After an island-wide disruption that lasted nearly 24 hours, Singtel's fibre broadband services were fully restored at 8.25am yesterday.

Singtel customers will get a 10 per cent discount on their broadband bill this month.

Affected broadband customers who are also Singtel postpaid mobile users will have their local mobile data charges waived for the weekend.

Singtel's Facebook post about the outage received nearly 36,000 comments, mostly from upset customers.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Communications and Information, said that while he understood customers' frustrations, the telco's crisis communication should be commended.

He told The New Paper: "They gave early notice and there were regular updates. They also tried to alleviate the situation early by offering free data to their customers.

"But as many Singaporeans are reliant on the Internet, they would be a lot more sensitive about the outage. Smaller businesses might also be affected in terms of productivity."

Mr Daniel Tan, 36, who owns the 24-hour Angel Supermart, had to deal with long queues at the Woodlands outlet as a result of the outage.

His systems, which are linked by cloud computing, was down, affecting real-time access to promotions, price changes and membership data.

Fortunately, he had back-up solutions - a Singtel 3G router and a StarHub 3G dongle for the cashiering system.

Mr Tan told TNP that this was the second time he had been affected by a broadband outage.

His Ang Mo Kio outlet was hit when StarHub was affected by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack in October, which resulted in two major disruptions.

"It is quite upsetting. I chose fibre Internet because it is supposed

to be more stable than 3G," he said.

"Some customers walked away and I had to mobilise four staff members to come in and appease customers."

On Saturday evening, Singtel ruled out a cyber attack, or DDoS attacks, as the cause of the outage.

Singtel's chief executive officer of consumer business, Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, said yesterday: "As our immediate priority all yesterday and overnight was to fully restore our services, we will now conduct a thorough investigation into what triggered the disruption - specifically why our servers could not send IP (Internet Protocol) addresses to customers' modems to enable broadband connectivity.

"Once there is more clarity, we will share our findings with the regulators and work with them to ensure measures are in place to prevent any such recurrence."

Mr Michael Lee, security evangelist at RSA Asia-Pacific & Japan, said businesses should consider putting in place continuity plans.

"For larger businesses, it would mean multiple connections and an agreement with another provider. For smaller businesses, it could be as simple as ensuring that they have a backup 3G network," he said.

linheng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 5, 2016.
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I found out that I had no Internet on the Internet.

I watched TV on Saturday evening.

This could mean only one of two things.

Saturday was National Day and the parade was on.

Or the Internet was down.

Despite that one neighbour who is still displaying the Singapore flag, I believe we're way past Aug 9.

Which means the reason I turned on my 42-inch Samsung for the first time in months was the Internet. Or rather, the lack of it.

When I first lost the connection on Saturday morning, I thought something was wrong with my computer.

So I turned my computer off and on because that's what they always tell you to do when you call tech support.

When that didn't work, I turned my router off and on.

When that didn't work, I checked Twitter on my phone using mobile data.

That was when I found out that the Singtel fibre broadband was down.

To double-confirm, I went to the Singtel Facebook page, which said: "Some customers may be experiencing difficulties accessing their fibre broadband services. Our engineers are working to resolve the problem. Thank you for your patience."

So the only way to find out that you have no Internet is on the Internet.

As one of the 36,000 comments on the Singtel Facebook post pointed out: "It is baffling how customers were not informed through an SMS and/or an automated call that Singtel was experiencing a massive outage.

"This outage is even more frustrating for those customers who had no idea that an outage was existent, and were frantically trying all means and ways to solve their Internet issues - only to find out through Facebook (since when did social media become the main channel of communication?) that an outage had happened."

Hey, that was what happened to me.

If I had known it was a problem with the broadband itself, I wouldn't have wasted my time turning my devices off and on like a chump.

To make up for the outage, Singtel advised "affected customers who are also Singtel postpaid mobile subscribers to use their Singtel mobile broadband in the meantime", and it would waive the mobile data charges for Saturday.

This created another uproar as not all Singtel broadband customers are Singtel mobile customers.

One Facebook commenter advised: "For non-Singtel mobile subscribers, forget about asking for data waiver. They'll say you die not my problem. I'm using StarHub. So I know I'm screwed. But making noise/spamming isn't gonna rectify an already known problem."

Since I am a Singtel mobile subscriber, I took advantage of the waiver and used my mobile data on Saturday like there was no tomorrow.

And then I got this SMS from Singtel: "You have used 90 per cent of your monthly data bundle… Additional data charges apply if you exceed your data bundle."

Huh? But I thought charges would be waived.

I wasn't the only one worried about this. Someone tweeted: "I can't seem to trust Singtel saying free data today cos the counter keeps increasing. #trustissues"

KFC

With the limited Net access, you would think that people would have better things to do online than, say, changing news headlines.

But on Saturday, The Straits Times (ST) alerted its readers to a Facebook post where "an ST article with the headline 'President Tan conveys best wishes to Thailand's new King, invites him to visit Singapore' had been modified".

It added that it viewed "this act of mischief seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those involved".

It didn't say how the headline was modified. So I wasted precious data to find out that someone had added the words "to eat KFC" at the end of the headline.

Apparently, some people actually believed the amended headline was written by ST.

So far, KFC has not commented on this. Maybe it couldn't because it uses Singtel fibre broadband.

Singtel said its fibre broadband services were fully restored as of 8.25am yesterday.

I wouldn't be surprised if the problem was found to be caused by a rogue train.

The telco also offered its broadband subscribers a 10 per cent discount for this month and will waive local mobile data charges for both Saturday and yesterday for its post-paid mobile customers.

But it can't give me back my Saturday evening which I wasted on watching Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts on Channel 5.

That's two hours of my life gone forever.

