SBCTEXT (Response)

Mr Yeo Choo Kok asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Culture (a) whether there is a need for the SBCText Service; (b) if he is satisfied with the response so far; and (c) what are the reasons for the apparent drop in the number of its pages.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Culture (Mr S. Dhanabalan): Mr Speaker, Sir, Teletext, which is the generic name for SBCText, is a new growing information medium. It has been introduced in a number of developed countries. If Singapore is to maintain and enhance its position as a communications centre, it must keep apace with developments elsewhere. Communication and information are keys to our position as a financial and trading centre. SBCText can disseminate information faster than any other mass media, be it radio, television or the press. It does not suffer the once-in-24-hours time lag in printing and distribution as in the case of the newspapers. Nor is SBCText available only at pre-scheduled times as news on Radio and TV.

Whilst for general use, updating speed may not always be critical, for information say, on stock prices, or financial movements, time is critical. No other medium has the capacity for real-time up-dates that SBCText has. For example, when the SBCText computer is interfaced with the Stock Exchange computer in June this year, up-to-date movements will be available to those with access to SBCText.

The pilot service aims at meeting a broad range of interests. There is something for all on SBCText - for the family at home, for the professional in commerce and industry, and for our visitors and tourists. For the householder, the pages of SBCText contain news, news flash, cultural guides, consumer information, health guide, sports news, Radio and TV highlights, etc. For the commuter, the traveller and the tourist, there are guides on SBCText for bus routes and taxi services apart from airline flight schedules which are directly interfaced with the computer in Changi Airport, etc. For the investing public and the business community, there are more than 40 pages of financial news - stock prices, gold and commodity prices, round-up of stock exchanges, exchange rates, etc. There are, in addition, more than 10 pages of shipping information.

The editorial approach adopted by SBCText caters to those who require news quickly and concisely as well as those who require detailed information.

Response to the service has been slow but this was not unexpected. There is a cost to having a teletext feature in a TV receiver. The present cost differential between a TV set with and without the capacity to receive teletext is high. This will change over the next few years. Most consumers will only consider the teletext service when it is time to buy a new TV set to replace their old set. I expect that it will be about five to 10 years before most Singaporeans will have TV sets with the capacity to receive teletext. All of us involved in this service have been aware that teletext is an innovation that has to be given time to penetrate in our society.

2.45 p.m.

During the present pilot phase, SBC is striving to improve the service as well as to educate the public on the features and benefits of SBCText. Even TV dealers are being put through an SBCText familiarization course.

The convenience, usefulness and the speed with which information can be provided and updated vis-a-vis the other mass media and the fact that there is no additional operating cost to the viewer-reader, will eventually win more users of SBCText.

There is no "drop in the number of pages on SBCText." On the contrary, the number of pages of editorial matter has been increasing. During the present pilot phase, there are 100 pages each on Channels 5 and 8. This provision has had to be exceeded from time to time. For instance, during the present Budget debate, SBCText will put on air additional pages, from 20 to 70, as necessary.

Mr Yeo Choo Kok: Sir, has the Minister or the SBC ascertained the number of users of SBCText?

Mr Dhanabalan: At present, it is estimated that there are just about 4,000 sets and the rate at which new TV sets are being sold with teletext feature is about 500 per month.