S'pore homes to be wired up with fibre optic link

May 9, 2008

S'pore homes to be wired up with fibre optic link

Both bidders for next-gen broadband network propose this lightning-speed technology

By Alfred Siew

BESIDES phone and cable points, Singapore homes will soon get one more jack in the wall - for a thin fibre optic cable to hook up to ultra-fast broadband.

The technology, called Fibre To The Home (FTTH), has been proposed by the two consortia bidding to build the island's new cyber highways. When ready in as early as two years, it promises an almost infinite speed boost for years to come, enabling people to enjoy 'life-like' video-conferencing or download a movie in mere minutes.

In the past two years, several technologies have been put up as possible upgrades to Singapore's existing broadband networks.

But fibre optics now appear to be the way forward, going by what both bidders for the Next Generation National Broadband Network submitted in their bids on Monday.

The new network, first announced two years ago, is expected to shake up the market and offer users faster speeds at a lower price.

While existing wall jacks will remain in place, the new fibre optic link will open up a world of offerings via new, ultra-fast broadband. Each fibre optic cable, no thicker than a piece of thread, has the capacity to deliver services such as phone calls, high-definition TV programmes and tele-medicine.

To hook up, users have to attach a modem similar to what they have now. Both bidders for the project promise that the new cables will be installed with minimal disruption.

The OpenNet group, made up of Axia NetMedia, SingTel, Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications, says it will use underground ducts which hold existing cables. This means there would be no need to dig up so many roads.

Mr Allen Lew, SingTel's chief executive officer for Singapore, said it also helps that telecom risers - the vertical shafts in buildings used for running cables - already exist in many apartment blocks here. This means the cables can be run throughout a building without fuss.

Rival bidder Infinity Consortium also promises to keep disruption to a minimum. Comprising City Telecom, StarHub and MobileOne, the group says people will be able to plug in the same way as they do now with the phone and cable TV jacks. 'This would pave the way for large-scale high-definition TV and medical services,' said a spokesman.

Already rolled out in Hong Kong, Japan and the United States, FTTH makes use of light signals to transmit information.

An almost unlimited amount of data can be pumped through by simply upgrading network equipment to alter how the light is transmitted.

Copper cables that deliver data with electrical pulses are reaching the limit on how much they can carry.

SingTel's Mr Lew said its system now offers up to 25 megabits per second (Mbps), but the new, much faster technology will bring services such as more high-definition channels.

While StarHub offers a faster 100Mbps service using current technology, it has also decided to invest in a future network that can be used many decades down the road. Experts say the upgrade will put Singapore up there with the most wired-up countries in the world.

siewtha@sph.com.sg


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FASTER AND CHEAPER

'Basically, they (broadband users) will get faster and cheaper broadband. Who would want 3Mbps in future when you've got 1,000Mbps?'

MR MARC EINSTEIN, from research firm Frost & Sullivan