SINGAPORE ONE

Dr Lee Tsao Yuan asked the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the current status of development of the national multi-media broadband information technology network, Singapore One.

Mr Lee Yock Suan: The one-year pilot phase of Singapore ONE (S-ONE) was successfully completed with its commercial launch by the Prime Minister on 3rd June 1998.

The progress of S-ONE is tracked by its accessibility, the number of subscribers and applications, and the volume of traffic. As of end-1998, 98.3% of all households and businesses in Singapore have been wired up such that they can access S-ONE. There are now more than 14,000 subscribers to S-ONE that access via cable modems and ADSL telephone lines, as well as more than 7,600 S-ONE public access nodes installed in schools, tertiary institutions, libraries and community clubs and centres. The number of S-ONE applications, as at end-1998, was 148. The average daily volume of traffic on S-ONE has increased by more than 13 times over the past year, from 260 Gb at the end of 1997 to 3,470 Gb at the end of 1998.

Training the public to use S-ONE is an important part of its development strategy. During the December 1998 school holidays, an S-ONE training camp was organised by the National Computer Board. More than 10,000 people were trained over 70 sessions during this camp. This brought the total number of people trained to use S-ONE, as at end-December 1998, to more than 41,000.

To fully realise the potential of S-ONE, its use should extend beyond Singapore's shores. Selected S-ONE applications have, since April 1998, been made available in the United States through the Home broadband cable network. The relevant Government agencies and service providers are working together to develop further link-ups with other broadband networks in the world.