<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Blow to broadband network bid <!--10 min-->
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alfred Siew, Technology Correspondent
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StarHub and MobileOne's (M1) bid to build Singapore's next-generation broadband network suffered a big blow on Wednesday after partner and consortium leader City Telecom (Hong Kong) pulled out of the group in a surprise move.
The consortium, called Infinity, is in a race against rival group OpenNet to build new cyber highways that will connect almost every home, office and school here by 2015.
Up for grabs is a $750 million government contract for laying the cables to these premises.
City Telecom, which brought with it experience in laying high-speed fibre optic cables to homes in Hong Kong, was known to have impressed government regulators here early on with its technical know-how.
Chairman Ricky Wong's public jousts with incumbent telecom operators in Hong Kong had also earned glowing praise from market watchers who expected the consortium to fight tooth and nail with OpenNet.
The Hong Kong telco's departure now casts a dark cloud over the group's chances in the bid, the winner of which will be unveiled next month.
In City Telecom's place, a new consortium partner, the Qatar state investment vehicle, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), was introduced on Wednesday.
In a statement, it said it expects to provide substantial financial support and expertise in business operations and management of the network rollout.
At the same time, StarHub will take over as group leader.
But market watchers say the going will be even tougher now, as the group faces up to a heavyweight OpenNet group consisting of Canada's Axia NetMedia, incumbent SingTel, Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications.
The reasons for City Telecom's departure so late in the game are unclear.
Since the Singapore government first began evaluating companies for the project two years ago, the Hong Kong telco had said it was confident of its technology, which offered broadband speeds at least 10 times faster than here.
It had also based several staff here permanently to handle its bid, and chairman Wong was known to frequently jet to Singapore to check on progress.
The telco even launched a fibre optic broadband service in pockets of Hong Kong last year, ostensibly to show off its technical expertise. But in leaving, it was silent on its reasons.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Alfred Siew, Technology Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->
StarHub and MobileOne's (M1) bid to build Singapore's next-generation broadband network suffered a big blow on Wednesday after partner and consortium leader City Telecom (Hong Kong) pulled out of the group in a surprise move.
The consortium, called Infinity, is in a race against rival group OpenNet to build new cyber highways that will connect almost every home, office and school here by 2015.
Up for grabs is a $750 million government contract for laying the cables to these premises.
City Telecom, which brought with it experience in laying high-speed fibre optic cables to homes in Hong Kong, was known to have impressed government regulators here early on with its technical know-how.
Chairman Ricky Wong's public jousts with incumbent telecom operators in Hong Kong had also earned glowing praise from market watchers who expected the consortium to fight tooth and nail with OpenNet.
The Hong Kong telco's departure now casts a dark cloud over the group's chances in the bid, the winner of which will be unveiled next month.
In City Telecom's place, a new consortium partner, the Qatar state investment vehicle, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), was introduced on Wednesday.
In a statement, it said it expects to provide substantial financial support and expertise in business operations and management of the network rollout.
At the same time, StarHub will take over as group leader.
But market watchers say the going will be even tougher now, as the group faces up to a heavyweight OpenNet group consisting of Canada's Axia NetMedia, incumbent SingTel, Singapore Press Holdings and SP Telecommunications.
The reasons for City Telecom's departure so late in the game are unclear.
Since the Singapore government first began evaluating companies for the project two years ago, the Hong Kong telco had said it was confident of its technology, which offered broadband speeds at least 10 times faster than here.
It had also based several staff here permanently to handle its bid, and chairman Wong was known to frequently jet to Singapore to check on progress.
The telco even launched a fibre optic broadband service in pockets of Hong Kong last year, ostensibly to show off its technical expertise. But in leaving, it was silent on its reasons.
