Tag: telco

Singapore 2G Mobile Network Shuts Down Tomorrow

With a day to go before the 2G mobile network shuts down fully, construction worker M Rajesh, 29, is relieved that he had just migrated to 3G and had no loss of network.

Mr Rajesh, who has been working here for eight years, had heard about the shutdown but had no time to buy a 3G-enabled handset. Cost was also an issue, he told TODAY, and he needed to build up his savings to buy a new phone.

So on Saturday, he went to Little India and returned with an HTC smartphone for “around S$180”. Now he can take photos with his phone and make video calls back home to India.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said last month that the 2G network will be shut down from April 1 in stages, to be completed by tomorrow.

A TODAY straw poll of 20 migrant workers near their dormitories found that everyone had switched to 3G, some as early as eight months ago.

Price was a concern many of them shared; some of their smartphones cost as much as S$300. While some had bought 3G-enabled phones costing S$40, they said prices have risen following news of the 2G network closure.

Mr Motiurrahmen, a worker with a piling company who goes by one name, said his S$40 Samsung phone used to cost “only around S$18”.

The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) said in a media statement that it had ramped up outreach efforts over the weekend to ensure workers do not “risk losing contact with their loved ones in the coming days”.

MWC chairman Yeo Guat Kwang said: “Migrant workers seeking to migrate onto 3G network can do so at telco outlets in recreation centres or larger dormitories, as well as at the regular weekend telco roadshows in popular congregation spots. Our telco partners will continue to offer attractive migration packages.”

He added that outreach efforts so far by the telcos and non-governmental organisations have had an effect.

“Checks with our telco partners showed that 65 per cent of the 2G users have already migrated to the 3G network since the various outreach campaigns on 2G cessation started,” he said.

Mr Yeo noted that a large proportion of the remaining 2G users, estimated to be between 60,000 and 80,000 last week, held a dual-SIM smartphone. This means they will have mobile network access even after the 2G network shuts down for good.

The workers TODAY spoke to said largely that their transition to 3G was smooth. They have not encountered much issues, although Mr Kawsal, who goes by one name, said he had occasional problems accessing the Internet on his phone since the 2G network closure commenced.

The MWC said it had received feedback from users of certain dual-SIM smartphones that some had difficulties accessing 3G.

To this end, it has devised a graphic to provide clarification, and users experiencing technical issues can either troubleshoot their handsets themselves or approach their telco operator for assistance.

Still, despite the slightly higher costs and these slight hiccups, migrant workers said they appreciate the added benefits, including catching up on television shows online from back home.

Shipyard worker Khan Juwel said he was also able to catch up with friends from home via Facebook. “It’s very good. I like it,” he said with a smile.

Rilek1Corner

Source: http://www.todayonline.com

April 17, 2017
Magnanimous Singtel Gives Existing Customers Cheat Codes To Avoid Paying Admin Fee To Recontract
Note 1: Article was first published at 2pm, 14th September 2016.

Note 2: Updated at 4pm for more clarity on M1 and StarHub’s stance.

Note 3: Updated at 5.20pm with more inputs from Singtel, and an additional option to avoid the admin fee.

Registered interest for the new iPhone 7? It’s now time to reserve your preferred variety and collection arrangements.

Apple’s new iPhone 7 is just around the corner from being launched in stores worldwide as 16th September draws closer.

Keen customers of our local telcos would probably have registered their interest to pre-orderApple’s new flagship smartphone. Singtel customers who’ve indicated their interest would probably have received an email to remind them to reserve their phone today (14th September) from 3pm. Through the reservation process, you can specify the iPhone 7 model, colour, capacity and preferred method of purchase/collection options.

While all sounds well, we noticed a small note in the T&C section of the email reminder sent out to reserve the new phone that raised our eyebrows:-

Yup, that highlighted text in green is new.

Let’s face it, nobody likes admin fees, but it is part and parcel of a business organization to add a cost to such admin tasks and its related maintenance matters to quantify the related backend paperwork. So it’s understandable if you’re signing up a new mobile line, depending on the prevailing promotional terms, you may have to cough up an admin fee.

However, if you’re already an existing customer of the telco, we find it hard to justify yet another admin fee of S$10.70 to be levied just to re-contract with a new phone; it’s almost as if you’re paying a penalty to be their customer. More so, you’re tied to the telco for another two years and the cost isn’t absorbed as part of your monthly payment obligations. Yet that’s exactly what Singtel is doing it seems, starting with the new iPhone 7.

Looks like this new admin fee will be effective from 15th September, just when the new iPhones are about to be launched.

Just to be clear, the usual expected norm is you pay admin charges + any handphone offset charges should you change to a lower tier plan when your contractual period isn’t over.

