IDA slaps fines on SingTel Mobile, M1 and StarHub for ‘poor’ 3G coverage

Singapore’s telecoms watchdog the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has slapped fines of SGD10,000 (USD8,207) on each of the city-state’s incumbent mobile operators for failing to comply with its Quality of Service (QoS) standards for the provision of 3G services. The IDA issued the fines to SingTel Mobile, M1 Limited and StarHub after confirming that each had fallen short on standard requirements for 3G mobile where it concerns nationwide coverage in outdoor areas. The watchdog raised the bar for outdoor coverage to 99% from 95% in April this year, and having audited the three cellcos’ performance between April-June this year, issued statements to each that their QoS standard was sub-par. However, it did note that each operator had ‘performed well’ in terms of general mobile coverage. The IDA’s survey concluded that SingTel Mobile achieved outdoor 3G coverage of 97.4%, followed by StarHub with 97.2% and M1 with just 94.6%.