SINGAPOREANS will continue to enjoy free Wireless@SG for the next four years, while more low-income families will be able to get computers and broadband services at subsidised rates.

Announcing these initiatives at the opening of the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX), Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said the plans would 'enable new possibilities and opportunities in both the infocomm and media sectors'.

RELATED LINKS  SPEECH BY RADM (NS) LUI TUCK YEW

They are 'exciting development and opportunities that will engage us (Singaporeans) in the years to come', he added.

Among the plans announced:

The income cap for low-income families to receive subsidised computers under the Enhanced Neu PC Plus scheme is raised from $2,000 to $2,500. The Government also introduced a new Broadband-Only Scheme, where households with school-going children under the Financial Assistance Scheme can get broadband services for $1.50 a month for three years. This is expected to help close the digital divide between the richer and poorer stratas.

The nationwide Wireless@SG free wireless Internet service will get a speed boost to 1Mbps, up from half that speed now. Access will continue to be free for the next four years, till March 2013. A new log-in process that works in the background will make access less troublesome.

The Media Development Authority is announcing a Call for Collaboration for companies to develop television of the future. It is inviting companies to explore and suggest ways to make TV more exciting, such as with technology to allow TV programmes to be watched seamlessly between cellphones, pocket devices, or even on airplanes.

More training for infocomm and media professionals, under three new programmes, spearheaded by the Infocomm Development Authority and Media Development Authority. These programmes will send students, fresh graduates and professionals in the industry on local and overseas attachments, with both start-ups as well as well-known multi-national companies like animation and youth-related companies The Walt Disney Company, the Jim Henson Company and sports network ESPN.

Rear-Admiral Lui also unveiled the government's five-year blueprint for the media industry - the Singapore Media Fusion Plan, where $230 million will be put in over the next five years.

The imbX, Asia's largest tech trade show, officially opened on Tuesday (June 16), where visitors are expected to make about US$3 billion (S$4.37 billion) in business deals.

Special interest areas at the show include next-generation high speed broadband technologies and uses, as well as high-definition TV and three-dimensional technologies.

The show opens daily at Singapore Expo till Friday. Admission is free to trade visitors only.