More residents will soon be able to get information and news from digital screens in Housing Board lift lobbies and lifts, as part of the Republic's Smart Nation drive to leverage digital technologies.

The announcement comes even as the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said yesterday it will be reviewing regulations for digital display panels and will be seeking industry feedback on this.

HDB will pilot the installation of digital display panels in housing estates from next year, the board said yesterday as it launched a tender to install and operate about 6,000 of these panels.

The panels will complement traditional noticeboards, which have limited space and require notices to be replaced when their content becomes outdated, HDB said.

The panels will be installed in HDB lift lobbies on the ground floor and inside some residential lifts. They will offer a rolling display of news and information from government agencies, community organisations and advertisers.

The content will range from local notices on activities in the estate to nationwide updates on emergencies and public health advisories.

Commercial advertisements could also be displayed, but these will be capped at 30 per cent of the total screen time, HDB said.

Several town councils have already installed about 8,700 such panels in common areas of HDB blocks.

One that did was Jurong-Clementi Town Council. Council chairman Ang Wei Neng said the installation of around 2,200 screens began in January, and was completed in April.

"These digital panels have been well received by residents for the timely, informative and interesting display of the latest news in the community and Singapore at large," he said.

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The panels have also been installed in public housing estates under Bishan-Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang, Tampines, Tanjong Pagar, Sembawang and West Coast town councils.

Target Media, a joint venture between Singapore Press Holdings and Focus Media China, has worked with various town councils over the past few months to build the digital panels.

HDB said its pilot will build on what the town councils have already done by bringing greater economies of scale in installing these panels.

ST understands IMDA's plans to review the rules for digital display panels is linked to HDB's announcement as well as the prevalence of the display panels popping up in public housing estates.

IMDA regulates the content displayed on digital panels. For instance, displays with adult content or violent themes cannot be shown on digital boards in public spaces.

The authority said it is reviewing the regulation of the panels "with a view to strengthening content standards and requiring the carriage of public service messages, as with other broadcast media".

From Nov 8, the public can go to IMDA's website at www.imda.gov.sg for details on the industry consultation on the rules.