Technologies are constantly changing, and so the country’s infocomm and media authorities have to change with it.
The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Media Development Authority (MDA) will soon merge into one giant faceless entity — the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA).
The restructuring will take place in April, said Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim, who noted that the convergence of infocomm and media sectors has accelerated in recent years.
“It has brought up considerations to merge the infocomm and media’s development and regulatory functions from time to time,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “Thus far, we have managed the coming together of the sectors through closer collaborations between IDA and MDA.”
At the opening of the ITU Forum this morning, I announced that we will be reorganising the IDA Singapore and Media…
Posted by Yaacob Ibrahim on Sunday, 17 January 2016
What they aim to do is to deepen regulatory capabilities, safeguard the interests of consumers and foster pro-enterprise regulations, Channel NewsAsia reports. They’ll create opportunities for enterprises to capitalise on the converging media landscape and be the regulatory body for the sector — censorship, content restrictions and the such.
Then there’s the Government Technology Organisation that will focus on emerging tech for citizens. Robotics, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and probably technological singularity too.
How does this affect you, the average Joe/Jane? We have no idea — there’s just too much jargon going on.
