Telcos quick to match data deal by new hopeful
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — With a new player possibly entering the market, telcos here have moved to defend their turf by rolling out deals on data plans in a bid to secure the loyalty of their customers.
StarHub and M1 yesterday announced new data add-on options within hours of each other, a day after the biggest player here, Singtel, did so.
The three incumbent operators’ moves came in the wake of aspiring entrant MyRepublic’s bid Wednesday to woo subscribers by dangling discounts for its proposed mobile data plans for early birds.
Analysts interviewed did not think a price war has erupted, noting instead that the incumbents’ moves are just coming at a time when the cost of investing in 4G technology has been absorbed over the past few years.
StarHub’s upsizing option allows new and re-contracting customers to get an additional 3GB of data for S$3 per month. This offer lasts until the end of the month, after which the price will double.
M1’s new add-on, called Upsized Data, will offer its customers the option of doubling their data bundles for an additional S$5.90 a month and is available to Lite+ subscribers and more expensive plans. The new offering mirrors that introduced by Singtel a day earlier.
Also on Wednesday, MyRepublic, which is hoping to become Singapore’s fourth telco, announced a proposed S$80 unlimited mobile data package and S$8 for 2GB. Existing and new subscribers to its fibre broadband will pay S$60 and S$6 respectively.
The spectrum auction for entrants to the telco market is likely to take place in the third quarter of this year. Any new player will be allowed to begin services in April next year, at the earliest.
Commenting on the developments in the past two days, Forrester Research senior analyst Clement Teo saw the offers by the incumbents as attempts to defend their turf.
They want to “pre-empt MyRepublic from actually benefiting from (its announcement on its proposed mobile data price plans)”. “It is not really a price war but a price adjustment because what they are trying to do is gauge market reaction to the new bandwidth or the ability to add on more (data) at a lower cost,” he said.
The offerings represent a “more realistic correction” of mobile data prices, added Mr Teo, who noted that the current tiered plans are too narrow and should be adjusted upwards.
“What the telcos (have been) doing is dictating (data consumption) with price levers, which is the wrong thing to do. Ultimately, consumers here suffer,” he said.
Consulting associate at Frost & Sullivan Cris Tran also does not think the new deals from the incumbent telcos are setting off a price war.
Given that 4G technology has been around for some time and mobile data revenue has increased in recent years, the cost of investing in the technology has been recovered, he said. So the time is right to adjust data pricing and volume in Singapore, he added.
Mr Tran said consumers will gain from this adjustment and things can only get better if Singapore does see a fourth telco. He said: “The local consumers will benefit from more choice in terms of product combinations, and prices as well.”
