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Singapore has launched a new 10-year, $3.2 billion Master Plan, that will propel the nation into 2015 and beyond, with a line-up of activities and goals that spell benefits for the people, businesses and the global community. The vision is to turn the country into an Intelligent Nation and Global City, powered by ICT.
The master plan recommends the way forward for Singapore, into a future where infocomm (ICT) will bring a sea change and become intrinsic in the way people live, learn, work and play.
Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang unveiled the plan at the start of the week-long Infocomm and Media Business Exchange (imbX). Dr Lee said:
Innovation, integration and internationalisation will be the basis of our masterplan. The capacity to innovate and create new business models, solutions and services will enable Singapore to be more competitive in a globalised environment. Equally important is the ability to integrate resources and capabilities for economic progress and digital opportunities for all Singaporeans.
The iN2015 masterplan is developed in the past year with inputs from the People, Private and Public sectors. A steering committee chaired by IDA with representatives from the infocomm industry, sectors like education, healthcare, manufacturing & logistics, finance, tourism & retail and digital media, as well as the government, guided the development. The masterplan sets bold targets for 2015:
* Singapore to be No. 1 in the world in harnessing infocomm to add value to the economy and society
* Achieve a two-fold increase in value-added of the infocomm industry to S$26 billion
* See a three-fold increase in infocomm export revenue to S$60 billion
* Create 80,000 additional jobs
* Have at least 90 per cent of homes using broadband
* Ensure 100 per cent computer ownership for all homes with school-going children
The iN2015 Masterplan is not only about economic competitiveness. We will also be exploring ways to ensure that the elderly, less-privileged and people with disability can also enjoy connected and enriched lives for self-improvement and life-long learning. This is to bridge the digital divide and create opportunities for all
said Dr Lee.
To achieve the targets, the masterplan outlined four key strategies:
* To spearhead the transformation of key economic sectors, government and society through more sophisticated and innovative use of infocomm
* To establish an ultra-high speed, pervasive, intelligent and trusted infocomm infrastructure
* To develop a globally competitive infocomm industry
* To develop an infocomm-savvy workforce and globally competitive infocomm manpower
In harnessing infocomm technologies for the key economic sectors, some key recommendations include the use of personalised services to enhance healthcare, education, tourism and e-government; seamless delivery of financial services and supply-chain management.
The Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure will be put in place by 2012, capable of delivering broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps, and offer pervasive connectivity around the country. The infrastructure will also be IPv6 compliant and will enable an exciting host of new broadband-enabled services and applications, such as immersive learning experiences, telemedicine, high definition TV, immersive video conferencing and grid computing.
To develop a globally competitive infocomm industry, initiatives are being worked out to strengthen the domain and technology capabilities within the industry. Local infocomm enterprises will be nurtured for expansion and growth beyond the domestic markets, and infocomm solutions developed for export.
To support the growth of the economy and the infocomm industry, the infocomm competencies of the general workforce will be raised. Techno-strategists who have both the technical and business expertise will also be groomed to achieve business and organisational goals through the strategic and innovative use of infocomm. To build a pipeline of infocomm professionals, there will be initiatives to attract the best from schools to take up infocomm as a career.