According to the latest data from the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), the number of 3G mobile subscribers in Singapore rose threefold from 96,900 in October 2005 to 271,700 at the end of February. The upsurge in demand for UMTS services is being attributed to the wider availability of more affordable, feature-rich handsets. Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel Mobile) and MobileOne both launched 3G services in February 2005, while the third player, StarHub, introduced its own commercial offering in April last year.
Overall mobile phone subscriptions stood at 4.34 million at the end of February, a rise of 0.7% on the previous month and a cellular penetration of 99.8%.