Singapore looking to trail 3G service in late 2003
January 10, 2003
This year could see Singapore's 3G operators begin light commercial
or trail 3G services.
M1 Chief Executive Neil Montefiore said the company will make decisions
in January on when the next phase of rollout will begin, most likely
in business areas. "And then we'll look at probably customers trials,
probably towards the second half of the year," he added.
SingTel made its first public live 3G mobile video call last month
and expects to offer selected 3G services in the later part of 2003
in areas that has the highest propensity for adoption and benefit
from the 3G service, such as business districts.
Whether 3G will be deployed this year, consumers will see new exciting
applications.
Mr Montefiore said, "I think you'll see the difference anyway coming
through whether or not 3G is deployed. It's going to be the new
non-voice services that are going to be rolled out this year. And
it's going to be quite dramatic."
Nitin Acharekar, analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said the competitive
market in Singapore would mean the customers will be the winners.
He added, "They will get all these services at a much cheaper rate
than when they were introduced."
The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is considering
delaying the rollout deadline of 3G service after both StarHub,
the third 3G license holder, and SingTel submitted applications
for delays in the deadline.
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