SingTel's relationship with OTT players complicated

SINGTEL might start treating the providers of platforms like Viber and WhatsApp more like friends than foes - but this doesn't mean its wariness of its freewheeling counterparts has evaporated.

In the group's annual report for the year ended March 31, 2014, which was released yesterday, group chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong said SingTel wants to become the "preferred network partner", both to over-the-top (OTT) players like Viber and WhatsApp as well as the consumers of such services.

SingTel is "exploring various business models" to this end, she said.