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IDA feels that ALL Singaporeans are very rich and that NOBODY will want to 'downgrade

bic_cherry

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IDA feels that ALL Singaporeans are very rich and that NOBODY will want to 'downgrade' from post-paid to pre-paid plan even though such a plan may be more affordable for a user's needs.
Does IDA receive bribes from telcos???!!! Telcos allow 'pre-paid' to 'post-paid' conversion because post-paid plans are more profitable (higher-priced) but IDA says :"IDA notes that all the mobile operators already offer switching of pre-paid services to post-paid. IDA does not currently foresee a compelling reason to require the operators to offer a service that allows switching in the other direction.": do telcos like to offer ex-IDA staffs C-suite/ cushy directorship jobs: thus the bias in IDA's policies towards telcos profitablilty???!!!: why speak of number portability benefits if the underlying purpose seems to be maintaining telcos profitability???!!! Surely there must be some solution for those not keen on there current telcos packaged deals to stick to their old plans (with rebates attached and not discontinued) or else have the option to downgrade to 'pre-paid' plans whilst retaining their old HP numbers.

Instead of relying on biased and one-sided surveys: IDA should phrase the question as such: "if I am short of cash and a 'pre-paid' plan becomes more suitable for my needs: I should have the option of downgrading to a pre-paid plan having satisfied any existing post-paid subscription obligations.": if the IDA places citizen's interest and welfare FIRST that is.

Is the true reason for number portability that of increasing telcos post-paid user base of contracted users since the switch is only ONE WAY???!!!

Even the last line of IDA relpy shows that IDA staffs treat telcos as their true employers: "We note your feedback and will be sharing with the service providers for their consideration. Thank you." So much for probable telco's sponsored golden parachutes, Singaporeans have earned themselves a raw deal.


agent007bond (Nov2014) said:
Thread source (HWZ): What IDA told me about Caller ID and Postpaid-Prepaid Porting [spoiler: same old story]
I emailed IDA:
A Sinkie said:
I am very dismayed that telcos are not required to do porting of mobile numbers in all possible ways (e.g., postpaid-prepaid or prepaid-postpaid both of them within telco or between telcos). Currently they are only required to do "postpaid-postpaid" and "prepaid-prepaid" while they do offer "prepaid-postpaid" porting within telco. But none of the telco offers "postpaid-prepaid" porting, citing "low demand". I recommend that you perform a new survey to assess the demand as it seems to be changing and it would be higher.

I also want to know why telcos are allowed to charge for Caller ID on postpaid plans as a separate chargeable entity over their base monthly fee. Caller ID is a basic need for any mobile user and should not be treated as an add-on privilege that is charged separately.


IDA replied (after two weeks):
Moneyfaced IDA staffs said:
As you already know, IDA has put in place Number Portability requirements to enable consumers to retain their numbers when they switch mobile or fixed-line service providers. The intent of Number Portability is to ensure that there is no barrier to switching service providers because of the number. In order to ensure this, IDA has required that both prepaid numbers and post-paid numbers are able to be retained when customers move from one operator to another.

While it is important to consider consumer interests and to meet the changing demands of consumers, IDA needs to balance this against the cost of requiring the industry to implement such consumer initiatives, especially where the demand for such features is low. IDA had reviewed the demand for porting of post-paid services to pre-paid (and vice versa) by surveying consumers and found that the demand for such services to be rather niche at this juncture. Considering that the cost of implementing this feature may not be commensurate with the current demand, IDA has not required mobile service providers to implement the feature.

The above is different from customers wanting to switch services within the same operator. In a competitive market environment, IDA leaves it to the mobile service providers on what services they wish to offer to their own customers. Hence, whether a service provider allows its customers to convert from post-paid services to pre-paid services (while remaining with the same mobile service providers), or vice-versa, is left to market forces. IDA notes that all the mobile operators already offer switching of pre-paid services to post-paid. IDA does not currently foresee a compelling reason to require the operators to offer a service that allows switching in the other direction.

In the absence of a post-paid to pre-paid conversion service, you may wish to contact the mobile service providers to find out whether there are alternative services that would meet your needs.

We note that the Calling Line Identification (CLI) service, more commonly known as ‘caller ID’, is offered by mobile and fixed-line telephone operators under different service packages. While it is positioned as an optional value-added service in most packages, similar to other services such as voicemail and caller number non-display, it is included in some packages as non-optional. IDA understands that there are users who do not subscribe to the CLI service.

