New technology on trial may make fourth telco a viable proposition

THE mobility trials that MyRepublic announced last week in the Jurong Lake District area, which are due to start in October using a technology called small cells, will be keenly watched by the infocomm technology community in Singapore.

The test runs are part of the technology trials being conducted by the government to proof technologies for the Smart Nation project. Small cell technology can potentially eliminate the need to set up expensive base stations to provide mobile coverage over a given area. MyRepublic has indicated that it wants to bid for spectrum when the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) opens up spectrum bidding early next year, in line with its aim to become Singapore's fourth telco operator . IDA had noted in July this year that it will set aside 60 Megahertz (MHz) of spectrum for a new mobile network operator when it auctions 225 MHz of spectrum.

IDA has made it quite clear that it wants more competition in the mobile telephony space with the expectation that this will give rise to more innovative services and packages. In the fibre broadband market, the entry of new players, via the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), has resulted in more varied plans and a drop in prices. It is hoped that a fourth telco could catalyse a more dynamic mobile telephony market in Singapore.