The billion-dollar network currently being built, will offer significant opportunities to allow small companies to 'do very well at a relatively low cost,' said Mr Jonathan Dharmapalan, managing partner of Ernst & Young's global telecommunications centre,

For instance, a company could use the network to create a remote monitoring system that will give regular updates on a patient's critical medical information, like his breathing and pulse rates to a healthcare provider, and raise an alert if it falls below a critical level.

Healthcare, being a critical service which people are willing to pay for, stands a good chance of doing well given Singapore's ageing population, he said.

Previously, such a service would not be possible or was only available at an exorbitant price, given the large amount of data that had to be transmitted and the limited number of telecommunications players here that had the infrastructure to support such a business needs, he said.

Companies looking to ride on the network should focus on services such as business-related, education, and healthcare, which consumers would be willing to pay good money for.

Some of these services will be offered as early as next year. But Mr Dharmapalan reckons it will be 'five to 10' years before it becomes obvious which ones are profitable and will survive in the long run.