Better future for film business2 min read

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Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Dr Lee Boon Yang, brought good news to the Digital and Entertainment sector. In a speech on Tuesday, he announced the launch of the Digital Marketplace Programme, a programme that will spark significant change for Singapore’s Digital Media and Entertainment sector.

A press release from the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said the Programme will develop a trusted and conducive environment for firms to manage, distribute and trade digital media assets such as movies, video programmes, music and mobile content, through and from Singapore. Also, under the Connected Games programme, IDA seeks to accelerate games development and build a regional hub for games developers to distribute their products globally.

Dr Lee also highlighted the growth of the infocomm industry over the past year. Based on the Annual Survey on Infocomm Industry for 2007 conducted by IDA, he noted that the industry grew 13.8 percent in revenue to reach S$51.68 billion, up from S$45.4 billion in 2006.

The IDA also found that from 2006 to 2007 the percentage of households with school-going children owning a computer has increased. According to IDA’s latest Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage in Households and Individuals, home computer penetration among households with school-going children increased from 88 percent in 2006 to 92 percent in 2007.

“The majority of our population has hopped on the digital bandwagon, and it is also critical for businesses to be on the same wave, so that they can connect with, better meet the needs of and serve these IT-savvy customers,” CEO of the IDA, Ronnie Tay said.

With feedback from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the IDA narrowed down the two main deterrents for SMEs to adopt infocomm – cost and complexity. However, under IDA’s initiative called SME Infocomm Package, the SMEs can now purchase affordable infocomm solutions. IDA has appointed three companies out of 31 proposals received to offer the SME Infocomm Package. They are DP Bureau, iCELL Network, and SingTel. IDA will also provide a subsidy to 5,000 SMEs who are developing a web presence for the first time.

The package will offer packaged solutions, customer support and affordable pricing across a range of IT applications and services, from broadband connectivity, office productivity tools, to sector specific applications like online reservation systems for F&B and mobile learning on-demand for the education sector.

“With the wheels set in motion for strengthening our infocomm security, and a slew of initiatives to help economic sectors, including SMEs, to adopt infocomm to enhance competitiveness, I am confident that Singapore’s infocomm industry will continue to be a vibrant one,” Mr Tay said.

All the initiatives are part of Singapore’s 10-year infocomm masterplan, Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015), launched in 2006 by the IDA. iN2015 is the blueprint to navigate Singapore’s transition into a global city over the next decade. Led by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), iN2015 is a multi-agency effort that is the result of private, public and people sector co-creation.