Interviewee:
Harinderpal Singh Grewal, Infocomm Media Development Authority, Singapore

What you will learn in this audiocast (13min 25sec):
Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is Singapore’s regulator in the ICT space covering both telecom and broadcasting. As an early adopter territory, it encounters policy challenges before many other regulators in the world.

Here, several issues are being studied including spectrum allocation, obligations to cover, the relevance of 5G services in moving from a 4G world, as well as extremely advanced challenges such as the ethics in the deployment and use of artificial intelligence.

As the country approaches 5G rollout, it has also launched major national initiatives to spearhead the use of ICT in promoting economic benefit.

• The upcoming role of 5G and the 4G/5G landscape from the regulator’s point of view
• The spectrum plans that Singapore is making
• International coordination issues in spectrum allocation
• The coverage and inbuilding obligations that exist in Singapore
• Emerging issues in AI oversight
• Regulatory policies in cybersecurity

Harin manages a cluster of divisions in IMDA that cover the technical aspects of telecommunications and broadcast regulation, including spectrum management, border coordination, network resilience audits, cybersecurity, interconnection, numbering, regulatory price reviews, and telecommunication standards. 
 
Prior to this, Harin headed the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (“Next Gen NBN”) programme office. During his tenure, his team successfully conceptualised and awarded the Requests for Proposal to appoint the Network Company (“NetCo”) and Operating Company (“OpCo”) of Singapore’s Next Gen NBN. The Next Gen NBN is a globally unique nationwide fibre network, and its open-access model has been designed through a combination of structural and operational separation requirements set out by IMDA. 
 
Harin is an electrical engineer by training and his specialisations are in wireless telecommunications and telecommunications policy.