It could've been worse. Someone tweeted: "I'm so bored I've to read a book. Thank you #Singtel"

A book! Not even a Kindle.

What are we? Savages?

Next thing you know, we could be talking to each other face to face.

Thank you #Singtel.

Read also: Singtel broadband services restored, subscribers to get 10 per cent off bill for Dec

Singtel handled Internet outage well: GPC chairman

This article was first published on Dec 5, 2016.
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If you were among those affected by Singtel's broadband outage on Saturday (Dec 3), you definitely weren't alone in trying to get answers and solutions.

But how do you get the telco's attention on social media when comments start flooding in? Do it in rap lyrics, of course.

That's exactly what netizen Marc Rai did on Saturday (Dec 3) when he posted tweaked lyrics of rapper Eminem's hit song Stan on Singtel's Facebook page, adapting it to convey what he was going through at the time.

Mr Rai wrote: "Dear Singtel, I wrote you but still ain't callin'. I left my cell, my email, and my home phone at the bottom'. I sent two emails this afternoon, you must not-a got 'em. There probably was a problem at your mail server or somethin'."

"I even got the underground promo s*** that you did with Seon-kang Joon. I got a room full of your promo posters and your pictures man," he added.

He even signed off as "Dan" - which obviously rhymes with "Stan" - in a tip of the hat to Eminem's classic track from 2000.

But to the surprise of many, it didn't just end there.

In a humourous twist, a Singtel employee jumped on the rap bandwagon and responded to the post with her own tweaked lyrics from the same song.

Who would have thought?

The staff who only signed off as Nurul, wrote: "Dear Dan, we meant to write you sooner but we've just been busy. Look, we're really flattered that you're our biggest fan. We were workin' round the clock to fix this - best believe that. We're sorry 'bout your WiFi, and mobile data too."

"We really think it's cool you got our posters round your room. And that you joined us for a lucky chance to meet with Seon-kang Joon. We hope you get to read this letter, we hope it reaches you in time. Hope you'll relax a little - we get your frustrations here, man," she added.

Nurul also included a slightly more serious note after the song to assure Mr Rai that the telco was fixing the problem.

Mr Rai who seemed satisfied with her response, replied with "nice try" and a smiley emoticon.

Good job, Singtel.

stephluo@sph.com.sg

Some subscribers of Singtel broadband were still without Internet access yesterday, a day after the telco said all its services were fully restored on Sunday morning following an islandwide outage.

They were unable to restart their modems and routers to re-sync their connection to the servers despite following the instructions they received from the telco.

Singtel said yesterday the problem bugged "a small number of customers'' and its technician had gone to their home or workplace to fix it. The outage for Singtel fibre broadband customers started on Saturday morning, and the telco is still investigating why its servers could not send IP addresses to customers' modems to enable broadband connectivity.

Most of the 10 subscribers interviewed yesterday had their connection restored except for Mr Daniel Tan, 36, owner of convenience store Angel Supermart. He re-started his Internet equipment multiple times with no success, he said, adding that the outage cost him about $300 a day.

Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), the regulator, is also looking into what caused the outage. "IMDA takes Singtel's service disruption very seriously," a spokesman said yesterday. "IMDA is investigating the cause(s) of the incident and the service recovery measures taken by Singtel," it said in a statement.

Most Singtel customers said they regained access to the Internet by following the telco's instructions but several said it took more than one attempt.

Freelance musician John Paul Kwan, 28, had to manually edit his router settings as his modem was working but not his router after he reset both. "It's strange as I found out that a filtering system was enabled when it shouldn't be, which blocked Internet access," he said.

Mr Alvin Pang, 43, who works in information technology, rebooted his modem twice to restore the connection yesterday afternoon.

An irate Mr Tan of Angel Supermart said there were long queues and unhappiness at his shop in Woodlands over the weekend.

He added that he hired extra people to man the cashier counter and to manually count the stock and replenish goods, work that typically was done automatically through an online system using cloud storage.

He said Singtel should let subscribers like him terminate their contract without penalty for "major breakdowns like this".

Mr Rene Loh, 49, said his daughter dipped into her data plan at another telco for Internet access to finish her school assignment.

She used 75 per cent of her monthly plan in a few hours. Still he is undecided on whether to switch to another telco. "It may be slower or have its own problems too," he said.

Read also: The day Singtel broadband went down
SingTel apologises for mobile and fixed broadband service disruption
Singtel handled Internet outage well: GPC chairman
Singtel broadband services restored, subscribers to get 10 per cent off bill for Dec

This article was first published on Dec 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Based on the recent disruption of Singtel's broadband services, it appears there is a trend for such disruptions to occur and last over prolonged periods ("Singtel fibre broadband services disrupted"; Dec 4).

Granted that no system is perfect, where there is any disruption, telcos must ensure that the down time is minimal.

It is not so simple to just tell subscribers to use their mobile data plans and that data charges will be waived for that day. Some users may not feel comfortable performing e-transactions on their mobile phones, especially when it involves Internet banking.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) should impose stiffer penalties each time such a disruption occurs. As a deterrent, in addition to a heavy fine, IMDA could consider directing telcos to compensate their subscribers in terms of the monthly charges on their data plans.

Moreover, in the current terror climate, telcos should carry out preventive maintenance on all their equipment and network of services to ensure that they are up to the mark in the event of an emergency.

While gearing up to make Singapore a Smart Nation, we cannot afford to have frequent disruptions in our telecommunications network.

Andrew Seow Chwee Guan

This article was first published on Dec 6, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Even if you're not a Singtel user, you would have definitely heard the collective wails of agony across the island during Singtel's day-long broadband service disruption last Saturday.

While many who spent the entire day out weren't as affected as those who preferred to veg out on tv shows and games over the weekend (guilty, as charged), tempers flared as Singtel's inconclusive updates were dished out over the day.

