Dylogue
Dylogue
Aug 25, 2017 · 4 min read

The Smart Nation

“What is Smart Nation about? Some think [Smart Nation] is about each person owning two handphones, having the fastest internet connection… e-commerce, the Internet of Things, self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and big data” — Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong

Photo credits: https://www.smartnation.sg/about-smart-nation/milestones

How did this begin?

2014 saw Singapore’s first unveiling of the Smart Nation Programme — a broad mandate for the city-state’s government to integrate day-to-day living with experiential technology enhancements. At the time, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong alluded to technologies that would improve the overall experience with public services such as transport and safety. A further aim was also to make Singapore a far more “connected” city, through both data collection and sharing.

What about now?

Three years later, the project has far more flesh on its bones.

In sum, Smart Nation broadly aims to turn Singapore into a top-notch city in which to live. Technology will now play a starring role in boosting the economy — whether with respect to jobs, business opportunities or productivity.

What exactly does Singapore intend to do?

First, e-payments.

Singapore’s current cashless infrastructure is a disparate one, with multiple providers offering cashless services at different rates. This results in users having to carry different cards while merchants must install different terminals. Singapore is taking its cue from Chinese success in this regard — the Prime Minister talked about how even roadside hawkers in China accepted payment through WeChat Pay, a mobile payment system linked to a user’s bank account.

Are there potential problems?

There is some distance for Singapore to traverse before this happens — a key hurdle lies in the cost that comes with using a credit card. Any transaction in Singapore would incur a 2.5–3 percent charge, as compared to 0.35–0.45 percent in China.

How should it respond?

Singapore is approaching the problem first through systemic integration. The city-state’s financial regulator, in tandem with local banks, has launched a service called PayNow. This allows a user to link his or her mobile phone number to a bank account, and payment/receipt of money can be done through his/her respective mobile banking app. This simply means that a user does not need to know which bank (and bank account number) his/her intended recipient is using — just the mobile number.

To be sure, this measure is only a first step toward a “cashless society”. The government likely hopes that a fully integrated system will boost both the volume of usage and users, so that the banks’ loss in transaction fees will be compensated for. To achieve this at the initial stage, the city-state’s regulators may have to utilise a certain degree of brute force in getting the relevant banks to drop costs to a level approaching that in China.

Second, public safety and security.

Despite Singapore’s reputation for safety, it does not lead the field with respect to using technology to ensure security. The Prime Minister lamented Singapore’s lack of a comprehensive statewide camera and sensor network — a feature of many developed cities such as London and Boston.

Singapore intends to follow this track, with CCTV cameras now installed in public housing lobbies to deal with potential miscreants. This is part of a wider upgrading of a nationwide sensor network for a variety of functions — not just for security, but also the monitoring of traffic and water levels for congestion and flooding respectively (amongst others).

Singapore further intends to leverage on its extensive array of lampposts by making them compatible with any relevant sensor, while also deploying artificial intelligence to more efficiently monitor what is happening on the ground.

Lastly, public parking.

Singapore has long relied on paper coupons to pay for outdoor parking by the hour. This is an inconvenience primarily because it requires a significant amount of manpower to comb the island’s numerous outdoor parking spots and ensure that the parked cars are indeed displaying the right coupons (if they are in fact displaying them at all). The city-state is now adopting a mobile application where a driver can simply update his/her parking session digitally. This will convenience both motorists, who no longer have to pay for more than they use (or rush back to their cars to extend a session) and the administrators, who will now have a digital record to help them.

What happens next?

To be sure, Singapore has made distinct policy strides in the last three years. Smart Nation was greeted with a certain degree of audience apathy at its initial unveiling, if only because “groundbreaking” details or initiatives were scarce and it was not entirely clear how the vast majority of the island’s citizens would directly benefit from the programme.

By carving out areas of focus, Singapore has set the stage for greater ambition in the medium term. By putting it on centre stage in 2017, the Government has also signalled its intent to dedicate significantly more resources to the initiative. This is evidenced by the fact that the programme started out as a mere arm of the info-communications statutory board, and now comprises a key sector of the Prime Minister’s Office portfolio.

Singapore’s development has always come with a significant dosage of state intervention, whether through investment or direct policy initiatives. With its startup sector (tech or otherwise) only in its nascent stage, the Smart Nation initiative can be seen both as a domestic measure to boost local life, but also as a symbol of 21st century innovation emanating from Asia — a model for other fledgling states to possibly emulate.

The question, then, is whether the state is truly the right organ to deliver on this vision. It is certainly carrying the load now — but it will likely welcome private sector assistance when the industry is ready to deliver it.

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Dylogue

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Dylogue

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