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As at 31 December 2006, Singapore’s cellular mobile penetration was 103.4%, which was 5.6 percentage points higher than a year ago.1 Out of the total market cellular mobile customer base of 4,637,700, postpaid customers accounted for 61.3% and pre-paid customers, 38.7%.1
The prepaid segment saw some market volatility during the first half of 2006 when mobile operators undertook an exercise to register their prepaid customers in compliance with more stringent registration requirements introduced by the Government. Following the expiry of the deadline for registering existing customers, unregistered cards were disconnected. Notwithstanding the impact of the registration, most of the growth in M1’s customer base came from the prepaid segment.
Besides prepaid services, M1 saw progress in growing non-voice services and addressed the enterprise market with more innovative and relevant products and services. Moving ahead, with voice revenue coming under increasing pressure, M1 is looking to non-voice areas for revenue growth, and the Company has focused resources and efforts to develop and grow them.
A significant development in this area was the launch, in December 2006, of M1 Broadband, the wireless broadband Internet service targeted at the home, office and mobile user. The service currently offers download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and this is expected to increase with further technological advances. The service marks M1’s entry into the broader realm of the Internet world, beyond that of pure mobile play.
In another development, the IDA’s plan to introduce an enhanced version of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) for fixed-line and mobile services by end-2007 will involve the introduction of a common centralised database. This will allow users to switch between telecom service providers and retain full use of their existing numbers and services. Market competition may increase in the run up to the introduction of MNP, but it is premature to ascertain any potential impact MNP may have on M1.
In March 2006, the IDA also announced plans to roll out an ultra high-speed National Broadband Network (NBN), which will connect all homes, schools and businesses. The new network is intended to offer carrier-neutral open access, which means it would be open to all service providers to reach connected customers.
As M1 is currently not in the fixed broadband business, it views the
NBN as a new opportunity with potential commercial benefits.
For 2007, there will be further developments on the eventual structure and deployment of NBN,
and M1 will evaluate its potential level of participation accordingly.
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