Mr Kaoru Yano, President of NEC Corporation, urged businesses and governments to look further into the opportunities presented by the rise of ubiquitous networks forming all over the world.

In today’s age of communications, consumers, business and governments alike all have an opportunity for success with the advent of ubiquitous communications. This was the message from Mr Kaoru Yano, President of NEC Corporation when he was in Singapore as the Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA) Distinguished Infocomm Speaker (DIS) in May. He was also here to celebrate NEC Solutions Asia Pacific’s 30th anniversary celebrations in Singapore.

Ubiquitous communications refers to a network that is always available for any device. Such networks often have converged communications platforms such as data, voice, video and wireless communications as a key feature and is a goal in the rollout of new communications networks like the Singapore Government’s Next Generation Network (NGN).

According to Mr Yano, converged networks offer opportunities for both consumers and businesses. Constant connectivity to high speed networks means that consumers can receive emails, video on demand (VOD), access online financial services as well as carry out e-commerce transactions. For businesses, providing such constant connectivity to consumers can be both lucrative and fruitful, but for it to succeed, a change in management style to one that is responsive to meet rapid changes in consumer needs and wants is needed.

Mr Yano gave the example of popular online world Second Life where real world companies such as Nissan, Toyota, Adidas and Sony BMG are creating virtual stores where gamers could go and ‘test’ their latest products. These are real world companies that realised the power the online world had amongst its members and how this could be carried back into spending in the real world.

As IDA’s Distinguished Infocomm Speaker for May, Mr Kaoru Yano was also here to kick off NEC Solutions Asia Pacific’s 30th anniversary celebrations in Singapore.

On the other hand, such constant access brings with it a certain amount of threats from cyber crime. Potential dangers such as access to harmful content, phishing, loss of confidential data, cyber attacks, loss of privacy, a growing digital divide and possible system wide failure leading to loss of access need to be addressed by both businesses and governments for a ubiquitous network to be fully successful.

To counter these threats, Mr Yano said that businesses, academic institutions and governments need to work together in developing strong back end support for NGNs. Businesses have to ensure the robustness of the network while governments must enforce laws to punish cybercriminals such as hackers, who threaten the security of the ubiquitous network.

Mr Yano sited the example of Japan’s train services that allows commuters to pay for tickets using their mobile phones. This e-ticketing application was the result of a multi-industry collaborative effort, involving the banks, rail company and phone service providers, and it was important to create new services that did not exist before. “Players from different industries should also band together to create new services that not only provide information but also generate revenue,” said Mr Yano.