M1 is one of Singapore’s major broadband providers.

JUNE 14, 2010 • Singapore may be the first country laid end to end with fiber optic cable. As the nation is a small one, the Singapore government has paid for the infrastructure with a very manageable investment 1 billion Singapore dollars (SGD), about $724 million. While providing the subsidies to get the broadband network built, the government is relying on private enterprise to build, operate and deliver retail services. Nucleus Connect, which will operate the network, has already received a separate 750 million SGD grant from the government, is obligated to have the network in full operation by the end of 2012. To date fiber optic line now run to 30% of buildings in Singapore, with that coverage to grow to 60% by the end of 2010. Speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) for residential connections are expected.

Impact: With a population of about 5 million people in a very concentrated area, Singapore has been in a perfect position to build out the high speed network needed to deliver robust digital applications.  In the U.S. speeds of 5 Mbps are considered extremely fast.  The reality is that in most cases the speeds are much slower.  This has really limited high-end digital distribution in the U.S.  Countries like Korea and Singapore prove that if you build a high-speed network consumers will use it.