Singapore - Major Telecom Operators

Synopsis

More than 600 telecommunications licences have been awarded by Singapore’s telecom regulator, the Infocomm Development Authority, of which around 5% 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 the start 2012 the number of mobile subscribers had reached almost 8 million (with 3G subscribers making up 74% of the total) and an overall mobile penetration rate of over 150%. 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. Although there is competition in the fixed-line 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 launches LTE network; StarHub announced major international roaming deal with Vodafone; MobileOne has positioned itself for offering services on the new NGNBN.

Companies covered in this report include:

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

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Singapore Telecom (SingTel)
  • 2.1 Overview
  • 2.2 Corporate structure and subsidiaries
    • 2.2.1 Overview
    • 2.2.2 Restructure - 2012
    • 2.2.3 Temasek Holdings
    • 2.2.4 Thailand
  • 2.3 Statistics
    • 2.3.1 Singapore
    • 2.3.2 Regional
  • 2.4 SingTel Mobile
    • 2.4.1 Overview
    • 2.4.2 3G strategy
    • 2.4.3 LTE strategy
    • 2.4.4 Development of products and services – 2009-2012
  • 2.5 Broadband services
    • 2.5.1 Overview
    • 2.5.2 Next Generation Broadband Network (NGNBN)
    • 2.5.3 Long-term evolution (LTE)
  • 2.6 IPTV
• 3. StarHub Pte Ltd
  • 3.1 Overview
  • 3.2 Corporate structure
    • 3.2.1 StarHub/Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) merger
  • 3.3 Operational statistics
  • 3.4 Financials
  • 3.5 Mobile services
    • 3.5.1 Background
    • 3.5.2 Operational developments
    • 3.5.3 Network developments
  • 3.6 Broadband services
    • 3.6.1 Overview
    • 3.6.2 NGNBN
  • 3.7 Cable TV services
    • 3.7.1 Overview
    • 3.7.2 Background
    • 3.7.3 Statistics
    • 3.7.4 Operational development
    • 3.7.5 StarHub TV on mobile
• 4. MobileOne
  • 4.1 Overview
  • 4.2 Corporate structure
  • 4.3 Operating statistics
  • 4.4 Financials
  • 4.5 Business strategies
  • 4.6 Network development
    • 4.6.1 High-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA)
    • 4.6.2 LTE
    • 4.6.3 NGNBN
  • 4.7 Other players
    • 4.7.1 PacNet
    • 4.7.2 Verizon
  • 4.8 New players
    • 4.8.1 MyRepublic
• 5. Related reports

• Table 1 – SingTel – Singapore market – key operational statistics – 2011
• Table 2 – SingTel mobile subscribers – 1998 - 2011
• Table 3 – SingTel 3G mobile subscribers – 2006 - 2011
• Table 4 – SingTel Mobile – key operational statistics – 2011
• Table 5 – SingTel Mobile – ARPU – 2010 - 2011
• Table 6 – SingTel – ARPU for mobile services – postpaid and prepaid – 2003 - 2011
• Table 7 – SingTel’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2011
• Table 8 – SingTel’s mio TV subscribers – 2009 - 2011
• Table 9 – SingTel’s regional mobile subscribers – 2007 - 2011
• Table 10 – SingTel’s mobile subscribers by regional markets – 2011
• Table 11 – StarHub – key operational statistics – 2010 – 2011
• Table 12 – StarHub – proportion of revenue by market segment – 2011
• Table 13 – StarHub mobile subscribers – 2000 - 2011
• Table 14 – StarHub 3G mobile subscribers – 2006 - 2011
• Table 15 – StarHub – operating revenue and capital expenditure – 2008 - 2011
• Table 16 – StarHub - key operational statistics - postpaid and prepaid – 2011
• Table 17 – StarHub – ARPU for mobile services – postpaid and prepaid – 2003 - 2011
• Table 18 – StarHub’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2003 - 2011
• Table 19 – StarHub – ARPU for broadband services – 2006 - 2011
• Table 20 – StarHub Cable TV subscribers – 1996 - 2011
• Table 21 – StarHub cable TV ARPU – 2003 - 2011
• Table 22 – MobileOne subscribers – 1998 - 2011
• Table 23 – MobileOne 3G subscribers – 2006 - 2011
• Table 24 – Mobile One – operating revenue and capital expenditure – 2008 - 2011
• Table 25 – Mobile One – mobile subscribers, market share and ARPU – 2011
• Table 26 – MobileOne – ARPU for mobile services – postpaid and prepaid – 2002 - 2011

• Chart 1 – StarHub financials – 2007 - 2010
• Chart 2 – MobileOne financials – 2007 - 2010

• Exhibit 1 – Major shareholders in SingTel – May 2011
• Exhibit 2 – SingTel’s regional subsidiaries and shareholdings – 2010
• Exhibit 3 – Major shareholders in StarHub – February 2012
• Exhibit 4 – Major shareholders in Mobile One – February 2011