Major Telecom Operators - Singapore

Major Telecom Operators - Singapore

More than 600 telecommunications licences have been awarded by Singapore's telecom regulator, the Infocomm Development Authority; around 5% of these come under the facilities-based operator category. The boom in licensing over the last decade has been the result of a hugely liberalised market and government policy that has strongly supported a progressive regulatory regime.

The dominant players in the market are, of course, the mobile operators with their massive subscriber bases and revenues, combined with blanket coverage. By early 2014 the number of mobile subscribers had reached almost 8.5 million (with 3G/4G subscribers making up more than 95% of the total) and an overall mobile penetration rate of more than 155%. Of the three big mobile operators SingTel, Mobile One and StarHub two (SingTel and StarHub) are full service operators and consequently are involved in a wide range of telecom services, including fixed line and fixed broadband. Following the launch of the NGNBN Mobile One has also moved into the fixed broadband market. Although there is competition in the fixed-line telephony market, SingTel continues to dominate with more than 90% of fixed subscribers. Despite the huge presence of the three big players in the Singapore telecom market, the many smaller operators are playing a vital part in increasing competition and also make a valuable contribution to the creative side of the market.

This report takes a look at the major operators in Singapore's dynamic, constantly changing telecoms environment. Despite a much more competitive market, incumbent SingTel has remained a formidable player; the company has been busy developing new strategies, including regional expansion, as it adapts to the changing nature of the business.

Key developments:

SingTel announced major corporate restructure;
SingTel, M1 and StarHub all launched commercial LTE (4G) networks;
smartphones playing key role in marketing strategies of the major mobile operators;
MobileOne has positioned itself for offering services on the new NGNBN.
MyRepublic, after launching fibre-based broadband in 2012, rapidly claims 5% of subscribers.

Companies covered in this report include:

SingTel; StarHub, MobileOne (M1), PacNet, Temasek; MyRepublic.