The Info-communications Media Development Authority (Abbreviation: IMDA) is a statutory board of the Singapore government, under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI). It was restructured from the former entity Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) in 2016,[1][2] and officially legislated in Parliament on 18 August 2016.[3] The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) was formed in 1999 when the government merged the National Computer Board (NCB) and Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), as a result of a growing convergence of information technology and telephony.[4]
Intelligent Nation 2015[]
IDA was in charge of the nation's 10-year infocomm masterplan, also known as Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015),[5] which has since been succeeded by the Infocomm Media 2025 plan.[6] Through iN2015, two key components introduced as part of the Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure (NGNII) initiative are, firstly, Wireless@SG—a wireless broadband programme developed by IDA[7]—and secondly, the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN)—a nationwide ultra-high speed broadband network supporting speeds of up to 1Gbs targeted for completion in 2012.[8]
Programmes and initiatives[]
IDA oversaw and / or participated in a variety of programmes and initiatives across Singapore. A few of the key ones:
- eCitizen portal, Gateway to all Singapore Government services
- Infocomm Talent Portal, One-Stop Infocomm Educational and Career Resource Portal
- Singapore’s e-Government website
- e-Government Leadership Centre
- Personal Data Protection Commission
Student programmes offered include the National Infocomm Scholarship by the Scholarship Secretariat.
Policies and regulations[]
- Consultation Papers & Decisions[9]
Subsidiaries[]
IDA has four subsidiaries set up to perform specific functions that are beyond IDA's primary role and responsibilities. The subsidiaries are IDA International,[10] IDA International official website, Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL),[11] Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), and Assurity Trusted Solutions Pte Ltd.[12]
Criticism[]
Documents leaked as a result of a data breach, identified the IDC as a customer of the Hacking Team - a provider of intrusion and surveillance software to governments. Commentators have concluded that the IDA is using offensive tools to spy on citizens. [13] [14]
There are also some possible conflicts with which mainly concern the aspects of Net Neutrality:
- Bandwidth throttling
- Deep packet inspection