(From left) Mr Wim Elfrink, chief globalisation officer and senior VP of customer advocacy, Cisco Systems; Mr Manish Madan, VP of technology functions at online learning worldwide university U21Global; Mr Bertrand Bidaud, Gartner's managing vice-president and a specialist in networking and communications equipment, moderated the discussion; Mr Rangaraj M.N., senior country operations officer of Citibank Singapore; Mr Alvin Ong, assistant director of IT planning at health-care cluster SingHealth. (PHOTOS: JULIAN TAY)
Orc-slaying in World Of Warcraft games, watching and sharing vintage Sesame Street clips on YouTube with your two-year-old, or exchanging discussions via video conferences with colleagues who are in a faraway land.
All these are made possible only with broadband today.
Singapore, while one of the most forefront countries in the world when it comes to IT usage, this year slipped from first to second spot as the world's most 'network-ready' country, stated a World Economic Forum report.
In pole position: the United States, which leapt from fifth to first.
But there are projects in the pipeline that may change that.
Last year, the Government announced plans for the Next-Generation National Broadband Network.
This will up broadband speeds to 1Gbps, about 10 times faster than what is currently available.
The speedier access will allow large video files - even high-definition ones - zip through networks, and make online connections more seamless and without lag.
About a dozen companies have submitted their ideas to the Government on the shape that the next-gen broadband network could take.
In anticipation of the tender, which will be called soon, Digital Life organised a roundtable to find out just what higher broadband speeds will do for users.
Speed: Is 1Gb enough?
Mr Ong: "Speed is important but it is not the limiting factor in health care, not even in the next three to five years. Probably one important thing in the health-care environment is to get the acceptance of doctors and patients for new ways of doing things.
"For example, we have started a remote consultation trial called telecare, where we have the ability to save one consultation visit. We tell the patient, he saves one visit, he pays less. But patients today still want to see the doctor (face to face).
Mr Madan: "I think we are driven by the applications that are available. The value of the network is proportional to the square of the number of users on it. What (speed) is sufficient is probably dependent on what is available on the network and the number of subscribers."
Mr Elfrink: "I think connectivity these days is expected. "But I also think very strongly that, in this part of the world, there are a lot of greenfields. We have always thought of infrastructure as roads, airports and harbours, but more and more, the key to country transformation will be connectivity and speed and applications.
"We've seen how Singapore, (as an) early adopter of broadband (has benefited because broadband is) an enabler and key differentiator between business competitors."
Making the next-gen broadband network happen
Mr Manish: "Should there be a push? Or should we wait for consumer demand to build up? There has to be the bandwidth available first so people can think about how to use it in creative ways."
Mr Elfrink: "I think this has to fit in with country policies. It is not something that can stand alone."
Mr Ong: "Also the end-to-end connections, say if we were to get Middle East patients, whether their connections to us will be as good."
Mr Manish: "The quality of the connection is only as good as the lowest speed connection."
Mr Ong: "The demand for bandwidth will always increase as you dream. So how can we design the infrastructure that can scale at a price that is affordable?"
Mr Manish: "For example, in Singapore, we have a population big enough to have a vibrant video calling base. But I think providers have not been fast enough to capture it.
"There is no monetisation model. There may have to be a bit more subsidy to start (next-generation broadband networks) off."
Mr Elfrink: "I think the Government has to play an active role - not to do it, but to enable it, be it regulation or stimulation.
"Organisations like the Infocomm Development Authority can play a key role in bringing stakeholders together. They are enablers."
User adoption
Mr Bidaud: "Speed also probably has a role to play in helping the user adopt broadband.
"For example, in health care, one of the limiting factors is the complicated use. A lot of applications are for the elderly, or other people who are not familiar with technology.
"But when you have an interface that is rich, you can have more users. User adoption is clearly holding back the ability to move on to the next stage."
Mr Rangaraj: "Today, we have to switch on the computer, wait for it to start, it is clunky and expensive. But if you had something small, an instant ?on' at the click of a button, with a whole range of uses, people can do commerce, connect to broadband, it opens an entire new channel.
"User adoption depends on two things, one, the availability; and two, the ability of the entrepreneur to deliver the goods in a seamless and exciting fashion. Like YouTube, maybe. I presume that video is one of the biggest gobblers of bandwidth today."
Mr Elfrink: "A video of 30 minutes consumes the same bandwidth as a year of e-mail."
Mr Rangaraj: "Compare sending an e-mail to a customer versus sending a video to him, and showing him exactly how to solve his problem. I think the customer will love it. It is a different experience."
Mr Manish: "In the education space, we have a huge need to bring students together virtually. For example, video conferencing so students anywhere in the world can work together in small teams, wherever they may be.
"The sooner we are able to have pervasive, high availability of broadband, that's going to improve our ability to have a highly interactive collaborative environment.
"I agree with you, it is going to be human-driven."
Mr Rangaraj: "The power is going back to the consumer."
Mr Elfrink: "Quoting Time magazine, ?It's all about you'."