Issued by The Economist's Intelligence Unit and sponsored by the BSA, the IT Competitiveness 2009 study puts Singapore 9th among 66 economies.

T&A: A study released one and a half weeks ago has recently ranked five Asia Pacific economies — Australia (7th), Singapore (9th), Japan (12th), Taiwan (15th) and South Korea (16th) — as among the Top 20 in the world in infotech (IT) industry competitiveness.

The study, now in its third year, was made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and sponsored by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), and it compares the IT industry environments of 66 economies, to determine IT sector competitiveness.

According to Jeffrey Hardee, BSA Vice President and Regional Director, APAC, the IT sector remains an important engine of economic growth, and economies that support innovation and stimulate tech sector output will be in a stronger position to accelerate economic recovery. (more…)

China had 687.2 million subscribers in 2008 (about 80% of North Asia's mobile users). By 2014, this will increase to 1.15 billion users.

T&A: Frost & Sullivan released a report, indicating that compared to the other Asian sub-regions, North Asia (China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong), continues to lead in mobile revenues, innovation and subscription in 2009.

According to the report, Japan is expected to launch its LTE (Long Term Evolution) in 2010 — which is probably a world first — and together with South Korea, form the two nations with the highest ARPU (average revenue per user) levels in Asia-Pacific.

Japan leads with an ARPU of US$53.2 per month in 2008, while South Korea takes second with US$38.04.

By the end of 2009, North Asia is expected to have 1 billion mobile users, which is a year-on-year growth of 15.3%.

While China continues to fuel this growth (51.6% mobile penetration rate in 2008), other countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are experiencing similar take-up rates at 133.2%, 110.9%, 94% and 86.5% respectively.

China alone is expected to form 80% of that billion user benchmark.In the four countries besides China, Frost & Sullivan believes that growth will be driven less by more subscribers but more by data usage due to mobile broadband and 3G service uptake.

“We expect intense price competition in these markets with the vast majority of mobile data subscribers using flat-rate plans,” one analyst explains. (Editor opinions: 1)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: No surprises there as the North Asian countries are more economically established than the rest of Asia.

Telecommunication infrastructure is also more developed making it more practical to use, thus more usage per user.

The rest of Asia is still catching up on the number of mobile phone owners.

The development and introduction of additional mobile features (content) are still slow with most providers still focusing on basic mobile phone usage (voice and texting).

Dubai Metro, the world’s longest automated driverless train system built in just 4 years.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (extreme right), Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, officiated the launch of the Dubai Metro on 9th September 2009.

T&A: The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Far East Office) has shared with us the launch of Dubai Metro, the world’s longest automated driverless train system built in just 4 years.

The Metro was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at 9pm on 9th September 2009 at the Mall of the Emirates station.

For those of you who’s been reading HWM the magazine, you would have read our feature story on Broadband in Dubai (Singapore & Thailand: July 2009 issues; Indonesia: August 2009 issue & Malaysia: September 2009 issue).

Anyway, the aim of the Metro System is to ease congestion, save travelling time, reduce air pollution, and deliver a modern and safe mode of transportation. Ten stations are currently opened so far but by February 2010, 29 stations will be operating on the Red Line with 24 elevated, 4 underground and 1 at grade (street level). (more…)

The Google Voice app was rejected by Apple for its App Store because it encroached on Apple's core telephony features for the iPhone.

T&A: Knowledge@Wharton has put up a feature on Google stepping on Apple’s toes recently when it wanted to distribute its Google Voice app on Apple’s App Store for the iPhone.

Apple rejected the app because it felt Google Voice interfered with the Apple user experience with its own core telephony features, such as voicemail, text messaging and calls. But that’s just one potential competitor out of many others.

According to Wharton, Google has a dominant position in Internet search, but has since moved into other areas like free office production software and the Android mobile computing platform — making it look like a younger Microsoft in the mid-1990s — an ambitious company with a growing list of competitors.

The caution given is to avoid a clash with antitrust issues (and privacy advocates) in the future, prompting a similar predicament Microsoft faced with regulators many years later. The difference however is that most of Google’s offerings are free — from office productivity software, to the Chrome Web browser — and “free” is always a popular word.

While analysts share that Google’s main goal in expanding beyond its core search business model is to expand into areas where Internet access and mobility happen, its ultimate plan is to organize the world’s information so that more people will use its free services online, allowing it to capitalize on reach and grow its search advertising business.

It is no wonder then that though it is dominant on the desktop and notebook space, it wants to secure the consumer reach in the mobile space as well. But we’re certain the Google Voice app rejection from Apple is just a bump on the road for the Mountain View, California-based company. (Editor opinions: 1)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: It’s a common practice among competing parties to “block” access to another’s applications.

There’s nothing wrong with that since Apple has to protect its core business for telephony with the iPhone.

However, Google should take some lessons from the experiences Microsoft had to go through in the past and recently in the EU, with the occasional fine making the news now and then.

T&A: Singapore’s free Wireless@SG service has doubled in bandwidth from 512Kbps to 1Mbps nationwide since yesterday. According to the release from the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, this increase in free wireless bandwidth will give Singapore residents and visitors better access to media-rich and interactive websites, including video streaming, conferencing and multimedia applications.

The speed upgrade is seamless without existing users needing to re-register or re-configure their devices. The Wireless@SG service is expected to be a free service until 31 March 2013.

By January 2010, the service will also see additional enhancements, such as Seamless & Secure Access (SSA), Wireless@SG Dashboard and a Centralized Location-Based Engine.

According to IDA, the Wireless@SG service now has 7,500 hotspots from a start of 600 since its 2006 launch. It currently has 1.3 million subscribers.

For more information, download a PDF fact sheet on Wireless@SG. (Editor opinions: 3)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: It would be more beneficial for users if the coverage and strength of the Wi-Fi network is extended, rather than to increase the bandwidth.

For tourists/travelers who have limited access to internet, the Wireless@SG service is very useful.

It works for me.

Paolo Manzano, Managing Editor, HWM Philippines

Paolo (HWM Philippines): Really? Should I even care? I have never been able to surf with any regularity and consistency despite registering and trying to connect every single time I am in Singapore.

Whether it’s at Changi or Orchard, it’s always been a no-go for me, even for the most simple Web sites like the Google homepage.

Maybe it’s the wireless radios and settings on all my devices that’s holding me back.

Navin Danapal, Technical Editor, HWM Malaysia

Navin (HWM Malaysia): Unfortunately, Kuala Lumpur’s Wireless@KL initiative by Packet One (P1, under Green Packet) is bogged down by the requirement to register your mobile phone number before you can access free Wi-Fi in the city.

This is off-putting for some people — for obvious reasons. I’m not sure if Singapore’s variant requires the same registration.

It’s much better to just head to the nearest Starbucks for free Wi-Fi (albeit you have to watch a short video ad and enter an email address before you can use the free service).

Alternatively, with people now having mobile broadband in the form of 3G USB data modems, my view is that wireless roaming around the city may pose a much bigger challenge to P1’s Wireless@KL initiative.