There were 1.24 million broadband users in 2002, up from 950,000 in 2001, meaning that two in five Singaporeans now have high-speed online connections, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) said in a statement.

"The 30 percent increase in broadband users shows broadband has come of age in Singapore as a pervasive mode of high-speed connectivity," said Khoong Hock Yun, assistant chief executive for infocomm development at IDA.

"This bodes well for Singapore's vision to see 50 percent of our households on broadband by 2006," he said.

As of November 2002, there were 3.2 million mobile phone subscribers in the city-state, up 14 percent from the previous year and representing a penetration rate of 76 percent, IDA said.

SPACE.WIRE