Singtel's attempt to appease the mob came in waiving data charges for customers tethering from their smartphones, but some Singaporeans decided to find even more creative ways to carry out their Saturdays online - and one of these Singaporeans is popular Mandopop singer JJ Lin.

Read also: Still no access for some Singtel subscribers

According to a Weibo post, a netizen spotted the singer, who recently returned to Singapore (his career is mostly based in Taiwan), in a local LAN shop playing games - with some even hazarding a guess that he had to resort to appearing in such a public place due to the broadband disruption.

Said ZhangJLY on Weibo, "JJ Lin's surfing the net next to me! This is his autograph and internet credentials!"

From the photos, netizens who saw the post guessed that it was taken at the OASIS Netcafe located at PoMo.

Another netizen, going by username Hokming, also posted his own photos of the star, adding on the detail that Lin was actually "playing DOTA".

He also noted that while fans were waiting outside the toilet for Lin, no one disturbed him while he was playing his games.

As Lin was leaving, Hokming said to the singer, "JJ bye bye", to which, Lin replied "bye bye".

While the actual reason behind Lin choosing to game in a LAN shop is still unknown, we can't help but think that the sighting revealed one more tidbit on the singer - just like many of us, he too can't live without his wifi.

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SINGAPORE shoppers will be the guinea pigs for a new SingTel service that provides interactive advertising campaigns in stores. The campaign will be launched in time for the Christmas shopping season by mobile advertising company Amobee, a wholly owned subsidiary of the telco.

The advertising can be placed on various interactive screens - a kiosk, a big TV set or a digital wall. Shoppers can interact by clicking on the ads or gesturing with their arms.

That in turn can earn them points or special offers which can be redeemed by downloading an Android or Apple app or electing to receive a text message. Once the app is on their smartphone, users can get extra information such as directions to other shops.

If the service clicks with shoppers here, it will be expanded to Tokyo and selected cities in Indonesia, China and India.

This new ad campaign is known as Digital-Out-Of-Home (DOOH) advertising in the business - which also includes outdoor advertising - and is worth about US$33 billion (S$41.3 billion) globally.

Chief executive Trevor Healy said on Wednesday the new business will make Amobee a broader company with a basket of digital services. It will be the first of many digital advertising services the company plans to unveil in the next 12 to 24 months.

No revenue targets for the new venture have been set as Mr Healy wants the development team to focus on bringing out the right product.

"Singaporeans like to shop. If the service can't work here, then it won't work anywhere else. We will proceed slowly, learn and then revise. We want consumers and customers to tell us what they want."

Touch Media Network, which provides in-store interactive advertising displays, will work with Amobee to provide the in-store advertising service.

Chief executive Julian Corbett said the content of the ads would be more targeted, which means shoppers are likely to spend more time on them.

Mr Corbett added that he is in discussions about the service with many clients, including consumer goods giant Unilever, which makes food, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products.

Mr Healy is optimistic about the new service. "Digital advertising has been around via the huge digital signages which cost about $100,000. And they aren't interactive; you can't click on them to get any information.

"Our interactive platforms are much more affordable. The hardware starts at $300 for a interactive screen based on a tablet or $1,500 for a television set."

SingTel bought Amobee in May last year for US$321 million as part of its plans to enter the digital economy.

Since the acquisition, Amobee's sales have gone through the roof. Last year, its revenue in Asia was about US$200,000 a month but "last month, we did US$2 million", noted Mr Healy.

"We're on a strong upward ramp. This year in Asia we would do about US$25 million to US$30 million," said Mr Healy, who was speaking from the firm's new regional offices in Asia Square.

Between October and December last year, the company's global revenue was about $22.5 million.

Amobee plans to work closer with SingTel's enterprise group on the outdoor advertising segment.

One option could involve putting a cellular chip in billboards so information on shopping traffic can be collected, allowing more targeted ads to be compiled.

"SingTel is trying to monetise the Internet of things. Physical objects such as screens and billboards have become 'subscribers' because they are embedded with GSM chips," said Mr Healy.

The data will be useful to organisations interested in finding out what their customers want.

GRACE CHNG

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

HONG KONG - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) has received two offers for its Australian satellite business in the final round of the bidding, including one from US-listed Intelsat SA, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Both offers came in below the A$2 billion (S$2.3 billion) reserve price set for the auction and SingTel will decide at a board meeting next week whether to divest the business through an initial public offering (IPO) or ask suitors to improve their bids, the sources said.

Australia is a strong contender for a listing of the business called Optus Satellite at the same A$2 billion valuation if SingTel decides to pursue an IPO, the sources added.

SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom operator, has been seeking a sale of the satellite division of Optus since a strategic review of the asset in March. It wants to use the sale proceeds in fast-growing emerging markets.

Intelsat, the world's biggest operator of satellite services, made its offer ahead of this week's bid deadline, sources said.

The second offer came from a consortium made up of Blackstone Group LP, TPG Capital and Malaysia's MEASAT Global, the sources said.

However, the offer was subject to further due diligence as the information provided was not deemed sufficient to arrive at a firm valuation for the Australian company.

TPG and SingTel did not respond to emails seeking comment. Blackstone, Intelsat and MEASAT declined to comment.

The sources declined to be named as the process was private.

SingTel, controlled by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, acquired the satellite arm when it bought Optus in 2001 for US$14 billion (S$17.65). Optus sells TV, telephony and broadband services to more than 2 million subscribers in Australia and New Zealand.

At least two bidders from a shortlist of six dropped out of the auction process in recent weeks, including France's Eutelsat Communications, the sources said.

IPO OPTION

SingTel hired Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley to conduct a review of the satellite business and they are now running the sale.