As different users have different preferences, IDA will allow operators the flexibility to decide the basic and value-added services offered in their service packages. IDA, however, encourages operators to consider the feedback from their customers to offer more packages with CLI service as a basic service feature.

We note your feedback and will be sharing with the service providers for their consideration. Thank you.

Biased 2010 survey: Low demand for post-paid to pre-paid porting - Forum Letters Premium News - The Straits Times

What Singaporean civil servants/ Ministers are primarily concerned about:
"If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity."
- MP Lim Wee Kiak apologises for comments on pay
YqUYU.jpg
[IMG URL]
 
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Sinkie

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Re: IDA feels that ALL Singaporeans are very rich and that NOBODY will want to 'downg

CLI should be part of the basic service of any phone plan. Where in the hell IDA got survey results that show people do not want it?
Bullshit.

Post-paid to pre-paid should be made possible if pre-paid to post-paid is possible. That is true number portability. If not, IDA is simply turning a blind eye and blatantly allowing telcos to profit from it, by limiting consumer's choices. This goes against the concept and implementation of number portability. IDA is useless yet want to claim credit every time.
 

bic_cherry

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Reverse number portability: two faced IMDA director defends telcos profit margin.

Reverse number portability: two faced IMDA director defends telcos profit margin.

Whole load of bullsh!t ¢rap from IMDA director: just read for yourself and see that the director is just folding her arms and saying: "IMDA would let mobile service providers offer this service option commercially, in response to market demand.": she is basically in cahoots w money faced telcos and cannot see the prejudice of the one way street offered by the telcos (+/- their biased, one sided surveys)...

I do hope that the same silly IMDA director will reply to the latest forum letter by Ong See Fong... might not make any difference though considering that these sock puppet civil servants might be looking forward toward a cushy, overpaid directors post some day in our listed telcos I guess...

Allow customers to keep mobile number when converting to pre-paid plan
PUBLISHED. SEP 21, 2016, 6:31 PM SGT

While mobile subscribers are able to retain their phone numbers when they convert from a pre-paid plan to a post-paid plan, they cannot do so when converting the other way.

I hope the Infocomm Development Authority will work with the telcos here to enable this mobile number portability.

Lim Tong Wah
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/l...obile-number-when-converting-to-pre-paid-plan
Director says:
Low demand for post-paid to pre-paid number porting
PUBLISHED. OCT 7, 2016, 4:04 PM SGT
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) requires mobile service providers to offer post-paid to post-paid number porting and pre-paid to pre-paid number porting between service providers ("Allow customers to keep mobile number when converting to pre-paid plan" by Mr Lim Tong Wah; Forum Online, Sept 21).

This requirement has been in place since 1997 and 2008 respectively. It allows consumers to switch service providers with greater ease, as well as facilitate competition.

IMDA notes that the current demand for post-paid to pre-paid number porting (and vice versa) is low.

Hence, if IMDA requires that mobile service providers implement post-paid to pre-paid number porting when the demand is low, the cost of implementation may be passed on to consumers, leading to higher charges.

Thus, IMDA would let mobile service providers offer this service option commercially, in response to market demand.

Ann Chan (Ms)
Director
Regulatory and Corporate Communications
Communications Division
Infocomm Media Development Authority
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/l...mand-for-post-paid-to-pre-paid-number-porting

Number porting: Is it low demand if option is unavailable?
PUBLISHED NOV 22, 2016, 5:50 PM SGT

Besides the concerns raised by Dr Gil Simon Schneider ("2G network shutdown will be costly for users of basic phones"; Nov 14), there is another practice by telcos which is not favourable to the weaker segment of society.

This is the portability of mobile phone numbers from post-paid to pre-paid plans.

Currently, telcos allow number portability only when there is an "upgrade" of services, such as from pre-paid to post-paid, but not for a "downgrade".


Ms Ann Chan of the then Media Development Authority has said that telcos are not required to implement post-paid to pre-paid porting, as the demand is low and the cost of implementation may be passed on to consumers, leading to higher charges ("Low demand for post-paid to pre-paid number porting"; Forum Online, Oct 7).

However, I wonder if demand really is low, given that consumers are not offered that option at all.

