Consumers who
have signed up for a Singtel app that lets them watch TV programmes
on the go will have to pay for the service from next month, when a
fee waiver ends.
The Singtel
TV Go app, which was launched in July 2013, also allows users to
view multiple channels wirelessly on mobile devices without the
need for additional set-top boxes while they are connected to their
Singtel Internet network at home.
From Jan 12,
customers will have to pay $6.90 per month for the service, which
allows a user at home to stream a different channel on his or her
mobile device while someone else watches another TV channel.
Or they can
pay $9.90 monthly for a plan which allows three other users to view
different programmes at home simultaneously.
Both packages
allow one user to watch programmes while outside and on-the-go.
Singtel's
managing director for home consumer Singapore, Mr Goh Seow Eng,
told The Straits Times the cessation of the fee waiver was because
of the introduction of enhanced features and more channels. "The
revamped Singtel TV Go app introduces an enhanced Watch TV feature.
It also offers an expanded channel line-up, from 35 to over 110
channels. We will continue to add more channels in 2016."
Customers
using the app need to sign up for the service to continue using it
once the fee waiver ends.
Android and
iOS users can download the app for free and access its TV guide and
football fixtures and league table. But the function to stream and
watch TV programmes is limited to Singtel TV subscribers.
There are
more than 70 live channels that users can stream while they are
outside, such as lifestyle channel TLC, CNN International news and
Cartoon Network.
The app is
popular among sports fans, with channels like Fox Sports and mio
stadium, which allows football lovers to catch live matches on
their phones.
The app
includes "catch-up" channels, where customers can download
programmes onto their devices for later viewing. These downloaded
shows expire in seven days.
Football fan
Dominic Nalpon, 26, uses the app to watch football matches in his
bedroom while his parents watch movies and serials in the living
room.
"It's a bit
more than I'm willing to pay for," said Mr Nalpon, a church worker.
"If I have to pay, I'll just go out to the living room to
watch."
Rival cable
TV provider StarHub has a similar service called StarHub Go, which
is free for its customers. They will be charged $5.35 per month
from March 1.