The Singaporean company could go back to bidders with further information and ask them to resubmit their bids, the sources said. However, it could fall back on the alternative option of an IPO as the offers have not met expectations, they added.

The consortium had requested information on the length of contracts related to customers of Optus' satellites among other details to make a firm offer, according to the sources, but had not received answers.

Paris-based Eutelsat dropped out of the process after it agreed to buy Mexico's Satelites Mexicanos SA in July for an enterprise value of US$1.14 billion.. Eutelsat declined to comment.

Another French firm, SES SA dropped out of the bidding earlier in July, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. SES did not respond to requests for comment.

Other shortlisted bidders, US buyout firm Apollo Global Management and Japanese satellite company Sky Perfect JSAT Holdings Inc, did not make final offers, the sources said.

NEW DELHI - Singapore Airlines has won the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval to set up a full-service airline in the country in a joint venture with the Tata conglomerate, a senior finance ministry official said.

Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, who was speaking to reporters after a meeting of the FIPB on Thursday, did not give further details.

Singapore Airlines will make an initial investment of US$49 million (S$61 million) for a 49 per cent stake in the joint-venture company, while the Tata Group will initially invest US$51 million for the remaining stake, the companies have said.

The JV airline needs a slew of other regulatory approvals before it can start operations.

Mayaram also said the FIPB approved a foreign direct investment proposal by a unit of SingTel, but did not elaborate.

The SingTel unit wants to increase its stake to 100 per cent in a long-distance phone business in India by buying out stakes held by its local minority partners, after the government removed a 74 per cent foreign holding cap in telecom companies.

Singapore - Singapore Telecom blamed the strength of the local dollar after it announced Friday net profit fell 1.7 per cent in the quarter to the end of December.

Net profit totalled S$954 million (US$683 million), down from S$970 million in the same period the year before.

Singtel, Southeast Asia's biggest telecom firm by revenue, said the profit decline was mainly due to the Singapore dollar gaining against the currencies of countries where it has businesses.

It also pointed to higher investment costs, to strengthen its capabililities in a range of areas, as a reason for the dip in profits.

Group revenue came in at S$4.5 billion, up 1.1 per cent, the company said in a statement.

"We are investing significantly in our engineering talent and strengthening our core capabilities in cyber security, data analytics and cloud computing," group chief executive Chua Sock Koong said in a statement.

"This is helping the enterprise business stay relevant and resilient in the face of both technology disruption and softer business sentiment."

A large portion of Singtel's earnings come from overseas after its expansion beyond the domestic market, making it vulnerable to currency movements.

Singtel has a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia called Optus.

It also owns substantial stakes in leading mobile telecom firms in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The firm's earnings are reported in Singapore dollars and were diluted due to the strength of the city-state's currency.

Against the Singapore dollar, the Australian dollar fell 8.4 per cent, the Indonesian rupiah declined 3.9 per cent and the Thai baht eased 0.4 per cent during the quarter.

In constant currency terms, net profit grew 1.0 per cent, Singtel said.

Singtel's pre-tax earnings from its regional mobile associates climbed 0.2 per cent to S$647 million.

Their total returns may be negative for the year so far, but Singapore's three telco stocks continue to deliver dividend and free cash flow yields above the regional average for such shares.

Singtel mantains a dividend yield of 4.9 per cent, while StarHub is at 5.6 per cent and M1 at 6 per cent. All three telcos beat the average dividend yield of 4.4 per cent for ASEAN telcos, an SGX My Gateway report noted yesterday.

StarHub distributes dividends quarterly, while Singtel and M1 pay out semi-annually.

Singtel, StarHub and M1 also maintain free cash flow yields far above the -1.6 per cent average of 39 ASEAN telcos. Singtel's is at 5 per cent, StarHub is at 3.6 per cent and M1 at 4.4 per cent.

Free cash flow yield is a measure of how much cash a company generates from its main operations, expressed as a proportion of its market capitalisation.

Free cash is the amount of cash a company has left over after subtracting capital expenditures and working capital over the past 12 months.

Together, Singtel, StarHub and M1 account for 28.4 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the ASEAN telecommunications sector.

Singtel had a market value of $56.4 billion as at the close of the market yesterday, StarHub was at $6.2 billion and M1 $2.4 billion.

The three telcos have averaged a total return of -3.7 per cent this year and a five-year total return of 57.7 per cent.

All three stocks reached 52-week lows last month as the market braces for possible new competition from a fourth telco when authorities hold a mobile spectrum auction later this year. Singtel's stock price is down 3.54 per cent from the end of December while StarHub has shed 2.97 per cent and M1 has slumped 6.25 per cent.

An OCBC Investment Research report yesterday said that Singtel is likely to be the least affected if a new telco contender emerges, "given its dominant position in the post-paid market and also pre-paid segment".

Singtel releases its third quarter results before trading hours today.

marilee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 12, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

If the upcoming airwave auction spawns a fourth telco that cuts prices to grab market share, consumers could be worse off in the long run, said Singtel's senior management.

"At the end of the day, if the industry is not generating revenues, how can we invest ahead?" Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel's chief executive of consumer, Singapore, told The Straits Times yesterday.

Mr Yuen pointed out that if existing telcos get "disrupted", they will have less to spend on investment and innovation.

Singapore's regulator last year said it planned to set aside premium frequency bands at a heavily discounted rate for a new telco to enter the market. After feedback from the three local telcos, the authorities are expected to finalise the bidding rules around April.

Ms Chua Sock Koong, Singtel group chief executive, also said yesterday: "The only way (the new player) can gain customers will be by... reducing prices... Just leading prices down, it's not good for the sustainability of the industry."

