ASEAN's 5G-AI Strategy Charted by Lee Kuan Yew School
The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP) has recently released a comprehensive report titled "Leveraging 5G to Accelerate AI-Driven Transformation in ASEAN." The report outlines strategic priorities for ASEAN governments to leverage the convergence of 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for transformative economic growth.
The report emphasizes that ASEAN cannot afford to wait on establishing regional leadership in intelligent connectivity, as the window for doing so is rapidly closing. To secure ASEAN's digital future, the report recommends implementing five strategic priorities:
- Establishing national 5G-AI development strategies
- Creating empowered coordination agencies
- Deploying forward-looking spectrum policies
- Fostering vibrant AI-driven ecosystems
- Implementing robust monitoring frameworks
The report identifies ten critical imperatives for accelerating 5G-AI transformation, including addressing fragmentation and treating 5G as a strategic AI enabler.
One of the key recommendations is to anchor 5G in National Development Plans, integrating 5G deployment within broader economic transformation roadmaps. This positions 5G not merely as telecom infrastructure but as the foundation of AI-powered intelligent ecosystems incorporating IoT, robotics, and cloud computing.
Coordinating leadership and strategy at national and regional levels is also crucial to overcome fragmentation and spur transformative innovation. This includes aligning spectrum policies and regulatory frameworks to facilitate interoperability and regional scaling of use-cases.
Governments should also promote use-case pilots and innovation sandboxes, co-funding pilots and creating regulatory sandboxes in priority sectors to test 5G-AI applications, mitigate risks, and generate policy insights. Early pilots, such as Singapore’s smart port and Thailand’s AI disaster management systems, demonstrate potential impact.
Transparent, affordable, and timely spectrum auctions with regional harmonization will lower costs, improve cross-border connectivity, and enable wider 5G deployment needed to support AI innovation.
Investing in digital skills and SME readiness is another important aspect. Building human capital by focusing on AI/5G skill development and supporting SME digitalization ensures that businesses and the workforce can effectively leverage new technologies.
Leveraging private 5G networks for advanced industries (manufacturing, logistics) and using fixed wireless access to bridge rural digital divides can accelerate inclusive growth.
The report also highlights enterprise adoption as the primary driver of 5G’s economic impact, with 5G alone projected to contribute US$130 billion to the Asia Pacific's economy by 2030.
The report positions current 5G deployment as critical infrastructure for 6G evolution expected by 2030. ASEAN’s Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) aims to harmonize digital trade rules regionally, encouraging innovation and integration. Participation in global collaborations such as the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network helps scale expertise and infrastructure.
Realizing this vision requires bold coordinated action, strategic coordination and planning, and sustained commitment to digital transformation. Without coordinated action, digital divides may deepen, and regional competitiveness may weaken. The comprehensive set of coordinated, interoperable strategies will allow ASEAN to leverage the convergence of 5G and AI as a strategic enabler for accelerating digital transformation, fueling economic growth, and positioning the region competitively into the 6G future.
The LKYSPP report and executive summary are now available for download. Singapore's 5G-powered smart ports have already achieved a 50% latency reduction, demonstrating the potential impact of these strategies. Without a doubt, ASEAN's digital future lies in its ability to embrace and harness the power of 5G-AI convergence.
- To position ASEAN at the forefront of data-and-cloud-computing innovation, the report emphasizes the importance of implementing robust monitoring frameworks, fostering vibrant AI-driven ecosystems, and investing in digital skills and SME readiness.
- In the realm of finance, the report projects that enterprise adoption of 5G will be the primary driver of its economic impact, with 5G alone anticipated to contribute US$130 billion to the Asia Pacific's economy by 2030.