The new rule effectively makes you pay the admin fee regardless of the state of your existing plan when you want to re-contract with Singtel – whether your previous contract has expired, or you’re at the 21st month (when telcos usually allow you to re-contract) or if you’re still half-way through the current plan. As long as there’s a change to your current plan, you pay the admin charge. Should you downgrade the plan prematurely or end the contract altogether prematurely, other charges will come into play to recover the mobile phone offset offered for your ongoing plan – these aspects don’t change. Here are further inputs from Singtel on this matter:-

The S$10.70 administrative fee covers the handling and processing cost for the purchase of a subsidised handset for recontracting customers. It will not apply when customers upgrade to a higher tier Combo Mobile Plan (example, upgrade from Combo 2 to Combo 3).

According to inputs from Singtel and as seen in the above exchange on the Singtel’s Facebook page, there are a few escape options where Singtel’s re-contract admin fee won’t apply though:
- Re-contract to higher tier plan
- Re-contract online (via singtelshop.com or easymobile.sg)
- If you are a Singtel Circle nominated keylines, Red Prestige customer, or a Singtel UOB credit card holder
So if you’re a Singtel customer, the easiest way moving forward to avoid the admin fee is to re-contract online.

Our HardwareZone community members have also caught wind of this change and there’s adiscussion thread dedicated to the mandatory admin fee over here.

Does this admin charge for re-contracting also apply to other telcos?

In short, no.

We quickly reached out to check on the policies from other telcos and we are glad to confirm that that M1 and StarHub don’t levy an admin fee for eligible re-contractual periods (when your old contract has expired) – no matter whichever plan you will be signing up next. You can also re-contract before your contract expires and not incur any charges – so long as you don’t downgrade your plan since it will affect the handset subsidies provided for the former contract.

For more iPhone 7 related stories, follow us here, and do factor the admin fee consideration along with the expected telco price plans across all the three telcos.

Source: www.hardwarezone.com.sg
September 15, 2016
MyRepublic Ups Ante, Offers Free Trial Of 1Gbps Plan

Amid the price war in the high-speed fibre broadband market, three-year-old start-up MyRepublic has upped the ante by offering a free two-month trial of its 1Gbps plan, with no sign-up or cancellation fees.

The Internet service provider (ISP) first made headlines last year by offering its 1Gbps plan at only S$50 a month — a move that prompted other ISPs to slash prices.

MyRepublic chief executive Malcolm Rodrigues said yesterday the company is offering the free trial because it wants to accelerate the adoption of the 1Gbps speed band here.

“Today, technology is interconnected. Having 5 per cent of the population on 1Gbps is good, but not good enough. We plan to push this further,” he said.

Mr James Sullivan, head of APAC telecom research at J P Morgan, noted that such a strategy to gain customers may not necessarily require MyRepublic — which is in the midst of sourcing for funding for expansion — to have deep pockets.

“If a carrier has a choice between giving free services (non-cash), versus straight equipment subsidies, which amounts to cash, they would prefer to give away services,” he said.

At a press briefing yesterday, MyRepublic also spoke about its bid to become the fourth telco here. The company had said in June last year that it has ambitions of joining Singtel, StarHub and M1 as major telcos, and pledged to bring back unlimited mobile data plans if it succeeds in its bid.

MyRepublic reiterated that it will bid for the 4G spectrum in an auction it expects the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) to call by the end of the year.

Responding to media queries, IDA said no dates have been set aside for the next spectrum auction. It added that it is assessing the industry’s feedback regarding the proposed allocation of spectrum for mobile broadband services and options to enhance mobile competition. It will release its decision soon, IDA said.

According to IDA’s website, a tranche of spectrum licences will be expiring on March 31, 2017. An auction will have to be carried out before these licenses expire. The country’s first 4G spectrum auction concluded in June 2013, without any new entrants to the market.

A MyRepublic spokesman said the company, which was set up in 2012, did not take part in the inaugural auction because it was not ready then, as it was focused on building up its fibre broadband business.

Mr Yap Yong Teck, MyRepublic’s managing director, said that should his company’s bid succeed this time, it is confident of eventually winning a market share of about 10 per cent. The company is in the midst of looking for Singaporean and foreign partners. Details of its funding model will be unveiled by the third quarter of this year, said Mr Yap.

While many telcos around the world have stopped offering unlimited mobile data plans, Mr Yap was confident that MyRepublic could find a way to viably provide such offerings. “We will look to prioritise our traffic, so people will be able to use (the network) depending on the traffic or application they are using … their speed will slow down, but they will still get unlimited data, and their experience will be relatively still good,” he said.

MyRepublic plans to offer its proposed unlimited data plans for around S$70 to S$80 a month.

Source: www.todayonline.com

March 19, 2015