme to the AiC, while SingTel will come onboard with bandwidth support and also link AiC to the SingTel Industry Partner Programme.