Bringing It On Home
Household penetration of broadband services is considered by many to be particularly essential to the growth of the streaming market. In many countries, high-speed access is the norm in the workplace. But, especially when it comes to the consumption of entertainment content, low household access rates are seen as a hindrance to growth.
Developers in the private and public housing sectors are beginning to exploit the potential of the republic's established broadband infrastructure, with the construction of homes wired to the hilt for broadband services.
A strong example is Queens Condominium, which, once completed in 2003, will be the tallest condo in Singapore, with all 722 units equipped for broadband access. The apartments are wired with Category 5/5e and Singapore Cable Vision cables. Data cable points are provided in the living room and in every bedroom, which means residents can set up home LANs, as well.
In addition, all apartments will feature a home intelligence system. The lights and water heater can be controlled remotely via a telephone, or an optional infrared transmitter and infrared receivers can be used. Each apartment also has conduits in place for the provision on Web cameras -- for home surveillance or entertainment.
"There's no need to do any work when you move in -- everything is already here, so it can save you a lot of money," says Goh Chee Hwee, a project executive for Knight Frank Ltd., an international property consulting firm helping with the Queens project. "In the future, broadband access is going to be the norm for new condo developments. We want to move ahead so we can stand out against the competition."
These wired apartments don't come cheap though, with prices ranging between about US$440,000 and US$980,000.
With more than 90 percent of Singaporeans living in government-built Housing Development Board (HDB) accommodations, broadband access to these homes will have a far greater impact on the average Singaporean's life than expensive networked condos.
In October 2000, Singapore's first "Internet Home" was unveiled in an HDB estate. The apartment features a broadband connection, and a home automation system integrated with the Internet, so that home appliances such as lights and air conditioning can be controlled via the Web.
The Internet Home will serve as a pilot project, with feedback being collected from the residents. This feedback will then be used to formulate a master plan for the rollout of such services to other HDB developments in Singapore. "The target is for more homes to be part of an ecosystem," says Wong Kan Seng, minister of home affairs for the Housing Development Board. "This will serve as a guiding principal for the industry to develop relevant applications and services for different homes."
Building Strong Foundations
In line with the government-controlled nature of the Singapore ONE initiative, public sector institutions are beginning to take advantage of streaming technologies, effectively laying a foundation for coming generations of educated streaming consumers, as well as developers.
In education, the government plans for all students to have hands-on use of computers for 30 percent of their curriculum time by 2002. The government figures this will require providing one computer for every two pupils. "In addition, every school will be fully networked, allowing teachers and pupils to access courseware, the Internet and digitized media resources from every classroom, and from all learning areas," says Teo Chee Hean, minister of education for the Singapore government.
To help jump-start the use of broadband applications, the IDA promotes the FastTrack@schools Program. "It's a broadband encouragement program for schools," says Khoong. "Some schools have even started to develop their own broadband content."
Khoong adds that streaming technologies are also being used in the healthcare industry. "The health industry has been exchanging information between hospitals via videoconferencing. Even though Singapore is small, this makes people's lives much more convenient."
These are just some of the ways Singapore ONE is changing the face of Singapore. Though just underway, the broadband network may prove an insightful glimpse into the future state of fully wired communities.
Still, Singapore's predicament -- owning miles of fat pipes but with relatively little local content running through them -- poses a potentially jarring question for streaming companies everywhere: Is deep broadband penetration really the solution to streaming media's problems and the answer to content owners prayers? Singapore, the island in the stream, will be under the watchful eye of the world in the coming months, to see just how its Internet population reacts to the constant flow of broadband coming to them.
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