Singapore has awarded StarHub the contract to develop and operate a nationwide broadband network that will provide subscribers with Internet connections of up to 1 gigabyte per second. Under the terms of the agreement announced on Friday, StarHub, Singapore's number two telecom firm, will become the wholesale provider of broadband access to companies offering Internet access, as well as other services such as videoconferencing and high-speed data transmission.

The other contenders for the contract were Singapore Telecommunications, MobileOne, and a consortium led by Canada’s Axia Netmedia, which included Cisco Systems. In September last year, Singapore gave the contract to develop the "passive infrastructure" for its nationwide broadband network to Axia Netmedia.