SingTel Offers Postpaid No-Contract Plans

SingTel, Singapore’s largest MNO, launched the country’s first no-contract postpaid data SIM plan on 14 February. The monthly subscription of SGD 19.90 (US $15.92) for this plan includes 2 GB of data.  Unlimited data via SingTel Wi-Fi is available until 31 July of this year, after which it will be capped at 2 GB. Customers must prepay the subscription fee for the first month; subsequent monthly invoices will be sent to the customer’s billing address. This deal is only being offered to citizens and permanent residents of Singapore. The launch is a collaboration with Challenger Technologies Limited, a Singapore-based IT products retailer with over 40 stores across Singapore and Malaysia. Customers can now buy a tablet and get a data SIM card at a Challenger store.

With this plan, SingTel is taking the lead in Singapore to offer consumers the flexibility that U.S. operators, as well as many of the European operators, have begun to offer to the more sophisticated consumer. Singapore has the highest smartphone penetration in the world, at 85 percent, and mobile phone penetration has passed the 150 percent milestone. Customers in technologically mature markets no longer want to be locked into contracts that prevent them from taking advantage of the latest technologies, apps and offers. We think this no-contract plan is a good move on the part of SingTel to retain and grow its customer base, and we expect that the other MNOs in Singapore will follow suit.

 

“Mobile operators that provide services in mature markets with relatively high competition levels have to search for new ways to keep their position on the market and bring in revenue. Very often they develop strategies to enrich their existing offers. Sunrise Switzerland, for example, added a variety of prepaid mobile data plans, making its prepaid portfolio as attractive as its postpaid. SingTel, a key player in the Singapore market, recently launched a postpaid data SIM plan that does not require a contract subscription, a first in its market.”

Beth Teitel, Research Analyst at Tarifica

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues or to speak with the research team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Global Developments in Telecommunication

Asia/Pacific

Singaporean operator StarHub has partnered with multinational social ebook reading service Bookmate to offer StarHub customers a book streaming service of over 500,000 ebooks from 600 publishers. Users need to download the Bookmate app for iOS or Android and can subscribe to either the Standard tier or Premium tier service. The Standard tier, which costs SGD 9.98 (US $7.61) per month, provides fiction and non-fiction titles. The Premium tier’s monthly cost of SGD 15.98 (US $12.19) adds business and professional books.

Europe

From early 2015, French mobile operator Bouygues Telecom will offer Sweden-based Spotify’s music streaming service to subscribers of its higher-end mobile plans. Through its Spotify offerings, Bouygues Telecom is trying to introduce more customers to its 4G service and encourage them to switch to larger data packages.

Latin America

Brazilian mobile operator Oi has reached the 1 million mark for the deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots across Brazil. This represents a 112 percent year-over-year increase over the number of hotspots deployed at the end of 2013. Users can connect to Oi’s Wi-Fi network via the operator’s Wi-Fi app, which they can download at no cost for iOS and Android. Oi’s hotspots are located in restaurants, airports, shopping malls, public places and tourism sites.

Middle East/Africa

The Cameroonian government has partnered with mobile operators MTN and Orange to launch a tax service called Mobile Tax. The service will enable those of Cameroon’s taxpayers who are subscribers to either operator to pay their property taxes through mobile money accounts. The government has experienced a good deal of property tax evasion. While property taxes will be the first type of taxes that can be paid through mobile money accounts, the Cameroonian government will eventually expand Mobile Tax to enable users to pay all types of Cameroon’s taxes.

