- Joined
- Aug 7, 2008
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- 4,081
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When mobile phones first came on the market, Singtel was still the only telco in Singapore. Do you remember the cost of a handset at the time? At first, we thought that the cost was high simply because it was a new technology.
Then we began to find out that prices were a lot lower in other countries. We also realized that this was because telcos overseas subsidized handsets so as to retain the loyalty of their customers. And why did they have to do that? Because they were not the only telco in their countries!
When this was put to Singtel, they said it was not wise to subsidize handsets because it would cause their phone charges to go up. They also kept saying that Singapore was too small to have more than one telco. They repeatedly warned of rate rises because of this and that, e.g. domestic charges may go up because they had to push down international call prices, etc.
And then M1 came into the scene, followed by Starhub. Guess what? Handset prices plunged. Call charges did not go up. Certain features became the norm, e.g. free incoming calls, free numbers, etc. And none of the telcos or the telecom system in Singapore collapsed.
What does this suggest about the PAPzis' position today?
Then we began to find out that prices were a lot lower in other countries. We also realized that this was because telcos overseas subsidized handsets so as to retain the loyalty of their customers. And why did they have to do that? Because they were not the only telco in their countries!
When this was put to Singtel, they said it was not wise to subsidize handsets because it would cause their phone charges to go up. They also kept saying that Singapore was too small to have more than one telco. They repeatedly warned of rate rises because of this and that, e.g. domestic charges may go up because they had to push down international call prices, etc.
And then M1 came into the scene, followed by Starhub. Guess what? Handset prices plunged. Call charges did not go up. Certain features became the norm, e.g. free incoming calls, free numbers, etc. And none of the telcos or the telecom system in Singapore collapsed.
What does this suggest about the PAPzis' position today?