But in a Facebook post last evening, Mr Malcolm Rodrigues, the chief executive officer of MyRepublic, which is bidding for the licence, said: "We've never competed on price in any market we've entered... The incumbents' networks are not ready for the future. There is a desperate need for innovation in Singapore. We intend to bring it."

That prompted Ms Chua to reply, noting that Mr Rodrigues shared her view that "a price war would make the whole industry suffer and customer experience, poorer".

She added: "To those who took my comments to mean we don't want competition because we don't want to lower prices, that is absolutely not the case. They have every assurance that we will continue to offer the best services at the most competitive prices."

This article was first published on Feb 13, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

After a string of eye-catching deals, Singtel Innov8 has emerged as one of the most successful venture capital investors across Asia.

Since its US$250 million (S$350 million) fund started in 2010, it has invested in 56 companies. Of these, nine were acquired and four were publicly listed.

Last month, networking giant Cisco acquired one of Innov8's portfolio companies, Australian Internet of Things start-up Jasper Technologies, for a whopping US$1.4 billion.

Innov8 is Singtel's corporate venture arm. Its other portfolio companies include online streaming video site Viki, which was acquiredby Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten for US$200 million.

But its most successful was computer networking company Arista Networks, which went public in 2014 on the New York Stock Exchange. Overnight its stock jumped and it was valued at US$3.5 billion.

Start-up and investor research firm Oddup said Innov8's track record as a five-year-old venture capitalist (VC) which has exited more than 30 per cent of its portfolio was impressive.

How much did Innov8 gain?

Neither the telco nor its venture arm disclosed all its investment sums or the amounts invested. Typical deals are between US$3 million and US$5 million. Its biggest was US$20 million, which it has already exited.

Oddup's chief executive James Giancotti estimates that Innov8 is generating on average more than 15 times return on investments.

The cash it generates from these exits is proving more than sufficient for future investments.

Its mandate when it started was to nurture Singapore's start-up ecosystem. It helped launch Block 71, Singapore's first "headquarters" for start-ups, in the Ayer Rajah industrial estate. After that success, two other blocks have been set up there for start-ups.

It extended this concept to the United States, where it launched Block 71 San Francisco which provides a soft landing for local start-ups wanting to expand there. It also provides a window for US start-ups which want to know what is happening in South-east Asia.

As a VC, Innov8 invests in telco and related industries like networking and digital media. This helps to build a telco-related industry in Singapore.

The National Research Foundation (NRF), which provides funding for research and innovation, wants corporations to set up corporate venture arms so that they can grow their own industries too.

The NRF's financial support to a handful of corporate ventures will be unveiled in the next few months. Singtel's record can offer vital clues to other corporate ventures.

Access to customers is crucial for start-up success. Singtel offers start-ups access to its more than 575 million customers in the Asia-Pacific and Africa.

A VC with a parent that has financial heft is also important when it comes to deal-making.

Mr Giancotti said Singtel's strong financial standing is important when US-based start-ups consider investments from Innov8.

A key reason Innov8 invests only in telco and related industries is that they give insights into emerging technologies and new business models which Singtel can use. In this area, Mr Edgar Hardless, Innov8's chief executive, has some advice: "Getting engagements between start-ups and corporate business units is tough. Expectations are different and there must be adjustments on both sides to ensure success."

Corporations also should offer business guidance as start-ups are usually run by first-time entrepreneurs. "Reaching the first 10,000 customers in Singapore may be relatively straightforward. But 100,000 customers calls for good processes and management."

Corporations must also tolerate failure as venture investments do carry risk, he added.

chngkeg@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 2, 2016.
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An upstart faces a tough climb to break into Singapore's already saturated telecom industry.

The city-state, with a population of only around 5.5 million, already has three mobile-service operators, all of which have some government-linked ownership. And there aren't a lot of residents who haven't already picked a carrier: The mobile penetration rate is hovering around 150 per cent, meaning many people have more than one device, according to Ryan Tay, senior research manager of Telecoms at IDC Asia Pacific.

But Malcolm Rodrigues, founder and chief executive officer of internet service provider MyRepublic, believes there's room for a fourth telco in Singapore.

"There's a whole other climate for data, as we expect the Singapore mobility market to grow from 8 million to 9 million over the next year, and the demand for Internet of Things (IOT) will also see over 50 million devices requiring connectivity in the next five years," Rodrigues told CNBC.

"Existing operators are not ready to support it," said Rodrigues, who is also a former senior executive at Starhub, Singapore's third telecommunications company.

Rodrigues isn't alone in thinking another company can eke out a share of the tight market.

IDC Asia Pacific's Tay thinks there's definitely room for a fourth telco in Singapore, "considering the growing trend of people owning more than one mobile device, driven by the shift towards a mobile workforce and consumerization."

The government is on board with adding another competitor as it's looking ahead to keeping up with technology advances. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) told CNBC that "with consumers' increasing demand for mobile broadband service, new technology and service developments in the industry (e.g. emergence of 'Machine-to-Machine' communications), there may be new business opportunities and market segments for new players."

MyRepublic is aiming to win 9 per cent of the Singapore mobile market within five years, a goal its CEO calls "pretty conservative." The company is already offering a home broadband service in Singapore, with 50,000 subscribers.

But it's not clear how much of the pie is up for grabs. Currently, IDC estimates SingTel has around 50 per cent of Singapore's mobile subscribers, while Starhub has 27 per cent and M1 has 23 per cent.

Those three aren't twiddling their thumbs while waiting for competition to arrive.

In early March, Singtel, Starhub and M1 announced they slashed their post-paid users' prices for add-on mobile data. In local media, it was widely reported as a "mobile price war" ahead of potential entrants.

Singapore - Singtel, SubPartners, and Telstra on Thursday said they have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a new international submarine cable, called APX-West, connecting Perth and Singapore.

