Singapore, 1 October 2014 – NetLink Trust announced today it has completed the integration of Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) core fibre infrastructure and resources into one operation, about two months ahead of schedule.
Effective 1 October 2014, NetLink Trust becomes the fibre network operator of the Next Gen NBN, in place of OpenNet Pte Ltd, which will be subsumed into the enlarged entity.
NetLink Trust also brings together in one entity the passive infrastructure, which includes the central offices, ducts and manhole network, and the capabilities of fibre network design, build and management.
Mr Yap Chee Keong, Chairman, NetLink Trust, said, “The transition has gone smoothly and all of Next Gen NBN’s passive infrastructure assets, operations and manpower are now housed in one organisation helmed by a new leadership team. NetLink Trust is well positioned to take on the responsibility of building, maintaining and running the high-quality and ultra-high speed fibre network that is the foundation of the Next Gen NBN.”
The integration, which was initially targeted to take 12 months, followed NetLink Trust’s successful acquisition of OpenNet in November 2013. The enlarged entity has a staff strength of 240 and there are plans to increase this to 270 by the end of 2014.
“NetLink Trust remains committed to open and equal access for all service providers. We welcome closer engagement with industry stakeholders to bring the Next Gen NBN fibre network to its maximum potential for the benefit of all end-users,” said Mr Ng Yong Hwee, Chief Executive Officer, NetLink Trust.
Over the last 11 months, NetLink Trust has successfully rolled out numerous initiatives to improve its service in both the residential and non-residential segments.
In the residential segment, NetLink Trust has:
- Improved the end-to-end service order processes and proactively increased installation capacity in response to growing demand.
- Undertaken a mass home-reached rollout exercise to over 100,000 residential premises.
- Extended service provisioning to Saturdays.
- Increased provisioning capacity for special events such as IT shows.
- Collaborated closely with industry stakeholders to introduce a fibre switching process for users who want to change their Internet Service Providers.
In the non-residential segment, NetLink Trust has:
- Collaborated with the building management or owners of selected non-residential buildings to preinstall optic fibre cable. The pre-installation process has helped to speed up the installation process when an actual order comes in.
- Set up a building management engagement team to liaise with the building management or owners about their various house rules. This has expedited approvals to access buildings for service provisioning.
- Worked with requesting licensees to secure approval to install fibre for end-users by leveraging their relationships with building management or owners.
- Engaged requesting licensees to undertake fibre service provisioning work based on their available technical know-how and resources.
By the end of September 2014, NetLink Trust had fulfilled more than 620,000 fibre subscriptions.
NetLink Trust will also be investing significantly to deploy additional fibre across the entire network over the next four years.
“We’ve made good progress, and we recognise there’s still more work to be done. We are working to overcome the challenges, and developing our corporate direction and strategy to move forward,” said Mr Ng. “Singapore has come a long way in achieving nation-wide fibre network coverage and we must celebrate this success while staying focused on finding ways to achieve new growth for Singapore’s Next Gen NBN. We’ve been given a great mandate and are excited about this new chapter.”
All contracts with OpenNet will be taken on by NetLink Trust and the customer Service Hotline remains unchanged at 6563 4273 / 656-FIBRE.
About NetLink Trust
NetLink Trust is responsible for building, managing and operating a high quality and ultra-high speed fibre network. This fibre network is the foundation of Singapore’s Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), part of the iN2015 masterplan powered by Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA).
NetLink Trust represents a new, single entity that brings together the core fibre infrastructure and resources which includes the ducts and manhole network and central offices necessary to support the Next Gen NBN roll-out. As the first layer in the three-tiered fibre industry model, the integration aims at building synergies and improving service standards to all downstream operators, and ultimately, to the end-users of fibre services.
We are committed to open and equal access and to working closely with the downstream operators and the regulator. We believe in a fair and neutral environment for all operators to enable unbounded innovations and services on this ultra-high speed fibre network.
With nation-wide fibre coverage already achieved, NetLink Trust will continue to support Singapore’s transformation into an Intelligent Nation in partnership with the industry.
NetLink Trust is managed by NetLink Management Pte. Ltd. as its trustee manager.
