Will IMDA reconsider extending Home Access Programme for low-income households?
Photo: Glenn Carstens-Peters/Unsplash
In September 2014, the then Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore launched the Home Access Programme to benefit 8,000 low-income households over four years, where qualifying households pay a low monthly fee for broadband Internet access and a basic computing device such as a tablet, for example.
Due to good response, the programme was expanded to benefit another 16,000 households under “Home Access 2.0”, where each eligible household receives 24 months of subsidised fibre broadband connectivity with the option to own a tablet.
However, the authority — now renamed the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) — made no announcement that the original 8,000 beneficiaries will no longer get the benefits when their four-year contracts with telecommunications company M1 expire this year.
In addition, these 8,000 beneficiaries will not qualify for Home Access 2.0.
This information was revealed only after I contacted the authority recently.
How does IMDA expect the low-income beneficiaries to suddenly find the extra cash to pay market rates to retain their Internet connection after their subsidised contracts of S$6 per month with M1 expire?
This may be a business model often used by telcos to offer cheap or even free items for a fixed period to subscribers who will then have to pay higher charges after the fixed period is over, but is that something a government agency should do?
To leave out this first batch of early adopters to a government initiative, is that an acceptable approach for IMDA to take?
Furthermore, is it prudent for IMDA to get a fresh batch of low-income households under Home Access 2.0 to pay more than absolutely necessary just to get 300 Mbps broadband speed, when 100 Mbps under the original scheme is already more than enough speed for the average Internet user?
These households cannot afford to spend excessively or unnecessarily.
The Home Access Programme was originally conceived to close the digital divide and ensure that the less well-off can keep up with the advances in the digital landscape as Singapore works towards being a smart nation, where access to government services and e-payments to merchants need Internet connections.
Setting aside another S$10 million to extend the Home Access Programme over another four years for the original cohort is unlikely to cause a huge dent to the national budget. Will IMDA care to reconsider extending this scheme?