The new APX-West submarine cable is expected to begin construction by the end of July and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. Once completed, the new submarine cable will span more than 4,500 kilometres carrying traffic between Australia and Singapore.

The new cable will incorporate two fibre pairs providing two-way data transmission, and each pair will have a minimum design capacity of 10 Terabits per second. It will terminate in facilities operated by the consortium members in Singapore and Australia, significantly reducing costs and permitting times, they said.

SubPartners is a company which delivers telco infrastructure projects; Telstra is Australia's largest telco and media company.

The current data bridge between Singapore and Perth is carried by the SEA-ME-WE 3 cable.

The new cable will be a new data superhighway to expand data connectivity and capacity between Singapore and Australia, providing network redundancy and the lowest latency from Australia to South-east Asia, the Middle East and Europe, Singtel said. This can help meet its customers' growing data requirements for bandwidth-intensive applications such as unified communications, enterprise data exchange, Internet TV and online gaming, it added.

The foundation parties - including Singtel, SubPartners and Telstra - are committing to purchase the entire available capacity on the system.

The consortium cable will enable all the players to have access to ownership economics at a fraction of the cost of private cable ownership, SubPartners said.

Singtel's shares ended on Thursday three cents lower at S$3.82.

This article was first published on April 1, 2016.
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Singtel plans to list its broadband unit on the Singapore Exchange next year, in a move that could raise about US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion), said a Reuters report quoting sources.

The listing would slash Singtel's stake in Netlink Trust by more than 75 per cent, it added.

One source reported that the telco is expected to appoint banks by the end of this year.

Singtel group chief executive Chua Sock Koong said in a statement yesterday: "We have an undertaking with the regulators to sell down our interest in Netlink Trust to less than 25 per cent by April 2018. But it is premature to talk about the impact of what that selldown will be.

"We will need to assess the various options of the selldown, what the valuations will be like, how best to conduct it. We will keep the market posted."

Netlink Trust was responsible for building Singapore's fibre infrastructure.

Singtel was given an April 2018 deadline by regulator Infocomm Development Authority to reduce its stake in the company, which provides high-speed broadband networks.

The sources told Reuters that the telco has been mulling a NetLink Trust listing for years.

This article was first published on May 13, 2016.
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Singapore

IN SUPPORT of the Singapore govern-ment's SkillsFuture initiative, Singtel will give its full-time staff two days of leave each year to attend SkillsFuture courses.

Singtel's group chief human resources officer Aileen Tan said: "We believe in the importance of equipping our staff with the necessary skills and capabilities to support our digital ventures and the govern-ment's efforts to transform Singapore into a Smart Nation."

According to Ms Tan, Singtel hopes that by giving its employees two days off to attend these courses, they will be encouraged to actively manage their own professional development.

And to help employees familiarise themselves with SkillsFuture courses and credits, Singtel has organised roadshows for them to attend talks, link up with relevant educational providers and register for courses.

Singtel will also organise an annual week-long Singtel Learning Fiesta where staff will get to hear from keynote speakers, as well as participate in 120 mini-workshops and lectures that cover a variety of leadership, technical, personal development and lifestyle topics.

More than 10,000 employees across Singtel and its subsidiary NCS are expected to benefit from the additional leave.

Introduced in 2015, the SkillsFuture initiative provides Singaporeans above the age of 25 with an initial S$500 of SkillsFuture credit that will allow them to register for courses to upgrade themselves or learn new skills.

The credit will be topped up at regular intervals and will not expire.

OCBC has similarly announced its support for the initiative in March this year by introducing the OCBC FutureReady programme.

The programme gives an additional S$500 of SkillsFuture credit to permanent non-executive staff as well as time off to attend selected courses during office hours.

The bank has also put together a catalogue shortlisting 120 courses to help employees navigate through the thousands of courses available in the SkillsFuture directory.

This article was first published on July 5, 2016.
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As the possibility of a new entrant into the already crowded Singapore mobile phone market comes closer to reality, it raises once again the question of how this development will affect the existing three telcos. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), which announced last year that it was preparing ground for a new operator, will later this year hold an auction in which it has earmarked a generous amount of spectrum for a potential new telco. Two companies - internet service provider MyRepublic and Consistel - have announced their interest in becoming Singapore's newest mobile phone operator.

In the midst of all this, Circles Life, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), has leased capacity from M1 and started its own network offering mobile plans. Early indications show that it has been able to generate a fair amount of interest.

With Singapore's mobile penetration rate hovering in the 150 per cent range, any gains by new operators will likely to be at the expense of existing ones. The financial impact is of particular concern to telco investors, given that earnings over the past few quarters have been less than stellar.

For example, the S$946 million net profit for Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) for the three months ended March 31 was just 0.8 per cent over the year-ago quarter. The quarter, which is Singtel's fourth, saw revenue slide by 5.6 per cent to S$4.09 billion. For the full year, Singtel's net profit was up 2.4 per cent at S$3.87 billion from the preceding financial year's S$3.78 billion. This came on the back of a 1.5 per cent dip in revenue to S$16.96 billion. Full year EPS (earnings per share) rose to 24.29 Singapore cents from 23.73 Singapore cents.

What is of interest is that Singtel's stock has handsomely outperformed the Straits Times Index (STI). The latter has gone down 0.5 per cent year-to-date date while the Singtel stock has gone up by nearly 13 per cent. In comparison, M1's stock is up by just 1.5 per cent and StarHub's by just 1.1 per cent.

Safe haven

It is quite clear that punters have discounted recent earnings and are looking at Singtel as a safe haven stock in the local bourse, especially in current uncertain economic climate. To be fair, the stock has always been a major local blue chip. However, it has acquired a more recent sheen thanks to smart investments made over the years which are starting to bear fruit.

