Singapore and the International Telecommunication Union
When Singapore became independent in 1965, one of the first things it needed from the International Telecommunication Union was a country code. They got +65. By coincidence, the same number as the year of independence. Fifty years later, Singapore was helping shape global internet policy and building one of the world’s first Smart Nations.
This is part of my retelling of “50 Years of Singapore and the United Nations” (Tommy Koh, Li Lin Chang, Joanna Koh, 2015, ISBN: 978-9814713030).
Chapter 22 is written by Leong Keng Thai, who joined the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore in 1980 and spent more than 25 years in the industry. By the time of writing, he was Deputy Chief Executive of the Infocomm Development Authority and a Commissioner on the UN Broadband Commission. He tells the story of how the ITU helped build Singapore’s telecom foundations and how Singapore eventually became a contributor instead of just a recipient.
The ITU Helped Build Singapore’s Telecom System
The ITU is the world’s oldest international organization. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015. Its job is to coordinate global telecommunications, from radio spectrum allocation to satellite orbits to internet governance.
For newly independent Singapore, the ITU played a hands-on role. In 1969, the Singapore government asked the ITU to evaluate the country’s existing telecommunications setup. At that time, Singapore had two separate bodies handling phones: the Singapore Telephone Board ran domestic service, and the Telephone Department handled international calls.
The ITU came back with a clear recommendation. Merge them. The domestic phone service was the most capital-intensive part of the business but had the lowest returns. The real money was in international services. A merged entity would be more efficient, better able to raise capital, and easier to manage.
Singapore followed the advice. The Telephone Department became the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) in 1971. The Singapore Telephone Board was folded into TAS in 1974. Later, TAS merged with the National Computer Board to form the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) in 2000. That brought four functions under one roof: ICT industry development, government IT, sector transformation, and people development.
Leong makes an interesting point. Without that original ITU report and its emphasis on efficiency and foresight, Singapore’s telecom landscape might look very different today. The spirit of that early recommendation kept influencing policy decisions for decades.
Training a Generation of Telecom Professionals
Another early collaboration was the Singapore Telecommunication Training Centre, known as the Telecentre. This was a capacity-building project between the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Singapore government, executed by the ITU and TAS starting in 1972.
The UNDP put up 40% of the S$8.6 million cost, covering equipment, fellowships, and expert instructors. Singapore covered the other 60% with land, buildings, and more equipment. The Telecentre was located at the junction of Hillcrest Road and Bukit Timah Road.
What made it effective was the hands-on approach. Students didn’t just learn theory. They practiced with actual field equipment. Many of Singapore’s earliest telecommunications professionals and pioneers got their training here. It was an early example of Singapore’s continuing focus on skills upgrading, a theme that shows up again and again across different chapters of this book.
Singapore Becomes a Player
By the time Leong joined TAS in 1980, the foundations were in place. The focus shifted from building basic infrastructure to making sure the telecom industry could grow for the long term.
The ITU’s “Telecom” events, which started in 1971, were key platforms for networking and knowledge exchange. Singapore didn’t just attend. It hosted every single regional “Asia Telecom” event between 1985 and 1997. That’s four consecutive events in Singapore: 1985, 1989, 1993, and 1997. After 2000, the series became “ITU Telecom WORLD,” an annual global event.
Hosting these events year after year put Singapore at the center of the regional telecom conversation. Officials, industry leaders, and policymakers from across Asia came to Singapore regularly. That kind of consistent visibility builds relationships and reputation.
Spectrum and Satellite Coordination
Here’s something most people never think about. Radio frequencies are a limited resource. If neighboring countries use the same frequencies for different services, you get interference. For a tiny country surrounded by much bigger neighbors, this is a real problem.
The ITU handles global spectrum allocation through its World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC). These conferences review and update the Radio Regulations, the international treaty that determines how spectrum and satellite orbits are used globally.
Singapore has participated in the WRC since the early 1980s. Through these conferences, Singapore was able to be part of the process that allocates spectrum for wireless services and coordinates spectrum use across borders. Global harmonization of spectrum creates economies of scale and benefits everyone. That’s why your mobile phone works when you travel to another country: the frequencies are coordinated internationally.
Internet Governance and Being a Voice of Moderation
When the UN convened the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in 2003 and 2005, the big question was about the internet. Who should control key internet functions like the Domain Name System? How much should governments be involved?
Countries had very different views. Some wanted heavy government control. Others wanted a hands-off approach. Singapore took a middle position.
Singapore believed in a light-touch approach to internet governance. The traits that made the internet useful and widespread should be preserved. But at the same time, governments had legitimate interests in public policy issues related to the internet. So Singapore pushed for evolutionary and incremental changes to existing systems, not radical overhauls.
The result? Singapore was recognized at WSIS as a voice of moderation and an honest broker. This is a pattern you see across many chapters of this book. Singapore keeps ending up as the trusted middle ground, the country that both sides can talk to.
From Recipient to Contributor
By 2000, when IDA was formed, Singapore had moved past its developmental goals in telecom. It shifted from receiving ITU help to contributing to ITU programs.
Singapore started sharing its experiences at ITU forums. How did it use telecommunications and ICT to drive economic and social growth? These lessons drew from the entire history of ITU-Singapore collaboration, from building basic infrastructure to growing an industry.
In 2007, IDA and the ITU launched the Telecom Regulatory Course (TRC), an annual executive training program. By 2014, it had trained 213 participants from 39 countries. In late 2013, they began planning a Regulators’ Leadership Retreat to build a community among ICT leaders where they could exchange experiences openly. The first retreat was held in early 2015.
In 2010, the ITU and UNESCO set up the Broadband Commission to push for widespread adoption of broadband worldwide. Leong was invited to be a Commissioner. Through the Commission, he shared Singapore’s experience building its Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network and running digital inclusion programs. The UN was endorsing new Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, and Singapore, through its role on the Broadband Commission, worked to keep ICT at the center of the global development agenda.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter covers 50 years of development in a few pages, and the trajectory is striking. Singapore went from needing the ITU to help set up a basic phone system to helping shape global internet policy. The country code +65 is almost symbolic of the whole story: a small detail from 1965 that became part of an identity.
What stands out is how Singapore kept its relationship with the ITU practical and mutually useful at every stage. First, it accepted help and followed good advice. Then it built its own capacity. Then it started helping others. And through it all, it stayed involved in the policy discussions that shape the rules for everyone.
The telecom industry is one of the fastest-changing sectors on earth. What’s cutting edge today is outdated in five years. Singapore’s approach of continuous upgrading, from the Telecentre in the 1970s to the Broadband Commission in the 2010s, is the thread that connects the whole story.
About the Author
Leong Keng Thai is the Deputy Chief Executive and Director-General (Telecoms & Post) of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore. He has more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications. As Director-General since 1996, he played key roles in the full liberalization of the sector, the introduction of a competition regulatory framework, and the deployment of the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network. He also served as Chairman of the Personal Data Protection Commission and as a Commissioner on the UN Broadband Commission for Digital Development. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of Singapore and an MBA from the University of Southern California, and attended the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.
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