SINGAPORE: In 2016, telecoms regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) endeavored to instill a fresh lease of life in Singapore’s mobile sector. The incumbent operators now face competition from two new players in a saturated market.
Australian broadband provider TPG Telecom, one of the new players, won Singapore’s new entrant spectrum auction in December 2016 and has become the country’s fourth mobile network operator (MNO).
TPG outbid local firm MyRepublic to win 60 MHz of spectrum – 20 MHz in the 900-MHz band and 40 MHz in the 2.3-GHz band – and is expected to launch services before 1H18.
Circles.Life, the other new player, entered the market as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in May 2016 to offer 4G services. It targets a niche segment of online-savvy and data-hungry users with a business model based on online channels and service delivery.
These developments are significant because it marks the first time in 15 years that the three-way hold on Singapore’s mobile market by the three incumbents, Singtel, StarHub, and M1, has ultimately loosened. Ovum believes the introduction of a fourth MNO has kicked the market out of complacency.
