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StarHub, M1 pair up in bid for cyber highway
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| Alfred Siew |
Mon, Mar 24, 2008
The Straits Times
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RIVALS StarHub and MobileOne (M1) have joined forces in a bid to build Singapore's new, ultra-fast cyber highway, throwing up the latest surprise in a long tender process.
The network, dubbed the Next-Generation National Broadband Network, will let users surf at speeds at least 10 times faster than now.
When ready islandwide by 2015, it is expected to shake up a telecom market now dominated by SingTel and StarHub.
Signs of change came late last Thursday, when StarHub said it was joining a consortium made up of M1 and Hong Kong's City Telecom (CTI) to bid for part of the project.
| If the consortium wins, there will essentially be three companies running the network instead of one dominant player.
StarHub, it is understood, managed to strike a deal with its new partners only after tough negotiations and as this week's deadline for tenders loomed large.
Sources say it had wanted to table its own bid, but decided it stood a better chance joining forces with a rival.
The work involves laying network cables around the island, an important part of the project that telecom operators are keen on.
Experts tip SingTel as the front runner in this, because it already has much of the island hooked up with existing underground fibre optic cables and can complete the job quickly.
But market watchers note that the balance may now swing slightly in favour of the rival group of local heavy-hitters StarHub and M1 and experienced Hong Kong player CTI.
StarHub spokesman Michael Sim told The Straits Times that CTI's experience in building an ultra-fast network in Hong Kong similar to the one planned here encouraged it to join the alliance.
There are now nine groups in the running, including notables such as Britain's BT.
The winner will be unveiled in the third quarter of this year. A second tender will then be called for the operation of the telecom equipment in the network.
This separation is meant to prevent one telco from dominating the scene, the Government said. It is giving out up to $750 million to help firms build the network.
In doing so, it believes more small firms can offer online services without being bogged down by the cost of building the network.
siewtha@sph.com.sg
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