Singtel Group has launched its 2026 National Day film, ‘Beyond Connection’, a tribute to Singapore’s progress over 61 years that also sets out the telco’s pledge to keep building the country’s digital backbone as it enters what its chief executive called an AI-driven revolution.

The film traces Singapore’s journey from a resource-poor island in 1965 through industrialisation and digitalisation to its current status as a global economic hub, before turning to how digital infrastructure and AI will support the country’s next lap as a Smart Nation and regional AI hub. Against that backdrop, it also charts Singtel’s own evolution, showing how its investments in subsea cables, satellite communications, advanced mobile networks and AI-ready data centres have supported the nation’s progress.

“The story of Singapore has always been one of looking beyond the horizon and building for the future. Every generation has played a part in building a stronger foundation for the next and this includes investing in the infrastructure and capabilities that have helped us dream bigger. As AI reshapes economies and societies, we are entering another defining chapter,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Group Chief Executive Officer, Singtel.

5G and AI already at work across five industries

Beyond the tribute, Singtel pointed to concrete deployments across Singapore’s economy. At the National University Health System, surgical teams are using Holomedicine to plan complex procedures through interactive 3D images; the technology has been applied in about 50 complex surgeries ranging from liver transplants to facial reconstruction, and in one case involving rib tumour localisation, it reduced operating times by up to 30 minutes while helping minimise post-operative risks.

In manufacturing, Singtel’s 5G network supports real-time collaboration between humans, robotics and AI systems at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore, which produces the IONIQ 5 and 6 and serves as a testbed for manufacturing technologies across the group — more than four decades after Ford closed its last vehicle assembly plant in the country.

At Changi Airport, Singtel’s 5G Standalone network enables autonomous baggage vehicles that stay connected to a central control centre for remote operator intervention, alongside the iFerret system that monitors runways for foreign objects and debris. At PSA’s Tuas Port, the company’s 5G connectivity underpins the world’s largest fully automated container terminal, which is expanding towards a capacity of 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually by the 2040s. In construction, Singtel’s purpose-built 5G network connects THE GEAR, Kajima’s global robotics and innovation lab in Singapore, enabling researchers and industry partners to test future construction technologies.

A community pledge alongside the infrastructure push

The film also highlights Singtel’s community commitments, including more than three decades of support for children and youth with special needs through the Singtel Touching Lives Fund, backing for the arts through the Singtel Waterfront Theatre and the Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery at National Gallery Singapore, and a 15-year partnership with the Singapore National Olympic Council.

“With the world on the cusp of an AI-driven revolution, it is even more critical that a company with our DNA helps Singapore make its way in the brave new world while leaving no one behind,” said Lian Pek, Vice President, Group Corporate Affairs & Investor Relations, Singtel.

‘Beyond Connection’ is available on Singtel’s YouTube channel and will also air at the National Day Parade, on Singtel TV and across the company’s social media channels.