Singapore: Super-fast broadband reaches 60% of buildings

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http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_630372.html

SIX in 10 buildings have so far been connected to Singapore's super-fast fibre optic broadband network.

The fibre optic cables allow users to surf the Internet 10 to 100 times faster than they could with conventional broadband plans - making services such as high-definition Internet television possible. The Government started installing them in buildings in September 2009.

But the scheme - dubbed the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network - hit a snag when as many as nine in 10 condominiums refused to be connected.

The cabling appears as boxy plastic piping on walls, which many condo owners regard as ugly. They wanted the cables hidden in walls or false ceilings, but baulked at the cost. The resistance threatened to cut off 20 per cent of Singapore's one million households from the network.

That was until the Infocomm Development Authority said in December that condos refusing to be wired up will be fined up to $1,000 a day, although they can still have the cables installed in a more aesthetically pleasing way at their own cost. 'OpenNet has not encountered any gridlock since,' said a spokesman.

But the problem meant the wiring of more than 40 initially reluctant condos has been rescheduled to the third quarter of next year. This has arguably delayed the rollout. But OpenNet said it is on track to cover 95 per cent of buildings by the middle of next year.