M1 rolls out S'pore-wide wireless
broadband service
28 Nov 06
SINGAPORE - Singapore's third-largest mobile phone operator,
MobileOne, said on Tuesday it would launch an island-wide wireless
broadband service on Dec 6, using its newly upgraded
third-generation (3G) mobile network.
MobileOne (M1), of which Telekom Malaysia and Malaysian state
investment arm Khazanah Nasional own nearly 30 per cent, said it
would use a High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) technology
that provides broadband Internet access anywhere a phone signal is
available.
'This signals our intention to be a serious player in the home,
office and mobile broadband market,' Neil Montefiore, M1's chief
executive officer, told reporters at a briefing.
About 59 per cent of the 1.1 million households in Singapore have
broadband access.
M1 said its new service would provide downlink speeds of up to 3.6
megabits per second (mbps) in the central business district --
nearly nine times faster than 3G speeds -- and up to 1.8 mbps in
the rest of Singapore. This would rise to 14.4 mbps by end of next
year. In contrast, maximum download speeds for 3G are around 384
kilobits per second (kbps).
M1 competes with Singapore Telecommunications and StarHub in
Singapore's saturated mobile market, where more than nine out of 10
people own a handset. Unlike SingTel, which derives about three
quarters of its revenues from business outside Singapore, M1 is
primarily focused on its home market. -- REUTERS
hmmmm...
