One unwanted side effect of living in a country as connected as Singapore is that life gets disrupted big time the moment the Internet stops working.

In other words: Underpinning the entire cashless but connected society framework is the assumption that everyone has affordable unfettered access to the Internet 24/7 to do as they please, including carrying out transactions and getting jobs.

It is not an abnormal expectation considering it is already 2018.

What happens if there is no Internet?

But if there is no Internet connection because access to mobile voice and data services on the 3G and 4G network is unavailable, due to power-related issues, people simply cannot transact, especially those on the go.

Case in point: When one of Singapore's mobile networks went down across the island on Thursday night, Oct 18, from 10.11pm to 1.22am, the three-hour demise of mobile Internet wrecked havoc on anyone who just wanted to go about their daily lives unabated.

Tens, and possibly hundreds of thousands of people in Singapore, were simultaneously thrown off the grid and became uncontactable.

Private hire drivers hit

You can see the effects of such a fallout via complaints posted online in the wake of not having mobile data for an extended period of time.

It was especially bad for those who depend on the Internet on the go to make money.

One private hire car driver said he set out for the night starting his shift at 10pm, but was suddenly stumped.

He had no job offers showing up on screen, no indication that the mobile data network had really gone down or for how long, and no way to rectify the situation, as there was no way he could accept business outside of the app he was working for.

And he cannot be the only one.

Passengers affected too

On passengers' end, there were plenty of complaints from people in Singapore, who suddenly could not book a ride to go home after a night out.

Other services relying on the Internet

And by extension, this problem is perhaps larger when gig economy workers, such as GrabFood and Foodpanda delivery personnel who suddenly do not have any jobs to match, are factored in.

The knock-on effects are likely to be much wider, when other failed transactions and incomplete deals are factored in:

The amount of economic value wiped out in a single night of Internet disruption could well be in the millions.

Upside

The good news then is: Singaporeans have not fully embraced an app-enabled life, or have themselves enmeshed in the Internet of Things, so much so that essential services must be conducted over an Internet connection.

But missed jobs and longer travelling times and other inconveniences aside, there are other priceless moments that are also lost.

One person, supposedly a foreigner working and residing in Singapore, was unable to be connected in time to witness an important milestone in his life:

And he cannot be the only one too.

Fragility

Mobile voice and data services on 3G and 4G networks work well most days without a glitch.

And this is perhaps the troubling part.

Unless unfettered access to the Internet can be guaranteed and made more robust, with failures more localised, more will be at risk the next time a disruption of a similar scale happens.

We ought to recognise that Singapore has turned yet another corner when the absence of an Internet connection these days results in livelihoods being put at stake.

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