Access speeds will be doubled to one Mbps, more services rolled out
By WINSTON CHAI 17 June 2009
(SINGAPORE) A wireless Internet service which allows Singaporeans to surf for free within the city area and major town centres will not only be extended for another four years but will also be given a major speed boost.
The government-backed Wireless@SG service will now end in March 2013 and access speeds will also be doubled to one Mbps (megabit per second), according to Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew.
‘IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) will also be rolling out more services over Wireless@SG, such as cashless payments, location-based and facility-monitoring services,’ he said in his keynote address at the opening of the annual imbX technology tradeshow.
Launched in 2006, the current free 512 Kbps (kilobits per second) has attracted 1.3 million subscribers with the perk of free wireless Internet at 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspots across the island.
The Wireless@SG offering flanks the IDA’s billion-dollar quest to improve the country’s Internet infrastructure through a combination of high-speed fibre-optic access and pervasive wireless broadband coverage.
Its debut reinvigorated the once-stagnant broadband landscape and prompted telcos such as Singapore Telecommunications and StarHub to up their game by ramping up access speeds and offering more competitive pricing.
‘400,000 (users) log in on a monthly basis,’ said Woo Kien Young, IDA’s deputy director of next generation wireless and platforms. ‘In many ways, Wireless@SG has exceeded its initial targets.’
Over the past three years, a subscriber’s average Wireless@SG usage has also grown from 2.1 hours per month to 3.6 hours, he added.
The strong take-up has prompted IDA to invest another $9 million to take this programme beyond its initial 2009 end date to 2013. This comes on top of the $30 million funding which has been allocated to Wireless@SG operators SingTel, iCell Network and QMax Communications in the last three years.
Besides extending the free deal, the speed limit for this service will be doubled from September to keep pace with the explosion in bandwidth-sapping services such as online video and music streaming.
Other planned enhancements over the next seven months include the use of automatic log-in mechanisms to replace the current requirement for manually keying in usernames and passwords for consumers, as well as new wireless surveillance and payment services for businesses.
The Wireless@SG upgrade forms part of a multi-million-dollar bundle of new initiatives unveiled by the IDA yesterday. With the looming fear of job losses amid the downturn, the regulator is also pumping in $20 million into new programmes to help defray the costs of hiring new trainees and training current IT employees in more advanced skill sets.
The IDA is also raising the income ceiling for its subsidised PC ownership programme to give more needy families access to new laptops, desktops and broadband packages at bargain basement prices.
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Free wireless surfing for another 4 years
Access speeds will be doubled to one Mbps, more services rolled out
By WINSTON CHAI
17 June 2009
(SINGAPORE) A wireless Internet service which allows Singaporeans to surf for free within the city area and major town centres will not only be extended for another four years but will also be given a major speed boost.
The government-backed Wireless@SG service will now end in March 2013 and access speeds will also be doubled to one Mbps (megabit per second), according to Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew.
‘IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) will also be rolling out more services over Wireless@SG, such as cashless payments, location-based and facility-monitoring services,’ he said in his keynote address at the opening of the annual imbX technology tradeshow.
Launched in 2006, the current free 512 Kbps (kilobits per second) has attracted 1.3 million subscribers with the perk of free wireless Internet at 7,500 Wi-Fi hotspots across the island.
The Wireless@SG offering flanks the IDA’s billion-dollar quest to improve the country’s Internet infrastructure through a combination of high-speed fibre-optic access and pervasive wireless broadband coverage.
Its debut reinvigorated the once-stagnant broadband landscape and prompted telcos such as Singapore Telecommunications and StarHub to up their game by ramping up access speeds and offering more competitive pricing.
‘400,000 (users) log in on a monthly basis,’ said Woo Kien Young, IDA’s deputy director of next generation wireless and platforms. ‘In many ways, Wireless@SG has exceeded its initial targets.’
Over the past three years, a subscriber’s average Wireless@SG usage has also grown from 2.1 hours per month to 3.6 hours, he added.
The strong take-up has prompted IDA to invest another $9 million to take this programme beyond its initial 2009 end date to 2013. This comes on top of the $30 million funding which has been allocated to Wireless@SG operators SingTel, iCell Network and QMax Communications in the last three years.
Besides extending the free deal, the speed limit for this service will be doubled from September to keep pace with the explosion in bandwidth-sapping services such as online video and music streaming.
Other planned enhancements over the next seven months include the use of automatic log-in mechanisms to replace the current requirement for manually keying in usernames and passwords for consumers, as well as new wireless surveillance and payment services for businesses.
The Wireless@SG upgrade forms part of a multi-million-dollar bundle of new initiatives unveiled by the IDA yesterday. With the looming fear of job losses amid the downturn, the regulator is also pumping in $20 million into new programmes to help defray the costs of hiring new trainees and training current IT employees in more advanced skill sets.
The IDA is also raising the income ceiling for its subsidised PC ownership programme to give more needy families access to new laptops, desktops and broadband packages at bargain basement prices.
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