Singapore reveals 3G rules

date: 23rd January 2001, source: citpubs.com

Singapore’s telecommunications regulator the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has released details of its forthcoming third-generation (3G) mobile licence auction. It will auction up to four licences; the first will consist of 2x15MHz of paired and 5MHz of unpaired spectrum, while the remaining three will consist of 2x14.8MHz of paired and 5MHz of unpaired spectrum. The IDA has reserved the right to auction off unsold concessions at a later date although it will not issue any new licences before 1 January 2006. Strict pre-qualification criteria have been outlined; candidates must be able to demonstrate their financial and technical capability and make public their shareholder structures.

At the close of the auction, which is scheduled for 23 April 2001, successful applicants will have 90 days to negotiate roaming agreements with the nation’s incumbent 2G operators; the IDA will intervene after this time should an agreement not be reached. The resale of spectrum rights for 3G licences will be allowed, subject to regulatory approval, but wholesale arrangements for access to 3G networks will be left up to the new licensees and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

Interested parties have until 26 March to indicate their intention to participate in the auction. The IDA has not set aside a licence for a new entrant, leading analysts to predict that the four licences will go to Singapore’s incumbent operators: SingTel Mobile and MobileOne Asia which claimed 61% and 35% of the market respectively as of June 2000, minor player StarHub which launched commercial services in April 2000 and market newcomer One.Tel of Australia. Licence winners must achieve nationwide rollout by 31 December 2003. More information on the mobile market in Singapore can be found in CIT’s Datafile of Asia-Pacific Telecommunications.

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