Singapore’s Wireless Community Bands Together

The Singapore Information Technology Federation (SITF) has recently launched the SITF Wireless Chapter to unite Singapore’s wireless community – addressing issues and challenges through convergence and conference, and promoting the development of wireless products and services to create a vibrant local and global wireless industry.

“This Chapter has an important task in keeping abreast of the developments in the global industry and ensuring that the local industry remains competitive within the global market place for wireless communications,” said Yeo Cheow Tong, Singapore’s minister for Communications and Information Technology.

With the launch of the Wireless Chapter, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) will play a diminishing role in governing the business development of this industry.

As a consortium of business players, the new Chapter lends a more nation-neutral, business-oriented slant. It will represent the industry’s perspective in local and international dialog, and will support and promote standardization in wireless mobile communications to facilitate business and technology cooperation within the industry.

Said Willie Cheng, chairman of SITF, “SITF undertakes numerous initiatives to nurture the local industry in our efforts to conquer local, regional and global markets. The [various] chapters are an important part of these initiatives. We recognize that to represent the industry effectively in various forums, these interest groups are vital for addressing common issues within specific industry segments.”

To meet its objectives, the programs lined up for the Wireless Chapter include quarterly networking sessions to promote exchange of ideas, and to establish industry alliances and partnership. In addition, the Chapter plans to hold roundtable discussions with industry experts and conduct lectures by thought leaders. It will also publish a quarterly newsletter to report on current trends and provide business intelligence.

Other chapters fronted by SITF are: eLearning Chapter, which aims to promote Singapore as an eLearning hub; and Singapore Enterprise Chapter, which raises global awareness of Singapore innovations and nurtures the newer members of the local infocomm industry.

The launch of the Wireless Chapter is only the latest in a series of wireless initiatives that are positioned to keep Singapore at the forefront of wireless adoption.

Some of the other programs include: The Center for Wireless Communications (CWC), Ericsson Cyberlab, NEC’s W-CDMA R&D Center, HP Mobile e-Services Bazzar, and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young’s Global Wireless Internet Center. IDA will also develop a series of calls for collaboration (CFC) to focus on specific areas of wireless technology.

The first initiative to be rolled out from this dialog platform is the collaboration among Singapore telcos MobileOne, StarHub Mobile and SingTel Mobile. The three competing wireless carriers have agreed to develop mobile payment solutions by opening up their infrastructures – not only to each other but to other application and service providers as well.

“This is a significant achievement for the Singapore wireless industry, as it goes to show that in a fiercely competitive telecommunications business environment, key business rivals can still cooperate to grow and develop the market as a whole,” Yeo added.