IMPLICATIONS FOR THOSE WHO NEED IMMEDIATE HELP
If someone is unlucky enough to experience a health or safety crisis while the outage is occurring, using SMS to call for assistance may not be the best or most beneficial option in the event that the extravagance of typing out a message is denied to them.
I personally witnessed a person who had collided by the side of the road during the Singtel incident, and I was relieved to discover emergency services waiting at the picture. However, I was curious about how much it had taken and how many other people who were in desperate need of help were not as fortunate.
Although it is still too early to determine the causes of the interruption and how much it will last, a thorough inspection is likely to follow.
We in Singapore frequently become comfortable because of the frequentoccurrence of such occurrences and the effectiveness and efficiency of the numerous public solutions and utilities we use.
The most recent incident serves as a great reminder to us not to assume these things for granted, and for support providers to incorporate redundancies and emergency plans to ensure that any long-term and significant effects are minimized for society as a whole.
Nicholas Fang is a previous Nominated Member of Parliament and journalist, and a proper communications specialist. At the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, he serves as the director of safety and world affairs.