Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen.

1.           Good afternoon. I am very pleased to be here for the launch of Wireless Community – another significant step towards Singapore’s vision as Asia’s premier wireless and mobility hub.

Wireless Technology Market Experiencing Dynamic Expansion

2.           First, let me begin by setting the context – The growth prospects of the global telecommunications sector looks promising with revenues from this industry set to expand at a steady rate of 8.5 per cent per annum between now and 2007. A Gartner survey forecasts that revenues would top US$584 billion by 2007, with wireless services spearheading the expansion.

3.           This growth is driven by the demand for innovative applications and services, supported largely by current and emerging wireless technologies, including 3G, 4G, WiFi, WiMax and UWB and the like.

4.           These emerging technologies will push the boundaries in areas such as next generation wireless personal and local area networks, 3G cellular systems and emerging wireless broadband services. Singapore is on track to be at the forefront of this surge.

Singapore’s Wireless Landscape Geared Towards Hub Status

5.           Singapore is quickly establishing itself as Asia’s key wireless and mobility hub.   Singapore boasts a domestic mobile phone penetration rate of over 85 per cent – one of the highest in the world. With more than 600 WiFi hotspots and growing, Singapore’s hotspot density is also one of the highest in the world today.

 6.           Singapore is no newcomer to the wireless technology scene. We are home to a diverse host of global industry players like HP Mobile E-services Bazaar or Cooltown, Ericsson Cyberlab, Siemens Mobilizer and Mobile 365. Companies with mobile phone activities include Motorola, Sendo and Flextronics  whilst operators like SingTel Mobile have extensive reach in the region. Singapore has also attracted myriad content and application developers within our wireless ecosystem.

7.           The presence of many industry players make Singapore an unrivalled location to innovate, test-bed and exploit new opportunities, as well as launch innovative wireless solutions for the international market. With the new Wireless Community, there are even more opportunities for businesses.

 Wireless Community – A Conducive Platform To Stimulate Growth

 8.           Wireless Community is a dynamic ecosystem which provides a holistic and supportive environment for start-ups and enterprises to develop innovative wireless products and solutions.

9.           It is a unique partnership between the private and public sector players, to provide essential support across the full value chain of wireless product development. This spans product conceptualisation, through design and development, test and measurement, manufacturing, technical consultancy, intellectual property (IP) management, marketing services and funding.

10.       Today, we are proud to announce the formal induction of eleven industry partners to support this initiative. These are Agilent Technologies, Anritsu, CET Technologies, Cisco Systems, Fluke Networks, Infineon Technologies, Intel, Oki Techno Centre, Rohde & Schwarz, Walden International and Xilinx.

11.       All the partners are committed to groom new product developers, providing specially bundled products and services exclusively for these members of the community. Together, the partners in the Wireless Community aim to nurture 15 to 20 Singapore-based start-ups and enterprises each year. We are glad that we have already secured the participation of eight wireless product developers, who see the benefits of being part of this network, with more to come.

12.       As host of the Wireless Community, NYP will foster close interactions between partners and product developers to explore collaborations and seed new business opportunities.

13.       Having played host to communities like ICommunity and the more recent Games Creation Community, NYP is able to provide the necessary support for developers, whether in infrastructure, manpower development or other professional value-added services.

14.       Some of you may recall the official unveiling of ICommunity a year ago. It was set up to spur the growth and development of a vibrant and sustainable IC design industry in Singapore, and to date, has been rather successful. Since the launch, ICommunity has grown from 4 IC design companies to the current 10. The recent launch of Solomon Systech, one of the world’s leading independent providers of display ICs, at NYP is an accomplishment for ICommunity.

15.       It is obvious that the new Wireless Community and ICommunity share many synergies, which can be exploited to boost efficiencies and value-adds, and contribute to Singapore’s industry development.

Conclusion

16.       There is no doubt that the global wireless industry is on the road to rapid expansion, and Singapore is ready to embrace it.

17.       Singapore is widely recognised as a preferred business location, with a highly-skilled workforce, infocomms-savvy populace, sophisticated network and telecommunications infrastructure.

18.       Add to this the country’s reputation for IP management, as well as the presence of a diverse mix of industry players, and it is clear that technopreneurs would enjoy great benefits with Wireless Community, and an immediate boost to their business operations.

19.       Congratulations on the official launch of Wireless Community, and every success to the partners and developers alike.

20.       Thank you.