As result of these investments, Singtel has dramatically reduced its dependence on the small Singapore telecom market, unlike the other two telcos. At present, more than 70 per cent of Singtel's earnings come from abroad, a figure that has been growing progressively over the years as it reaps the benefits of investments made in growth markets like India, through its stake in Bharti Airtel, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Telkomsel in Indonesia.

A look at Singtel's financial results shows that the associates' full-year pre-tax and post-tax contributions grew by 8.2 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. The figures would have been higher had currency fluctuations been factored in. Customers in the three major markets are transitioning from pure mobile telephony to mobile internet and this will result in higher Arpu (average revenue per user).

Sitting in a small market like Singapore, it may not be always apparent just how much of a reach the company has, in terms of customers, thanks to its regional mobile associates. The figure is more than 600 million subscribers across the region, predominantly in the high growth markets. To get a sense of perspective about this number, it is pertinent to note that the world's largest mobile telephone company, China Mobile, has around 627 million subscribers. Singtel is in this enviable position thanks mainly to its 33 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel which has a 24 per cent marketshare in India. Earlier this year, India's mobile phone subscriber base crested the one billion mark, the second country after China, which itself crossed this milestone in 2012. Expert observers believe that most of these billion plus subscribers in India will now move to smartphones and the next wave in the country will be exploding data usage as the 4G networks come online. Airtel has already secured pan-Indian spectrum for its 4G services. Telkomsel has also been a standout performer for Singtel during the year with pre-tax earnings jumping 15 per cent to S$1.1 billion on the back of increased voice and data usage.

Over the past few years, Singtel has also been very shrewd in investing in a bunch of cyber security companies, the latest being Trustwave, and making alliances with others. This has already had a positive impact on its Group Enterprise business and this impact will only grow.

For the year ended March 31, Trustwave contributed S$147 million in operating revenue, S$5 million in Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and S$16 million in negative Ebit (earnings before interest and tax), including the amortisation of acquired intangibles. Singtel's Group Enterprise division's operating revenue, in constant currency terms, grew 3.9 per cent, due in part due to contribution from Trustwave.

Well ahead

Chua Sock Koong, Singtel's CEO, has noted that the company's ICT (Infocomm Technology) businesses in cloud and cyber security gave the company "that extra edge, helping us maintain our leadership in Singapore while strengthening our position in the Asia Pacific region".

The telco is well ahead of both StarHub and M1 when it comes to growing its enterprise business. As Singapore moves on to become a Smart Nation, the demand for cloud computing and cyber security services will only grow. Singtel is well positioned to take advantage.

So a combination of its enterprise business and growth prospects of its associates plus its Australia business provides Singtel with a nice cushion to ride out any headwinds that may hit the Singapore mobile market with the entrance of a new operator, which may result in price war, putting pressure on already fragile bottom lines.

This article was first published on July 06, 2016.
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DBS Bank and Singtel have unveiled a suite of resources to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with marketing, e-commerce and cashless payments.

This is part of a campaign called 99% SME, which is now into its second year. It aims to rally consumers to shop with SMEs.

The name of the campaign comes from the fact that SMEs make up 99 per cent of registered companies in Singapore.

More than 1,600 SMEs signed up for the inaugural programme last year. DBS and Singtel aim to engage 2,500 SMEs in this year's campaign.

Some of the perks being dangled this year include an e-commerce solution being offered to the first 500 sign-ups for 99 cents a day, and fee waivers for cashless payment solutions. Courses in digital marketing and e-commerce are also on offer.

The campaign will culminate in an SME Week, which will be held from Oct 14 to Oct 23, and aims to encourage consumers to shop with SMEs. Participating SMEs will be able to list promotions and offers on the 99% SME website.

To tap these resources, SMEs must first join the 99% SME campaign. They can register at www.99sme.sg before Sept 30.

To qualify, SMEs must have Singaporean ownership of at least 30 per cent, and less than $100 million in revenue a year, or fewer than 200 employees. DBS and Singtel will also reward customers who shop with these SMEs.

Singtel will give away a month's free Singtel Music subscription, worth up to $9.90, to the first 990 customers daily.

This applies to those who spend at least $99 on a single receipt at a participating SME store on the same day, either online or at a physical shop.

The campaign is supported by enterprise development agency Spring, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore as well as some trade associations and chambers of commerce.

Mr Jackie Lim, the founder and chief executive of Jac's Learning Centre, took part in 99% SME last year and said he will be doing so again this year.

The company offers academic tuition, as well as enrichment classes in coding and robotics for children as young as five years old.

Mr Lim said enquiries for the centre's enrichment classes went up four to five times after it offered promotional discounts on the 99% SME website, in line with last year's campaign. "We previously tried advertising online and on social media but it wasn't very effective," he said.

SOME PERKS ON OFFER

An e-commerce solution for the first 500 sign-ups for 99 cents a day

Fee waivers for cashless payment solutions

Courses in digital marketing and e-commerce

This article was first published on July 20, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Singapore Telecommunications' (Singtel) recent move to enhance its deemed stakes in the top mobile operators of Thailand and India, Advanced Info Services (AIS) and Bharti Airtel respectively, by buying shares from Temasek Holdings gives the telco increased access to two high-performing markets.

The two companies have a combined mobile customer base of more than 380 million across Asia and Africa. Thailand and India are attractive markets which are reaping the benefits of rapidly increasing smartphone penetration and mobile data adoption by a growing middle class.

Commenting on the deal, Chua Sock Koong, Singtel's CEO, says: "Our stated policy has always been to increase stakes in our associates when presented with the right opportunities." She adds that Singtel has "worked closely" with the two operators for "more than 15 years".

"We have built deep and trusted relationships, worked well together through the years, sharing knowledge and expertise and we have grown together, from strength to strength."

