Singtel employee of 45 years Tan Lam Liong saw Singapore’s transition to Smart Nation
Published on
10 Dec 2022
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Whenever Mr Tan Lam Liong visits his friends’ homes and sees them using Singtel’s home broadband, a sense of pride swells within him.
The 67-year-old heads a team at the communications technology group that fixes bugs in home devices, such as routers and set-top boxes, before they are rolled out to customers.
He says: “I have been doing this for 22 years and it never gets old. I love troubleshooting and solving problems, and am always happy when I see people enjoying the service with no major problems.”
In all, Mr Tan has worked at Singtel for 45 years and feels he made a wise decision to stay on over the decades. “I feel proud to be a part of a company that has played a pivotal role in the development of Singapore’s telecommunications industry, and helped make Singapore the Smart Nation it is today.”
The Institute of Technical Education graduate joined Singtel’s public switched telephone network switch maintenance team in 1977, after completing his national service.
While working, he completed a part-time diploma in computer studies, after which he joined Singtel’s software centre in 1990. By 1998, he was promoted to today’s equivalent of a senior associate engineer. He now leads a team of 10 in iLab, a Singtel testing facility that fixes bugs in new broadband devices.
In the 1980s, he explored his prospects by interviewing for similar positions at other companies. But the salaries offered were not as competitive and the prospective job scopes not as interesting, so he saw little value in moving.
Another factor which encouraged him to stay was the pace at which Singtel grew its businesses.
For example, in 1988, Singtel launched cellular mobile phones, providing Singapore with first-generation mobile services. In 1994, it launched Singapore’s first Internet service, SingNet. “The company was expanding and spreading its reach, so I knew there would be opportunities to grow,” he recounts.
He was right. In 2000, he was the engineer tasked to set up a new lab as the lead for Singtel’s customer premise equipment team, which does device testing for Singtel’s asymmetric digital subscriber line, a broadband technology rolled out in 2000. Seven years later, Singtel expanded into cable television services with mio TV, now known as Singtel TV.
“I feel privileged to have witnessed these different milestones. It is wonderful to have a front-row seat to see the company expand, and have my career grow along with it,” he says.
He is married to an administrative staff in a transport company. Their son, 38, is a pharmacist, while their daughter, 34, works as a marketing officer.
Asked if he would advise his kids to follow in his loyalist footsteps, he says: “They are in a different job environment from me.”
That said, he hopes they will follow their interests. “I would advise them to do something that is fruitful for them. Whether they intend to stay long in a company or not, they should not have to drag themselves to work,” he adds.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission.
ALL views, content, information and/or materials expressed / presented by any third party apart from Council For Third Age, belong strictly to such third party. Any such third party views, content, information and/or materials provided herein are for convenience and/or general information purposes only. Council For Third Age shall not be responsible nor liable for any injury, loss or damage whatsoever arising directly or indirectly howsoever in connection with or as a result of any person accessing or acting on any such views, content, information and/or materials. Such third party views, content, information and/or materials do not imply and shall not be construed as a representation, warranty, endorsement and/or verification by Council For Third Age in respect of such views, content, information and/or materials.
