Singaporeans living abroad in Asia, the European Union and North America can stave off homesickness by viewing this year's National Day Celebrations and Parade on their computer screens via either broadband or narrowband webcast...
Singapore, 8 August 2001 | For Immediate Release
Singapore's National Day Parade 2001: First-ever "Live" webcast across Asia, Europe and the US
Singaporeans living abroad in Asia, the European Union and North America can stave off homesickness by viewing this year's National Day Celebrations and Parade on their computer screens via either broadband or narrowband webcast.
For the first time, viewers from Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, United States, Canada and the European Union will be able to view this year's broadband webcast of the National Day Parade (NDP) "live". Viewers will be able to watch the webcast using Windows Media or Real Player. The webcasts are a major feat, which demonstrates Asia's broadband capabilities and development as a whole.
The NDP will be live webcast on August 9 from 6.15pm to 8.00pm (Singapore time) to coincide with the live television broadcast in Singapore. "On-demand" webcast will also be available from August 10 till September 30, 2001.
Catching the Parade "live" or "on-demand"
The National Day Parade 2001 Executive Committee (NDP 01 Executive Committee) has initiated and led the delivery of the live webcast. This effort is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) through Singapore ONE for local broadband - the FastAsia1 collaboration for regional efforts and other international partners. The following partners have helped to provide the delivery infrastructure and connectivity to various parts of the world for this webcast (See Annex A for list of partners).
- The FastAsia collaboration partners include i-STT (Singapore), i-STT (Hong Kong), Gigamedia (Taiwan), KIDC (Korea) and CityLink (New Zealand). These partners will deliver the content in both broadband and narrowband. The parade will be streamed in Windows Media.
- Mediacorp Interactive's Woof! (MCI Woof!) is the producer and webcaster for the event. They will provide the webcast streams in both broadband and narrowband, streaming in Windows Media format2.
- 1-Net Singapore is supporting the local content delivery in both broadband and narrowband, streaming in Windows Media format.
- OpenAsia Network will be supporting both local and overseas content delivery, covering Malaysia and Hong Kong. Webcasts will be available in both broadband and narrowband, streaming in Real Player format.
- Mirror Image Internet services will deliver webcast streams of the parade to the United Sates; Canada; and the European Union.
Last year's NDP, produced by MCI Woof! attracted over 10,000 visitors during its live webcast. This year, more Singaporeans in the region will be able to enjoy the celebrations online in the comfort of their own homes. Several Singapore Embassies and High Commissions, such as those in New Zealand and Hong Kong will also be holding their own parties when viewing the webcast with their guests.
"The NDP 01 Executive Committee is confident, that with the wider variety of formats available this year and broadband delivery through the increased number of international and regional partners, this year's webcasts will attract double or triple last year's visitorship. NDP is for all Singaporeans to enjoy. Thanks to the excellent support from IDA and webcast partners, Singaporeans who are overseas at the time of National Day can also enjoy the celebrations, " said Brigadier-General Tan Huck Gim, Chairman EXCO NDP 01.
"We are glad to support both local and regional broadband efforts so that more Singaporeans will be able to celebrate the National Day with us. The collaborative efforts of our regional partners via Fast Asia greatly reinforces our commitment to help grow the broadband market in Asia as a whole," said Mr Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive of the IDA.
To view the webcast of the NDP, visit www.ndp01.org.sg
JOINT PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY:
THE NATIONAL DAY PARADE 2001 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND INFOCOMM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
Notes to Editors:
1 FastAsia is an initiative developed by IDA to foster cross-border strategic partnerships and help industry players address issues involving multi-party localisation, re-purposing, packaging, marketing and distribution agreements across parts of Asia. As at April 2001, FastAsia has a reach of about four million users in Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Through FastAsia, IDA hopes to encourage more regional and international collaborations to develop the entire Asian broadband market, as well as promote Singapore as a test-bed and launch pad for broadband applications and services developed in the region and beyond.