The benefits that Singtel sees from the deal go far beyond increased earnings due to higher deemed stakes. Ms Chua tells The Business Times: "While it is very common for us to use mobile data to surf the Web, connect on social media, watch videos and more in Singapore, the data revolution is only just beginning in the emerging markets."

There is significant growth potential in associates' markets, "spurred on by the proliferation of affordable smartphone devices and a fast-growing population of young, tech-savvy consumers", she adds.

The number of data users across these markets increased by 21 per cent from a year earlier to reach 198 million and year-on-year revenue growth from mobile data ranged from 21 to 65 per cent. Singtel hopes to cash in by offering its considerable expertise and technology built over the years.

"We always invest with a long-term view and we know the business well," says Ms Chua.

While Singtel's outward focus has resulted in a situation whereby more than 70 per cent of its earnings come from abroad - thus providing a nice earnings cushion - the Singapore domestic market also presents its fair share of opportunities. On the face of it, the Singapore mobile telephony market is stable and mature, with 150 per cent mobile phone penetration. This means every second person in Singapore has two phone lines registered under their name.

For the telcos, there is no first-time customers to grab in a growing market. Any new customer for a telco will be one less customer for a rival. However, at the same time, thanks to new use cases, such as data-only lines, machine-to-machine communication and Internet of Things, new opportunities are beginning to emerge for revenue generation - not from humans talking to one another but from machines talking to each other and to humans.

It's a market where a telco needs to offer innovative services and quality in order to not only attract new users but to keep existing ones from migrating and have a network that is ready as these new "smart" services come online.

Ms Chua feels Singtel has both the quality and innovation to provide value to customers. And there are big opportunities in data and digitalisation.

Data growth

Singtel recognised this trend early on and put "these at the centre of our business when we embarked on our transformation journey four years ago", she says. Singtel is focused on mobile data growth and in "realising the potential of enterprise services in cyber security, cloud services and smart city as well as digital businesses - digital marketing, OTT (over the top) video and advanced data analytics".

The Singtel CEO feels that despite new technologies emerging, Singapore is well served with its three-operator model. Commenting on the possible entry of a fourth mobile operator emerging, following the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore's mobile spectrum auction later this year, Ms Chua notes that "everyone seems to think that we need a fourth telco to spur innovation and competition".

Her personal opinion is that competition is already alive and well in Singapore.

"Look at the network quality, pricing packages and handset subsidies available to customers today - do you think this came about without robust, even fierce competition?

"Fact is - if you look around the world, a profitable fourth player in well-penetrated markets such as ours - is rare. What is common is industry consolidation in markets with more than three players. And these markets are much larger than Singapore's. There's a very good reason for this."

She, however, adds: "That said, Singtel is no stranger to competition. We have always believed in competing on service innovation, network quality and services available."

Ms Chua says that irrespective of whether a new operator emerges or not, Singtel is "innovating" to offer customers what they want. "Data and content are big themes for us. In the past year alone, we have made a lot of strides in creating standalone plans, data add-ons and zero-rated music streaming."

Talking about OTT services, such as WhatsApp, which are being used increasingly by consumers to make phone calls, particularly international calls, and for messaging, Ms Chua notes that OTT services are disrupting many industries "besides ours".

"But it's not a zero-sum game for us. We are meeting the OTT challenge by looking at partnerships where possible and working in a complementary way with OTT providers. For example, we have teamed up with content streaming services like Netflix and Viu (which offers Korean drama) to enrich the range of digital entertainment we offer to customers across our multiple platforms. We have also found new ways to develop new revenue streams especially in the digital space." Singtel recently launched an OTT video portal app called Cast.

Noting that consumers are leading increasingly connected lives and spending more time consuming information and entertainment through their mobile device, Ms Chua says that Singtel is "capitalising on these changing content consumption habits through our digital marketing business, Amobee, which counts brands such as Airbnb, Red Bull and PayPal as clients; and our premium OTT video service HOOQ, which offers a rich content library featuring 35,000 hours of entertainment in the Philippines, Thailand, India and Indonesia".

In the enterprise space, businesses are rapidly moving from traditional IT systems to flexible cloud-based storage to manage costs and drive operational efficiencies. Singtel is capturing this market opportunity, "having invested in a suite of cloud migration and delivery capabilities over the past two years", says Ms Chua.

The Singtel CEO adds that the company's investments in cyber security are also starting to pay off, supported by its ability to monitor traffic flows "through our networks and relationships with existing enterprise customers".

She adds that the acquisition last September of Trustwave, a leading independent cyber-security provider in the United States, gives Singtel "the global reach and capabilities to provide managed security services 24/7. This is an area which we intend to scale globally".

Singtel is doing its bit with regard to Singapore's move towards becoming a Smart Nation. Singtel, says Ms Chua, has been awarded the contract to build Singapore's next-generation electronic road pricing system and, more recently, it has won the Smart Hub contract from the Housing & Development Board for estate planning and operations.

Bright outlook

Ms Chua notes that despite the headwinds, the outlook remains bright for Singtel.

"Change is not new to us. Over the last three decades, we have re-invented ourselves many times over: from a statutory board, we were corporatised, then publicly listed. Today, we have moved well beyond simply being a telco offering connectivity. We have become a regional communications and ICT (infocomm technology) solutions company with a presence in some 23 countries globally.

"How did we get here? Each and every transformation we went through required a corporate tenacity that wasn't afraid of change nor what the future would bring. As technologies changed, as the industry changed, as what customers' wanted were changing, we responded each time with forward-looking actions. I believe this mindset of change and adaptability is what has taken us from leadership position in Singapore to the forefront in the region," Ms Chua adds.

This article was first published on Aug 29, 2016.
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