Twelve bidders are now in the running to deploy Singapore?s ultra-highspeed Next Generation National Broadband Network (NBN), the Infocomm Development Authority announced today.

They were shortlisted from about 30 companies which have come forward, either as individual entities or as consortia members, to apply to participate in the NBN project.

?The NBN will be capable of offering ultra-high speeds of 1 Gbps or more, and aims to provide affordable broadband for 95 per cent of all homes and businesses by 2012. An open access architecture will ensure competitiveness in our Infocomm sector, and facilitate the development of diverse, new services for businesses and individuals,? said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Second Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts in Parliament today.

The bidders were pre-qualified following IDA?s call1 to the industry in December 2006 to participate in a Pre-Qualification Exercise and Competitive Dialogue (IPCD). That process was the first step in preparation for a formal Request For Proposal (RFP) for the Next Gen NBN project later this year. Pre-qualified bidders will be invited to participate in a Competitive Dialogue between April and July 2007.

The Competitive Dialogue is an opportunity for the 12 pre-qualified bidders to provide feedback on a proposed set of RFP parameters and specifications, which will serve to refine the eventual RFP.

Interested bidders who did not apply to be pre-qualified or were not shortlisted during the IPCD exercise may still participate in the RFP in August. However, they must either partner the pre-qualified bidders, or write in to IDA to put forth a case for their application, after the Competitive Dialogue phase. New bidders must at least meet the same set of pre-qualification criteria - such as financial strength and deployment track record.

The winning bid will be awarded at the end of December.

The NBN is the wired component of Singapore?s Next Generation National Infocomm Infrastructure. The network, expected to be ready by 2012, will be future-proof and able to deliver speeds of 1Gigabits per second or more.

The wireless component, which is being deployed island-wide currently, will extend broadband access beyond homes, schools and offices, to public places. Together, the next generation wired and wireless infrastructure will entrench Singapore?s Infocomm hub status and open the doors to new business opportunities and social well-being for the nation. This has been envisioned in Singapore?s sixth Infocomm masterplan, Intelligent Nation 2015.