Two-horse race for 4th telco licence will raise spectrum costs

COMMENTING on the recent revision of data plans announced by the three incumbent telcos in Singapore, Masoud Bassiri, chairman and founder of wireless solutions provider Consistel, said, perhaps half in jest, that the IDA's (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) objective of bringing change in the telecommunications market seemed to be well on track with shake-ups occurring even before the fourth telecom licence was issued.

Speaking to The Business Times, Mr Bassiri added: "We are surprised how existing similar pricing has been dropped in a similar way 'overnight'. Just because prices have dropped by around the same amount does not mean there is now competition."

Reaffirming that Consistel is very much in the race to become Singapore's fourth telco, Mr Bassiri added that his company was "constantly looking to differentiate ourselves with quality and service and not just matching the competition's prices".