YOU ARE AT:Archived ArticlesSINGAPORE LAUNCHES SECOND OPERATOR AND OFFERS NEW LICENSES

SINGAPORE LAUNCHES SECOND OPERATOR AND OFFERS NEW LICENSES

Competition began in earnest last week in Singapore when the nation’s second operator launched service.

To try to ensure even more competition, the government announced it expects to call for tenders later this year for two new 17-year licenses, under which operators could begin offering service in 2000.

The Telecommunications Authority is expected to allow 49 percent foreign equity participation in the new licensing. The tender may go out in 1997, but the government doesn’t promise a decision until mid-1998.

The new operator, MobileOne Pte Ltd., won the nation’s first competitive cellular license in 1995, along with one of the three paging licenses offered. But the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore would not let MobileOne launch until April 1, 1997, the expiration date of the exclusive rights of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. to operate cellular and paging services.

The MobileOne consortium is owned by London-based Cable & Wireless plc, Hongkong Telecom, Keppel Telecoms Pte Ltd. and Singapore Press Holdings Multimedia Pte Ltd.

Singapore Telecom operates four mobile phone networks in the island nation of 3 million people. It claims nearly 370,000 total subscribers, which means 13 out of every 100 people have a cellular phone.

In Singapore, there are about 11,000 people per square mile, compared to 72 people per square mile in the United States. The penetration rate there is one of the highest in the Asia Pacific region.

Singapore Telecom and several partners had been bidding actively on a cellular license in Tamil Nadu, India, but Singapore Telecom recently expressed a desire to withdraw from that endeavor. That business was not viable enough to justify the premium, Singapore Telecom told international reporters.

Along with competition in the wireless telecommunications segment, Singapore Telecom also faces competition in domestic landline and international service beginning in 2000. Singapore Power, the national power utility, and Singapore Technologies Telemedia are expected to bid for the fixed-line license, possibly in conjunction with a foreign partner.

Previous article
Next article

ABOUT AUTHOR