I understand that some administrative costs will be incurred, but most consumers would not mind paying a small fee for such portability.

With uncertain economic conditions and ageing populations, subscribers have to prioritise their spending, including phone use.

The infrastructure to port numbers is already there. Consumers should be offered the option to port numbers from post-paid to pre-paid.

Ong See Fong
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/l...ing-is-it-low-demand-if-option-is-unavailable

Even if MDA wants to protect telcos profit margin/ bottom line and does not want people who trade in hp 'golden' numbers to exploit cheaper pre-paid card number maintenance options (in order to hog multiple hp numbers for a low maintainence charge), MDA should permit every Singaporean to transfer at least one phone number from postpaid to prepaid if the person has been using the postpaid number for at least 2yrs (full contract) and does not own any other prepaid hp line (I.e. for retirees/ those who do not need the expensive postpaid packages but still want to be contactable to old friends @home/abroad). No more than one such conversion per year per person may be allowed. In any case, current laws do not allow individuals to register for anything more than 3 prepaid hp numbers.

MDA should focus on helping poor people to keep in contact with their relatives/ friends and not focus on helping telcos profit @ citizen's expense.
 

bic_cherry

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Loyal
Jan 2018:
----------
When the Ministers and the CEO are in the same navel gazing contest, comparing their salaries with each other , I have decided that downgrading just one line to prepaid after retirement etc is a forgone conclusion.

They will create their own fake data say anything like "no demand" just so they can beat each other in salary scale.

"If the annual salary of the Minister of Information, Communication and Arts is only $500,000, it may pose some problems when he discuss policies with media CEOs who earn millions of dollars because they need not listen to the minister's ideas and proposals. Hence, a reasonable payout will help to maintain a bit of dignity."
- MP Lim Wee Kiak apologises for comments on pay
YqUYU.jpg
[IMG URL]
 

bic_cherry

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ngbc (HWZ said:
Not possible... IDA said demand not there yet...

Now even the PM Lee Hsien Loong has come out to say that HP plans are just too expensive, ain't it time for IMDA to mandate that telcos allow users to downgrade the personal post-paid line that they use say for Singpass access to a pre-paid one to cut costs?

=========
cherry6 said:
...
NDR 2018: Singaporeans must manage lifestyle changes to cope with cost of living, says PM Lee
Nicholas Yong
Yahoo News Singapore19 August 2018, 11:39 AM GMT
(Getty Images file photo)
While the government will help alleviate the cost of living, Singaporeans must also do their part in making smart lifestyle and consumer choices, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday (19 August).

Speaking at the annual National Day Rally, which was held at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Lee noted that developments in the last 20 years have resulted in long-lasting lifestyle changes. This is one key reason that Singaporeans are feeling cost of living pressures.


During the Mandarin portion of his speech, PM Lee zeroed in on three examples: smartphones, infant milk formula and hawker centres.

Smartphones

The 66-year-old noted that in the 1990s, most Singaporean families had only one landline. The average phone bill was about $8 a month, or $100 a year. Today, with landlines no longer ubiquitous, “handphones have become a necessity in our daily lives”, said Lee.

“This is the way forward to become a Smart Nation. We should not regress. However, this also means telecommunications bills with grow.”

He cited the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), which found that some low income families paid more than $300 a month in smartphone bills, which is more than 10 per cent of their household incomes. Yet, other low income families only paid about $100.

“I am glad that CDAC has been giving households financial advice and suggesting ways to bring down their telecommunications bills. For example, don’t use 4G to watch movies when you are outside,” said Lee to laughter.

Infant milk formula

The Prime Minister acknowledged that while mothers often need to supplement breast milk with infant formula, the latter is more expensive in Singapore than some other countries.

“Infant formula makers have taken advantage of this to develop all sorts of premium brands. They have also marketed aggressively, misleading parents into thinking that if it is more expensive, it must be better,” noted Lee.

A government task force has tackled this problem by simplifying import processes, as well as bringing in more brands and parallel imports. Public hospitals – and some private ones – now offer more affordable brands as well.

The government will also tighten regulations for the labelling of infant formula and put a stop to “misleading advertising”, while working to educate parents that more expensive infant formula is not necessarily better, said Lee.

He quipped, “In the past, there were many advertisements showing babies or cute animals with mortar boards, as if drinking that particular brand will make the children smarter. I am glad that there are fewer such advertisements now.”

