SINGAPORE: Free wireless surfing at 600 hot spots from today

Government-funded Wireless@SG offers free wireless Internet for the next three years

Straits Times
Friday, December 1, 2006

By Alfred Siew

Internet users can go online for free at 600 Wi-Fi hot spots islandwide from today, just two months after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced this wireless broadband service.

The service, partly funded by the Government and dubbed Wireless@SG, will enable people to go online at public places like shopping malls, town centres and the business district.

The 600 free hot spots or wireless zones are the first of 5,000 that will dot the island by September next year.

This means you can, for example, surf the Web, make an Internet call or watch a video on a laptop for free at a cafe.

The service has been extended to three years, up from the two years announced previously, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said yesterday. Operators have not said whether they will continue the free service after this, but competition may drive them to.

To sign up, users have to register online at a Wireless@SG hot spot with their laptop, or call one of the three telecoms operators running the service - iCell Network, QMax Communications or SingTel.

After signing up, a user only needs a single password to get online at any Wireless@SG hot spot.

The service provides surfing speeds of up to 512 kilobits per second (Kbps) -- fast enough for reading news and e-mail. Those who want faster access will have to pay about $10 a month.

This development will go down well with Net surfers, who have enjoyed cheaper and faster broadband services this year. The price for a basic 512Kbps broadband service for homes has come down from nearly $50 a month to less than $30.

The trigger for this has been the Government's efforts to open up the broadband market. It is committing $30 million of the $100 million needed to roll out the Wireless@SG service.

IDA assistant chief executive Khoong Hock Yun said it expects 250,000 users to sign up for Wireless@SG in two years. He is confident it will nudge the telcos into making more innovative offerings.

Briefing reporters yesterday, the three telcos took turns to show off value-added services that ranged from cheap Net calls to short movies on the go.

Freebies will be par for the course. Already, SingTel is offering users who sign up with it a free cup of coffee from Spinelli. QMax is offering a webcam.

Financial advisor Verne Lim, 48, welcomed the debut: "I used to go home to transmit a client's application. Now I can do it on the spot at a cafe."

Date Posted: 12/1/2006