Singapore is most wired nation : Malaysiakini

The figure, given by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), puts Singapore ahead of countries traditionally thought of as powerhouses in the wired world. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

SINGAPORE is now the most wired nation on earth, with the household broadband penetration rate hitting 99.9 per cent last December.

The figure, given by the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), puts Singapore ahead of countries traditionally thought of as powerhouses in the wired world: South Korea (92 per cent), Hong Kong (83.8 per cent) and Taiwan (76.8 per cent), going by figures from research firm Frost & Sullivan's 2007 study.

It also handily beats the Government's own target, of a 90 cent penetration rate by 2015, set in 2006 as part of a 10-year masterplan to transform the country and economy by promoting the adoption of infocomm.

But although Singapore's broadband penetration rate is close to 100 per cent, it does not mean that almost all households here have broadband access.

This is because some households have more than one broadband line - a home connection and a portable modem, for instance.

Following guidelines set down by the International Telecommunications Union, which are used by many countries, Singapore calculates household broadband penetration rate by dividing the number of household broadband subscriptions by the number of households here.

Subscribers to paid mobile broadband services - those who hook up wirelessly to the Internet via portable modems - are included as well.

But the count excludes subscriptions to 3G mobile data plans and Wi-Fi hotspots, which are generally not home-based.

The exploding popularity of broadband is a result of big cuts in the prices telcos charge for access, and much higher access speeds.

Three years ago, when household broadband penetration rate was just 50 per cent, telcos were charging $47 a month for Net-access speeds of 512kbps.

Now, a user can surf at speeds of 10MBps for less than that.

Another push factor is the telcos' practice of giving out free personal computers or laptop computers to encourage people to sign up.