The DIA will reshape how Singapore regulates data centres. Some are worried
From PUE mandates to load cuts, the draft Bill reaches wide.
The Digital Infrastructure Act (DIA) will redefine how data centres and cloud services are regulated in Singapore. And some in the industry have expressed "a lot of" concerns.
Until last week, I hadn't paid much attention to the DIA. It turns out the pending legislation will bring about profound changes for existing players. Here are three areas that could be a concern.
Broad scope, sweeping powers
The first thing that struck me was how broad the DIA is. While the October 2023 Equinix SG3 data centre outage was cited repeatedly as the tipping point, the draft Bill goes far beyond digital resilience. It also covers obligations around cybersecurity, sustainability, national security, even economic benefits, and more.
The powers are sweeping to match, and this is where some have voiced their concerns in private. Specifically, licences can be suspended, which is expected, or permitted IT load can be reduced, which is rather more startling.
Under what circumstances could that happen? The range is broad. It includes failure to meet energy and water efficiency targets, a breach of an Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) direction or code, and broader circumstances including "public interest", among others.
Though a reduction of permitted IT load is framed as a lesser sanction than revoking a licence, I'll point out that a data centre or cloud platform that has too much of its power yanked would have trouble operating at all.
Sustainability, applied retroactively
Another striking aspect of the DIA is its sustainability provisions, which essentially build resource use metrics into the law. For example, Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) compliance will be a mandatory condition for holding a data centre licence.
This is a retroactive requirement in the sense that it applies to existing data centres, too. While no numbers were offered, the Singapore Green Data Centre Roadmap does define a PUE target of 1.3 over 10 years.
In effect, existing data centre operators can be compelled to retrofit or upgrade their facilities for better efficiency.
Overlapping licences
This is the part that confused me the most as I read up on the DIA. While there are only two licences, the "DC licence" and the "major FDI licence", it is possible for certain cloud players to end up needing both. This part seems tacked on to me.
What's next
Assuming it is passed into law, the DIA will be implemented via a Code of Practice (COP), which is currently being discussed with industry players. In other words, consultations are ongoing even now.
There is no question that the intention is good, and that regulation of this kind is needed. But how well it works rests on the actual implementation via the COP, after the Bill is passed. As one data centre industry contact put it to me: the devil is in the details.
