From ultra-HD videos to virtual reality experiences, what 10Gbps network speed could mean for Singapore

SINGAPORE: Ultra-high definition videos on multiple devices. Smoother online gaming. Virtual reality experiences. These are just some things internet users could enjoy as Singapore pushes to accelerate broadband speeds in homes.

In his Budget 2024 speech last Friday (Feb 16), Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said the government plans to "catalyse investments" in upgrading the nationwide broadband network. 

The aim is to enable mass market access to speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) in the second half of this decade, said Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister.  

"This is 10 times faster than the broadband speed in most homes today. This also ensures that our connectivity infrastructure will be able to support technologies like AI (artificial intelligence) and immersive media as they become more pervasive in the future," he said.

Households typically have surfing speeds of up to 1Gbps and a few telcos have started offering 10Gbps home broadband plans since last year. 

The upgrade comes as Singapore announces a massive S$1 billion (US$740 million) investment into its National AI Strategy 2.0. Part of the investment, to be injected over the next five years, will be to secure access to advanced chips crucial to AI development and deployment.

Upgrading the broadband network is a move to prepare Singapore for higher data rates given the growing use of digital services and applications that will require more bandwidth, tech experts said. 

Mr Felix Iblher at management consulting firm Oliver Wyman described Singapore's broadband network as already "best in class". 

"Singapore is not taking a backseat in preparing for advances in those technologies, including the mainstream use of AI by businesses and consumers," said the firm's Asia-Pacific head of telecommunications, media and technology. 

LESS LAG, MORE STREAMING

The broadband speeds that most homes have today may not be enough, especially if there are multiple users.

"Father or mother could be on a Zoom call ... kids could either be streaming 4K video or playing Call of Duty. If everyone is online at the same time, someone is going to suffer. Who hasn’t experienced the dreaded buffering or 'your internet is unstable' message pop-up?" said Mr Chua Hock Leng of data storage provider Pure Storage.

He listed the bandwidth of commonly used applications – Zoom uses 10 megabits per second (Mbps), Netflix 4K uses 15Mbps and online gaming takes up 100Mbps. 

High-definition video streaming on large screens, particularly through multiple devices, demands high data rates, said National University of Singapore (NUS) Professor Biplab Sikdar. Higher speeds would minimise chances of the video freezing and network buffering.

Higher network speeds would also facilitate augmented or virtual reality experiences and significantly reduce download time for files, said the professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

Another NUS expert in the same department said higher broadband speeds could facilitate massive multiplayer online gaming and online classes. 

"In online gaming, higher network speeds help to decrease lag, meaning you won't get kicked from the server or get killed by the powerful mob boss," said Associate Professor Mehul Motani.

In terms of online learning, higher-speed networks would improve real-time communication and facilitate such interaction, he said. 

To Mr Chua, the move to upgrade is also about anticipating the requirements of tomorrow. 

"With Meta’s Quest and Apple’s Vision Pro, we could also be seeing a whole new range of applications come online in the near future that’s going to put a huge strain on our current infrastructure," said Mr Chua. Meta Quest and Vision Pro are mixed-reality headsets. 

In businesses, higher network speeds could boost productivity. 

Any business that uses the cloud to store, process and analyse data would benefit from higher data rates, noted Prof Sikdar. So would businesses that process large volumes of data. 

Businesses would be able to access data and files faster with higher speeds.

Trading firms, for instance, can rely on high-speed market data to make "lightning-fast decisions", said Assoc Prof Motani. 

Mr Chua said the high bandwidth network could support applications in remote surgical procedures and enable access to specialised medical care. 

"We’ve already seen the benefits of our digital infrastructure particularly during the lockdowns. Now we need to take things to the next level so that businesses and individuals can take the most advantage of applications such as Gen AI, virtual and augmented reality, the Internet of Things and any other technology that emerges down the road."

GOAL IS FEASIBLE 

Singapore is already on its way to higher network speeds, with 10Gbps domestic connectivity within the next five years a key priority in its Digital Connectivity Blueprint, unveiled in June last year. 

One of Singapore's four telcos, SIMBA, told CNA it is already delivering 2.5Gbps speeds and is looking at how it can provide upgrades "as quickly as possible" by working with the government. 

StarHub, Singtel and MyRepublic launched 10Gbps broadband offerings last year. Internet service provider ViewQuest already launched a 10Gbps plan in 2016. 

Academics point out that Singapore already has the technology and infrastructure in place to advance.

Prof Sikdar said that the most expensive and labour-intensive portion – the laying of optical fibres to homes and offices – has already been completed.

Singapore generally has excess capacity in the form of fibres that are not used. These can be tapped on to provide additional capacity, said Prof Sikdar. 

"In places where this backup capacity is not available, this would require the laying of new cables," he added. This would be the main challenge as the process would require funding and approval from the authorities. Laying of cables could also hinder traffic. 

Infrastructure upgrades aside, telcos would need more hardware, such as routers, optical transport modules or equipment. 

On the consumers' end, businesses and homes will also need to upgrade their equipment, said Assoc Prof Motani. 

These include routers, network switches, network cards which connect to computers, cables and wiring that could handle the high-speed data rates, he said. 

South Korea made "steadfast progress" on its goal of reaching 50 per cent countrywide adoption of 10Gbps services by the end of 2022 within three months, said Mr Chua.

"With Singapore’s national blueprint that outlined plans for 6G mobile and a 10Gbps home broadband already in place last year, the government’s ambition to make this a reality this year can be considered pragmatic."