2 Viewers can also catch the live webcast and the making of the National Day Parade at MCI Woof! website at www.woof.com.sg
About Singapore ONE
Singapore ONE was commercially launched in 1998. It comprises a broadband infrastructure that provides high-speed, interactive, and multimedia applications and services for users. Developed by both MNCs and innovative Singapore companies, Singapore ONE' services are designed to appeal to users of all ages and occupations, as well as businesses.
Singapore ONE has the full support of the Singapore government, and is driven by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the National Science & Technology Board, the Economic Development Board and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority. More information can be found at www.s-one.gov.sg
About Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is a dynamic organisation with an integrated perspective to developing, promoting and regulating info-communications in Singapore. In the fast-changing and converging spheres of telecommunications, information and media technologies, IDA will be the catalyst for change and growth in Singapore's evolution into a vibrant global info-communications technology centre. For more information, please visit www.imda.gov.sg.
For media clarification, please contact:
Ms Jennifer Toh
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communication
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Tel: (65) 211-0508
Fax: (65) 211-2227
Email: jennifer_toh@imda.gov.sg
NDP 2001 Committee
Major Teo Tak Kwan,
Chairman, Website Committee
1st Warrant Officer Pirakalathan,
Deputy Chairman, Website Committee
Tel: (65) 542-7363
Email: teotakkwan@ndp01.org.sg
Edelman Public Relations
Ms Lee Lay Suan / Ms Yang Sook Chin
Tel: (65) 733-1110, Ext: 201/ 235
Annex A: Information on Supporting Partners
1-Net
1-Net is one of the pioneers for the broadband development in Singapore. Since 1997, 1-Net has been the infrastructure provider of Singapore ONE and operating the nation-wide core network of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches to facilitate the delivery of broadband multimedia services. Today, it serves as the broadband exchange of Singapore connecting the Internet Service Providers, Broadband Service Providers, Hosting Service Providers, Government Agencies, Educational and Research Institutions, Commercial Organisation and other IT & Telecom Service Providers.
Since 1 Oct 2000, 1-Net Singapore has been a wholly owned subsidiary of MediaCorp Group of Companies which is the largest and most established broadcaster in Singapore with a full range of media businesses. For more information on 1-Net Singapore, please visit the company's website at http://www.1-net.com.sg or call us at +65 2447 888, fax +65 2447877.
i-STT
i-STT is a leading provider of managed hosting services and integrated Internet infrastructure solutions that enable businesses to move from the old economy to the new economy. i-STT's hosting capabilities are integrated with other value-added services under two business focuses: WEBCentreTM services and Global Network Services. i-STT's hosting capabilities leverage on its IP-based infrastructure, world-class data centers WEBCentreTM and Points-of-Presence (POPs) located in strategic business cities globally to support its customers' mission-critical Internet applications and data.
Mirror Image Internet
Mirror Image Internet, an innovative provider of Internet content delivery services, consistently delivers fast and reliable online content regardless of location or volume demand. Using its global Content Access PointTM (CAP)
architecture, the company is helping businesses, content providers and services providers provide end users with an increasingly superior and satisfying Internet experience. Principally owned by Xcelera Inc. (AMEX: XLA), Mirror Image Internet serves companies through its headquarters in Woburn, Massachusetts, and international offices in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo. For additional information, please visit www.mirror-image.com
OpenAsia Network Pte Ltd
OpenAsia Network is a content delivery network ('CDN') focused on providing streaming media distribution services in the Asia region. OpenAsia CEO William Claxton says that, "participating in this effort has given us an opportunity to demonstrate that streaming media can be cost-effectively distributed to large audiences across the region."
Woof!
Woof! (Webcasting Outside Ordinary Frontiers) is one of South-East Asia's leading webcaster. It brings both entertainment and information to the masses using the latest video/audio streaming technologies. Users can choose to watch the videos in broadband or narrowband, depending on the network they subscribe to.
Woof! offers multiple video channels, covering TV, entertainment, news, events, games, finance and many other categories of special interests. Users with broadband connections are able to choose the programmes they like and enjoy the videos that approach TV quality.
With MediaCorp's strength in broadcasting, Woof! is well positioned to offer a one-stop webcasting solution to companies who seek to exploit this new media platform to meet their marketing and communications needs.
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