Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) revealed plans to invest up to SGD100 million ($74.4 million) to upgrade its Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN) to prepare a stronger foundation to support rapidly emerging technologies.

IMDA stated the back-end network and front-end user equipment would be upgraded to deliver more symmetric end-to-end 10Gb/s connectivity, backed by 5G service and faster Wi-Fi networks.

The deployment is scheduled from mid-2024 to 2026. 

“It has been 18 years since the first NBN investments. It is timely to upgrade the infrastructure, to ensure it continues to be future ready,” IMDA stated.

The agency expects more than half a million households to sign up for higher-speed plans by 2028. The NBN reaches all households in Singapore, with more than 85 per cent on least 1Gb/s service.

In 2023, the IMDA unveiled plans to allocate 500MHz of spectrum in the 6GHz band to prepare for Wi-Fi 6E.

GSMA Intelligence estimated 5G connections at 2.9 million at end-2023, 29.5 per cent of the total.