"Fibre Ready!" A sticker at the lift lobby of a block of flats in Cantonment Road marks a milestone in Singapore's digital evolution. In August 2009, the first home in Singapore was connected to Singapore's Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN); a key prong in efforts to strengthen Singapore’s position as an economic hub.

Acting Minister for Information, Communications & the Arts, Mr Lui Tuck Yew (right), places a sticker marking the first block of flats in Singapore to be linked up to the Next Gen NBN.

Deploying a next generation infrastructure

The Next Gen NBN is the wired component of Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Information Infrastructure (NGNII). On schedule to be rolled out islandwide by 2012, this all new pervasive ultra high speed fibre optic network will be a great boost for connectivity, delivering ultra high speeds of up to 1 Gbps islandwide.
 
On the wireless front, access speeds for Wireless@SG has also been ramped up from 512 kbps to 1 Mbps. The move, announced by the Infocomm Development Authority in September 2009, gives users better access media-rich and interactive websites and enabling them to make use of bandwidth-intensive services such as video streaming, video conferencing and multimedia applications while on the go. The free Wireless@SG service, which is available till March 2013, can now be accessed at 7,500 hotspots across the island.

With access speed enhanced to 1 Mbps, users can now conduct videoconferencing over Wireless@SG.

Moving in tandem with the deployment of the physical connectivity are efforts to drive innovation in next generation online services that will leverage the speed of the new network. At the 2009 Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) in June, visitors got a hint of what was to come - giant touch screens where students interact with digital artifacts; home telemedicine systems which a patient’s health indicators are accessed by doctors in a remote location; digital signages that capture profiles of the people viewing them, and many more.

To quote Business Times commentator Kenneth James, "These exhibits resoundingly confirm that Singapore's strategy of encouraging a new generation of products and services by providing super-fast wireless and wired universal connectivity is right on the money. Last year's imbX was more promise than substance. This year, there is a sense that now it's real; we're finally here."

Putting the policy and regulatory framework in place

Exciting as the services are, and impressive as the network rollout has been to date, it is perhaps the policy framework for the Next Gen NBN that really sets the stage for its success. To spur a vibrant and competitive Next Generation Broadband market where businesses and consumers can enjoy innovative services from a variety of Retail Service Providers (RSPs), IDA has instituted the principle of Effective Open Access through structural separation for the Next Gen NBN Network Company (NetCo), which deploys and operates the passive infrastructure, and operational separation for the Next Gen NBN Operating Company (OpCo), which will build and operate the active infrastructure.

A diagram depicting the principles of Effective Open Access.

OpenNet, the NetCo for the Next Gen NBN, was appointed in September 2008 and is currently ramping up the deployment of the fibre-optic network islandwide.

In April 2009, IDA announced the selection of StarHub's proposal for establishing the Next Gen NBN OpCo, called Nucleus Connect. Nucleus Connect is a separate legal entity from StarHub and will be operationally separated from all RSPs. With such an industry structure, RSPs can obtain wholesale bandwidth services from Nucleus Connect on a fair and non-discriminatory basis, and offer a wide range of services at competitive prices to end-users.

Competition in the telecoms market continues to sizzle in 2009 and in the year ahead, we can expect to see operators competing harder to attract and retain customers. In December, IDA introduced a set of new Guidelines on Telecommunication Services that will allow end-users to switch more easily between providers of telecom services. The guidelines, which address maximum contract periods and early termination costs and which will apply to new or renewed contracts for all fixed-line, mobile and broadband services offered to consumers from 1 March 2010 onwards, seek to ensure that industry practices will be more reasonable and fair, and strike a balance between protecting the interest of both consumers and providing operators with the freedom to innovate in designing service plans.

Building a high-quality manpower pool

Another aspect of infrastructure is manpower. The availability of a pool of high-quality infocomm manpower is central to innovation and capability building for Singapore's infocomm industry.

In June 2009, IDA announced the Infocomm Leadership and Development Programme (iLEAD)  to help secure a pool of qualified infocomm professionals to boost Singapore's long-term competitiveness. iLEAD is a joint project between IDA and the infocomm sector, preparing manpower  for new growth areas through local and foreign internships and overseas courses and certifications. These areas include areas like mobile application development, cloud and grid computing, green IT, infocomm security and networking engineering.

Introducing the pioneer batch of Integrated Infocomm Scholarship recipients.

To  minimise the leakage of infocomm talent amongst graduates and experienced infocomm professisonals during the economic downturn, IDA also introduced the Infocomm Training and Attachment Programme (iTAP) in July 2009.  Infocomm and end-user organisations have been offering full-time attachments to both fresh graduates and experienced infocomm professionals who are looking for infocomm-related jobs.

IDA also introduced a new Integrated Infocomm Scholarship (IIS) in February 2009, to provide support to outstanding 'O' level students to pursue infocomm studies from polytechnic straight through to university level, and to subsequently pursue an infocomm career. In April 2009, the pioneer batch of 20 outstanding 'O' level students received the IIS from Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts.

In addition, talented diploma and ‘A’ level students can leverage on the National Infocomm Scholarships (NIS) to pursue infocomm studies at the university level.  The NIS was first introduced in 2004 to help develop and secure top-notch infocomm talent for Singapore going into the future. On 4 August 2009, a new batch of 26 students received the NIS from the Acting Minister for Information, Communications & the Arts, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, bringing the total number of NIS awards to 181 to date.

While the scholarships focus on building a pipeline of infocomm talent for Singapore, there is also a concerted effort to transform existing infocomm manpower to take on high value-added services, through the formulation of a National Infocomm Competency Framework (NICF).

Developed by IDA and the Workfore Development Agency (WDA) in consultation with the industry, the NICF is one of the most comprehensive competency frameworks to have been developed globally by the industry and for the industry. It covers over 200 job roles in new areas such as infocomm sales and marketing, healthcare and financial services.

In all, about 300 courses and certification supported under the IDA's Critical Infocomm Technology Resource Programme (CITREP) have been mapped onto the NICF since 2008. These cover critical and emerging skill areas such as infocomm security, interactive digital media, IT services, as well as network and communications.

CITREP itself was enhanced in FY2009, with a S$25 million investment by IDA in the programme. Sponsorship for infocomm courses and certification fees has been raised from 50 per cent to 80 per cent, while companies sponsoring their employees for these courses are eligible for Absentee Payroll at S$50 per day. The programme is expected to benefit 10,000 infocomm professionals over the next two years.