Ceremony for Extension of MOUs between TAS & NTU/NUS on Joint Applied R&D Co-operation

Mr Leong Keng Thai, Director-General Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) Speech - Ceremony for Extension of MOUs between TAS & NTU/NUS on Joint Applied R&D Co-operation

Mr Leong Keng Thai, Director-General
Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS)
Speech - Ceremony for Extension of MOUs between TAS & NTU/NUS on Joint Applied R&D Co-operation
Singapore, 17 January 1997

Introduction

Welcome to TAS and thank you for spending time this morning with us to mark the occasion of the signing of MOUs between the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on joint applied R&D co-operation.

When TAS was reconstituted in 1992, the mission set out for TAS was two-fold. While charged with the role of regulating the telecommunication industry, TAS is also to develop and promote the industry to ensure that it grows to be an innovative and vibrant sector of the economy. This developer and promoter role is important because as the telecommunication industry becomes more competitive through domestic and global liberalisation, long term investments in advanced telecommunication technology and infrastructure must continue so as to maintain Singapore's competitiveness. TAS' involvement in spearheading Singapore ONE together with NCB and NSTB is an example of such efforts to ensure that Singapore's information communication services remain amongst the most advanced regionally and globally.

Besides infrastructure development, it is also our aim to facilitate applied research and development so that Singapore's technological creativity and innovation may be encouraged in the telecommunication field.

In this regard, the MOUs between TAS and NUS and NTU were established as a means to help promote and fund applied R&D. MOUs between the two universities and TAS were first signed on 17 November 1992. Projects completed under the MOUs are the Development of a Gigabit/s Testbed Network with NUS and the Monitoring and Modelling of Radio Signals at 1.8 GHz for Frequency Management with NTU.

Beyond Engineering

So far, the focus has been on engineering or technical projects. However, given the rapid global trend towards greater liberalisation and competition, it is increasingly clear that without careful consideration of economic, legal and social factors, the full benefits of the new era of information communication may not be optimised. We therefore see an increasing need for more research and analysis into non-engineering and non-technical telecommunication issues. As such, TAS will also now be working closely with NUS and NTU to embark on economics and social science projects as well.

Increased Funding

With the increased scope in research areas, it is now timely to also increase the funding level. The initial total funding under each MOU will now be increased to $400,000 from the previous $200,000 with equal funding by each party to the MOU. This doubling of resources underscores TAS' commitment to encouraging greater co-operation with the academic institutions in developing Singapore's telecommunication industry.

Conclusion

Today's event is an important milestone for TAS as we further our efforts towards developing an innovative and vibrant telecommunication sector. I will like to thank NUS and NTU for sharing this goal with us and joining us in the challenge. I look forward to many co-operative and successful projects together.

Thank You.