He added, “Through our efforts, there are now more reasonably priced options for consumers to choose from.”

Hawker centres

One way to help Singaporeans manage the cost of eating out is to build more hawker centres, given that many dual-income families eat out as they have no time to cook. In this regard, seven new centres have been built in the last few years, with 13 more are on the way.

Stalls in the new hawker centres are also required to provide affordable food choices: almost every stall will offer at least one economical meal option, priced at $3 or less. Furthermore, they are halal-certified, so Singaporeans of all races and faiths can enjoy these meals, noted Lee.

Calling hawker centres our “community dining rooms”, Lee said, “Hawker centres are important not just to keep the cost of living low. They are a cultural institution, a unique part of Singapore’s heritage and identity.”


https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ndr-2018-...hanges-cope-cost-living-pm-lee-113905671.html
 

bic_cherry

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Relook post-paid to pre-paid number porting
PUBLISHED: OCT 23, 2018, 5:00 AM SGT
In October 2016, the Infocomm Media Development Agency (IMDA) noted that "current demand for post-paid to pre-paid number porting (and vice-versa) is low" and, thus, did not require mobile service providers to implement post-paid to pre-paid number porting (Low demand for post-paid to pre-paid porting; Oct 18, 2016).

Later in December of that year, Australian telco TPG Telecom won the new entrant spectrum auction, which was reserved for parties that did not operate a nationwide mobile network to "enhance innovation and competition" in the sector. In April last year, TPG increased its spectrum holdings in the general spectrum auction.

Since then, competition has increased, with new mobile virtual network operators entering the scene. Post-paid and pre-paid offerings have both improved too.


However, pre-paid offerings appear to have become more competitive than the post-paid options.

For example, Singtel's pre-paid offering, RedHot$30 offers 3GB of any time data, 1,000 minutes of talk time and 1,000 SMS for $30 monthly. Its closest post-paid offering, the SIM-Only 3GB Plan (No Contract), costs approximately $41.40 monthly for the same inclusions.

Similarly, StarHub's 3GB pre-paid data offering includes unlimited outgoing calls for $18 monthly, while its No-Contract XS plan costs $24 monthly for 3GB of data and only 200 minutes of outgoing calls, though it offers unlimited weekend data.

Consumers who no longer use their mobile phones as often, but still wish to retain the ability to make and receive calls can also switch to cheaper pre-paid options, rather than being forced to remain on inflexible post-paid options.

Smart Nation initiatives like PayNow and OneService also use mobile numbers as one of the identifiers, making it all the more important that users be able to keep their numbers as they move through various plan options.

In the light of these new offerings, consumers may be more inclined to port from post-paid to pre-paid.

Allowing consumers to do this will boost competition and I hope IMDA will consider the option of mandating this.

Shawn Lee Chieh Loong

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/relook-post-paid-to-pre-paid-number-porting
 
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bic_cherry

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Time to change telecommunication landscape
PUBLISHED: OCT 26, 2018, 5:00 AM SGT

I agree with Mr Shawn Lee Chieh Loong that it is time for the Infocomm Media Development Agency (IMDA) to relook the need to implement post-paid to pre-paid number porting and to change the telecommunication landscape here (Relook post-paid to pre-paid number porting; Oct 23).

It is not fair for IMDA to continue to say that the demand for post-paid to pre-paid porting is low.

Consumers like me, who want to retain their numbers from post-paid to pre-paid, have contacted the telcos but have been told that they do not provide such an option.

I was advised to apply for a new number instead, but that is not a suitable solution as I would like to keep my existing number to ensure that I am contactable.

This is especially so as there may be some friends and relatives who do not keep in touch with me frequently but may need to reach me in case of an urgent situation or emergency.

In order to remain contactable despite not using the service often, consumers will then have to subscribe to a low-value plan instead.

The cost of this plan may be very substantial, especially for low-income groups and retirees.

IMDA and the relevant authorities must not always consider things from only the point of view of businesses.

The role of the Government and its agencies is to ensure that the general public's needs and welfare are reasonably taken care of.

It must continue to protect the people and keep up with the change in time and needs.

Lim Tong Wah

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 26, 2018, with the headline 'Time to change telecommunication landscape'.

https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/time-to-change-telecommunication-landscape
 
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