North America

U.S. regional mobile operator C Spire has introduced Pay-As-You-Go Rolling Data plans, which will enable its subscribers to roll over any unused data—up to the plan maximum—to use during the following month. The plan’s monthly costs are US $40.00, US $55.00 and US $65.00 for 2 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB of rolling data, respectively.  All plans include unlimited voice minutes and SMS.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues or to speak with the research team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

SingTel Scores the Worst at Providing Consumer Value

Singapore’s largest mobile operator SingTel, consistently provides less consumer value compared with rivals StarHub and M1, according to the latest all-inclusive Tarifica Score™ study of the country's postpaid mobile plans. The Tarifica Score™ involves a comprehensive algorithm that weighs every feature of a mobile plan including usage allotments, geographic coverage, data speeds, value added features and promotional elements against its total costs and then determines its precise consumer value relative to all other offers in the country. Scores range from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

Singapore's plans were divided into two categories, “With Phone” and “SIM Only”, and then divided into four price segments, creating a total of eight groupings. M1’s plans led the field, winning best consumer value in four groups. StarHub followed close behind, winning best consumer value in three, while SingTel was able to capture just one win. SingTel plans ranked last in six of the eight groups.

“SingTel’s plans consistently come with fewer minutes, SMS and MBs of data than comparably priced plans from StarHub and M1,” stated Susan Cray, Tarifica’s Singapore Analyst. “Moreover, SingTel’s plans did not include some of the additional value features like international calling or roaming that the other operators provided at no additional charge. In short, regardless of their budget or needs, we would advise mobile consumers to avoid SingTel’s plans, as there is almost always a better option available.”

A unique feature of Singapore’s mobile market is the degree and specificity of plan segmentation. A large number of plans from each operator are targeted to particular groups such as individuals with disabilities, military personnel, students/youths and senior citizens. “The Tarifica Score™ demonstrates clearly that these tailored plans almost always offer substantially more value than the general plans available to the public, regardless of the operator, with scores often running 30 to 40 percent higher” stated Cray.

“In today’s mobile marketplace, consumers are flooded with hundreds of plan variations, constantly shifting promotions and deals—the majority of which come with different costs, services and access networks of differing strengths. When making a decision that will likely impact consumers for up to two years, the Tarifica Score™ can be used to cut through the clutter and identify those plans in every market segment that offer the best value for the money,” Tarifica Program Manager, Will Watts.

To Contact Tarifica's Research Team:   http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Notable Regional Developments In The Telecommunication Industry

Asia/Pacific

Singaporean mobile operator StarHub will launch the StarHub Silver app, aimed at the country’s senior citizens, on 15 September. The app, which is available for Android tablets at no cost, will allow senior users to access video content. According to the operator, it addresses the needs of its target audience by featuring a simple user interface, pictorial presentations, a soothing color scheme and large fonts to aid with reading and to enable easy navigation.

Europe

Slovenian mobile operator Si.mobile has introduced a package called Startup aimed at young entrepreneurs and startup businesses. The plan’s monthly cost is €19.99 (US $26.38) and it includes unlimited all-net calls and SMS, 2 GB of data for a mobile phone and 3 GB of data for a tablet or computer, as well as Microsoft Office 365 Small Business plus consultation. Small businesses can have up to five employees and are able to use the package for two years.

Latin America

Mexican operator Telmex has partnered with UN Habitat, a United Nations program that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable urban planning and design, to launch “+XMiCiudad” (more for my city). The app will aid citizens and authorities in creating urban development solutions related to water, waste, the environment, mobility, public space, safety, animals, buildings and noise.

Middle East/Africa

Tanzanian mobile operators Airtel and Tigo have introduced a money-transfer service, which will allow the operators’ mobile money customers to send and receive money between the two MNOs in Tanzania. This announcement follows last month’s agreement by the operators to adopt interoperability to help alleviate the challenges that were associated with financial transactions.

North America

U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless has partnered with JCDecaux, the leading global outdoor advertising company, to deploy digital mobile charging stations, a service that has been in demand, at the four largest international airports in the U.S.—John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, Miami and Los Angeles International Airports. The rollout includes 169 charging stations that will be equipped with USB ports, AC outlets and wireless recharge devices, as well as two 32-inch HD screens, on which Verizon will display commercial and content messages.

 The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx