The S$100 million upgrade comes nearly two decades after the first investments in Singapore's nationwide broadband network.
SINGAPORE: The nationwide broadband network will undergo an upgrade of up to S$100 million (US$74.3 million), moving Singapore towards its goal of having broadband speeds 10 times faster than what most consumers are now getting.
Plans to boost broadband speeds to up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) were first announced by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget 2024 speech on Feb 16.
The upgrade will take place from mid-2024 to 2026, and higher bandwidth services are expected to be available from as early as next year.
By 2028, more than half a million households are expected to sign up and benefit from higher speeds of up to 10Gbps, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Wednesday (Feb 21).
It has been nearly two decades since the first investments in the nationwide broadband network. Mr Wong noted in his Budget speech that the upgrade would ensure that Singapore's connectivity infrastructure would be able to support technologies like AI and immersive media.
The nationwide broadband network currently runs in all homes, with more than 85 per cent on at least 1Gbps services.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo said the investments were about "future-proofing" the country as enhancing digital infrastructure does not "happen overnight".
"I think a big part of it is ensuring that in the digital age, we are properly resourced, properly equipped," said Mrs Teo.
"Because many of the ways in which digital developments will change our ways of working, ways of living, they're not entirely known in advance. We just have to try and make a best effort as far as understanding what the trends are going to be and then making sure that our digital infrastructure is future-proofed."
Even without knowing specific use cases, Singaporeans will likely see more immersive digital experiences, noted Mrs Teo.
"It will involve some additional smart devices, autonomous devices even, and certainly we all already can recognise that the impact of AI will be quite pervasive. And there will be many ways in which it is ... deployed and you want to be able to benefit from that."
Industry experts told CNA that 10Gbps network speeds would support the use of multiple devices in households, especially in applications that require higher data rates such as high-definition video streaming and online gaming.
As the fibre network is already capable of supporting 10Gbps services, investments will go mainly into network equipment that "lights up" the fibre, said IMDA. These include equipment at the back-end and end-user premises such as modem routers.
Equipment in homes will be part of service packages offered by broadband service providers.
Asked if the government will be involved in moderating the price points of 10Gbps services, IMDA said it would work with the industry to ensure competitive service offerings.
"Operators will be incentivised to sign up 10G services subscribers, they will have to ensure that their service offerings out there, whether is it a package or a bundle with end-user equipment, will have be attractive enough such that the end users will sign up," said an IMDA spokesperson.
IMDA said Singapore’s past investments in the first-generation nationwide broadband network in 2006 laid the foundation for a reliable and high bandwidth connectivity infrastructure, supporting the rapid pace of digital transformation.
These early investments enabled the public and businesses to realise many of the benefits of digital technology currently in use.
"This was also evident during the COVID-19 pandemic where the nationwide broadband network allowed the whole of Singapore to seamlessly connect and continue to work and learn from home," said IMDA.
Referring to the government's decision in 2006, Mrs Teo said: "Already people said, well, we are quite happy with 30 megabits per second, what would be the need for 1Gbps? And yet, if we fast forward to today, 85 per cent of households have decided to subscribe to 1Gbps service or faster, which suggests that they found a use for it."
Noting that it has been 18 years since the first investments, IMDA said it was timely to upgrade the infrastructure to ensure it remains "future-ready".
Singapore is already working towards higher network speeds, with 10Gbps domestic connectivity a key priority in its Digital Connectivity Blueprint, unveiled last June. Some providers, such as StarHub, Singtel and MyRepublic, earlier launched 10Gbps broadband offerings.
Asked why there is a need to subsidise the cost of equipment given that some providers have seen demand for the 10Gbps services, IMDA said that service offerings currently were still "quite nascent" and limited.
"The price points are at the point where I think early adopters, tech-savvy ones would be interested, but maybe not the best," said an IMDA spokesperson.
"So what we're really doing is to accelerate the upgrade, bring it forward and support the industry in lowering the cost of investments, because today the 10G network equipment are still priced much higher than your 1G network."
IMDA added: "Together with the roll-out of 5G mobile services and faster Wi-Fi networks, the 10G nationwide broadband network will provide more symmetric end-to-end 10Gbps connectivity. This will support maintaining Singapore’s global competitiveness and unlocking further economic opportunities."
Principal Analyst Sam Fenwick at OpenSignal, a global provider of connectivity insights, noted that even though 10Gbps fixed broadband is already commercially available here, new applications that actually require such a high speed may take a while to come.
"Developers typically work to produce applications that require technical parameters that are fairly easy to achieve with technology that’s currently in widespread use," said Mr Fenwick.
"This means that Singaporeans may have to wait for much of the rest of the world to catch up before new applications that require 10Gbps connections come along."
He stressed that speeds are just one part of experience, with users also looking out for a network's reliability and latency.
Telcos told CNA that they welcomed the government's support.
M1 said the upgrade is in line with its efforts to "provide high speeds and low latency" with its 5G plans while SIMBA said it aims to bring benefits to consumers "at a very competitive price soonest possible".
Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong said the telco supports efforts to make the technology more accessible to households, and will be reviewing the proposal.
StarHub said it continues to see a "steady increase" in the adoption of its UltraSpeed 10Gbps plans. Its plans include consumer equipment that can support the technology.
As the technology is relatively new, it may take some time for suppliers of such equipment to reach sustainable cost levels, a spokesperson said when asked about the challenges in its upgrading process.
"We continuously monitor the market development and aim to adopt a sustainable and accessible broadband pricing for Singapore households," the spokesperson added.
