SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) on Friday announced its entry into the pay television market, offering an Internet protocol-based service to challenge the monopoly of rival StarHub.

SingTel's Chief Executive for Singapore operations Allen Lew says SingTel will spend S$30 million in the current fiscal year to develop the service.

"The next generation of television watching has arrived. Customers have been calling for choice and flexibility in the pay TV market and now they have it," he says.

To attract customers, SingTel is offering a competitive price, with subscription charges starting at just S$15 a month (before GST).

SingTel's aim is clear.

It wants no less than to overtake StarHub and become the market leader.

"We're not used to playing second to anybody, especially not in this market. We are financially responsible. We will get to number one position within a reasonable time, but I can't tell you when that will happen. We have our own internal targets for that," Lew says.

The launch of mio TV also means that SingTel will now be able to compete with StarHub head-on on all three services - TV, data and voice.

IPTV refers to the delivery of video or TV signals using Internet Protocol, usually via a broadband connection and a set-top box connected to the TV.

The new mio TV service, featuring 33 channels, will start on Saturday.

It will also offer high-definition television, or HDTV, content, giving a clearer, more vivid picture and could reach 85 percent of Singapore households.

The new service includes free-to-air channels by MediaCorp, blockbuster movies as well as a Cantonese movie channel.

MediaCorp's much anticipated HD5 will also be available on mio TV.

This will be the first free-to-air high-definition channel in Singapore which subscribers with HD-ready displays can enjoy, as all mio TV Set-Top Boxes are HD-ready at no extra cost.

Lucas Chow, CEO, MediaCorp, says: "Other than the HD5 channel (through) which we will be providing high-definition content, we will also be providing content that most probably you'll see on mio TV first before you see it on our free-to-air television.

"What it means is that now the viewers other than receiving our signals free to air, over the antenna, can also receive our signals over their IPTV channels."

In addition, SingTel has successfully inked an unprecedented output deal with Sony Pictures Television International that brings viewers Sony's upcoming slate of feature films at the same time as the DVD release and before they are seen anywhere else on TV.

The deal also includes key titles from Sony's extensive catalogue of feature films.

Subscribers of mio TV can pick from a price list of channels. The more channels they add on, the more expensive the monthly bill.

SingTel says mio TV's a la carte price plans allow customers to pay only for what they want to watch.

No longer do customers have to contend with restrictive basic tier subscription packages.

mio TV will also be among the first in the world to introduce on-demand channels to the Singapore market.

This option allows viewers to choose from up to 25 selected movies for unlimited viewing for only S$12 per month.

This means movies, anytime, for as low as 50 cents each.

Launching the event on Friday, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development Youth and Sports, cautions the industry to keep its objective clear.

He says: "We can compete all we like, we can slash prices all we like, we can deliver content more efficiently but at the end of the day the two key things are content and services. It is the way companies successfully innovate to deliver content and services that will give you a lasting competitive edge."

And Dr Balakrishnan believes that can be achieved through investing in research and development in this fast changing field.

SingTel, Singapore's biggest company by stock market value and Southeast Asia's biggest telephone operator, had received a licence to offer the service in January.

Besides TV, IPTV operators can also offer viewers video-conferencing and interactive applications such as gaming. - CNA/ch