- Kyle Chua
Singapore Unveils Digital Connectivity Blueprint To Support Future Growth
Singapore's Ministry for Communications and Information (MCI) has launched a Digital Connectivity Blueprint (DCB), which lays out a comprehensive plan to develop digital infrastructure across the island nation.
The blueprint covers the strategic priorities and new frontiers towards growing digital connectivity among people and enterprises, which would enable them to reap the opportunities of future tech trends. It was launched by Mrs Josephine Teo, Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information ahead of Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG), an upcoming tech event in the region and was developed in consultation with a panel of advisors from the ministry, along with industry partners.
MCI outlined five priorities in its commitment to strengthening Singapore's digital infrastructure stack, consisting of hard, physical-digital and soft infrastructure:
Provide capacity to enable submarine cable landings to double within the next ten years.
Build seamless end-to-end 10Gbps domestic connectivity within the next five years.
Ensure world-class resilience and security for our digital infrastructure.
Pioneer a roadmap for the growth of new Green Data Centres and push the sustainability envelope.
Drive greater adoption of the Singapore Digital Utility Stack to expand the benefits of seamless digital transactions.
The second priority, which involves domestic connectivity, involves the country facilitating a tenfold bandwidth increase of its Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN) and allocating spectrum to unlock faster Wi-Fi and 5G Standalone networks. The MCI said that through the initiative, it envisions a future where smooth handover exists between different modes of connectivity, which makes movement between outdoor and indoor environments seamless. Such a future can supposedly foster game-changing innovations in different industries like logistics, for example.
Singapore isn't the only country with plans to increase its NBN to 10Gbps. China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the U.S. are all moving ahead to similarly roll out 10Gbps connectivity in some cities, recognising the need for higher broadband capacity, despite nascent use cases.
To realise the blueprint's priorities, the MCI plans to make moves in more nascent and frontier areas, including advancing the vision of a Quantum-safe Singapore and implementing green software, among two others. The MCI also wants to improve the reliability and security of devices and networks by setting new standards and pushing for interoperability.
Singapore's MCI has launched a Digital Connectivity Blueprint, which lays out a comprehensive plan to develop digital infrastructure across the island nation.
The blueprint covers the strategic priorities and new frontiers towards growing digital connectivity among people and enterprises, which would enable them to reap the opportunities of future tech trends.
One of the priorities is to build seamless end-to-end 10Gbps domestic connectivity within the next five years.
The move would involve the country facilitating a tenfold bandwidth increase of its Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN) and allocating spectrum to unlock faster Wi-Fi and 5G Standalone networks.