Why not allow local roaming within country when an operator network fails

Ok, I agree this is not going to be easy to live without Mobile network for hours. Atleast in Singapore. Where people use 2.3 Peta Bytes a month, spend on an average 6 hours on mobile phone (calls), and carry 2 or more connections to be online all the time.

From the news itself I recall there are more than 

Minister says Telcos should raise their game during disruptions. But mere 'communication' doesnt help solve the problem. One way is to use a Dual-SIM card with multiple numbers but this is going to be expensive and cumbersome to maintain two different numbers. Perhaps future technology may allow a 'soft-sim' where the single SIM card can allow dynamically change the service provider. But until then a more practical way to let the affected parties roam to another operator could help.

So the 'national roaming' - how does this going to help and what are the challenges. I have seen this approach by many countries in developing nations. Especially in India, it is very common since the 2G nation wide launch in early 1990's. This was started mainly from coverage point of view, but slowly operators realized that they can share the resources to scale. The case in Singapore differs slightly and for us coverage may not be a big issue (though i still have plenty of dark spots or blind spots throughout my mobility areas)

From resiliency point of view, there is a good paper from European Union here. This is more in tune with our requirements in Singapore. So what happens is very simple

When the M1 network goes down (be it nation wide or specific areas), the subscribers can automatically switch over to SingTel or StarHub networks assuming it is a Radio network failure or Radio(core) nodes failure at central exchange. The billing can be settled based on Inter-op agreements or via a central party.

If in case of other failures like the Data centric nodes failure, the voice network still works but customer suffer no data connectivity. Again , depending on the scenario a subscriber may be roamed in to backup network. Technically this is more complicated and need many cases to be explored. So I doubt this can happen in Singapore. But for the basic voice connectivity and SMS connectivity should be supported.

Today most of the 2G networks are under utilized given the fact that 90+% subscribers running on 3G or LTE. So until IDA decides and takes back the spectrum or Operators decide to close the 2G toally, they can use the 2G as a backup network to roam. Basically this is for voice + SMS which 2G does a great job.

Any thoughs...

SingTel Rewards - New program launch. Basically it's removing their loyalty program

You might have observed the changes to SingTel Red rewards, through their website or SMS push.

Come August 2013, you can look forward to a fresh new rewards programme. In the new programme, you can enjoy a variety of exciting lifestyle treats that would appeal to everyone in your family, every month. This is our way of thanking you for being with SingTel. Look out for more details at www.singtel.com/red.

Now, the so called "new programme" is nothing but removal of their existing program and saying that you guys suck for being SingTel "loyal" customers. On the other hand their CEO-Consumer and their Optus MD seems to have focusing on "Customer retention" and NPS which means giving more value to loyalty. Also during their conf call in August, they stated clearly loyalty is important and it costs more to get a new customer than retaining one.

However the 'walk' seems to be totally diff to the 'talk'. So now SingTel expects you to chalk-up bills worth 250 every month to quality for their 'elite loyalty' program. Rest of the bunch are just a losers. So if you are spending 200 every month then you are not a good customer in their eyes and doesn't warrant any loyalty bonus.

It's no wonder as SingTel loyalty program was the worst five years ago with their red rewards program. Also they don't even bother to "keep" you as their customer after your contract. They simply charge "existing price rate" and force you to sign up new contract.

If you look at StarHub or M1, they are no saints but atleast I've received mailers, e-mails and calls when my contract is about to expire. StarHub even sent me a voucher to use it in their store. that's a good gesture.

So now I am using SingTel only for my mobile and chalking up bills averaging 150 for the last three months. Now it's high time for me to go back to M1 or SH and enjoy some bundling promo. 

My SingTel application - Good and fine example of what TELCO's should do

Point your browser here.
http://info.singtel.com/personal/apps-tv/apps/my-singtel


SingTel just launched a revised app and this is a Hit. Finally it seems our telco's are learning what Customers are looking for. Instead of selling their own stuff, now Singtel tried to share what we, the customers are looking for.

So instead of 'singtel offers' in old apps and web pages, the App shows how much data been used, how many minutes consumed, how many SMS been sent during the current billing period. Below are some screenshots captured from iTunes (hope it's legally ok to post it here).

Great job SingTel.

SingTel Store & Share - Another me toooo service or any differentiator ?

Just got a message from SingTel that there is a free upgrade from Store & Share as I am their premium subscriber (?).

So I was curious on what made SingTel to believe they can go head-on with OTT players like Google Drive, SkyDrive, SugarSync & the ubiquitous Dropbox.

As expected it's NONE. There is nothing SingTel can do better compared to dropbox or for that matter sugarsync. Why should I even bother to upload my documents to SingTel even if it's free to me.

This is the biggest issue I've found with many of the TELCO firms. Especially in Asia where end subscribers are tech savvy, no point going with "me too" approach. If SingTel is thinking "consumers" trust a local telco compared to OTT player then sorry guys, I've to disappoint you. You are the same bandwagon (if not worse) and by the way I can't see your privacy policy details. I see FAQ but no privacy policy..

So is it the "SPEED" which SingTel is selling? If that's the case, may be there is a logic if the volume is high. For example 10's of GB. But if I've such a big data or huge data, I'd invest in a decent NAS and a backup disk. Also, the huge data may not be suitable to be stored as per T&C. And if you look in to the details, the terms of service, liability & Privacy is as good as a third party BV registered company.

So what is the VALUE SingTel offering and what am I missing here ? 



5.6 SingNet and SingTel Mobile reserve the right in its absolute discretion to suspend, discontinue and/or terminate (in whole or in part) the Service without any liability whatsoever to the Customer.

5.7 Upon any termination, suspension or discontinuation of the Service, all data stored by the Customer will be deleted and the Customer's account for the Service shall be removed and the Customer shall in no event hold SingNet nor SingTel Mobile liable for any such deletion or removal of data.


5.9 Neither SingNet nor SingTel Mobile shall be responsible for any loss of data or information pursuant to the use of the Service by the Customer.


8.1 SingNet and SingTel Mobile reserve the right to manage and control access to any computer or any SingTel system or any computer linked to any SingTel system and any data stored therein, in a manner deemed appropriate by SingTel, and to delete any data (whether belonging to, provided or stored by the Customer or otherwise), notwithstanding that such access and the storage of such data is a requirement or constitutes a part of the Service.

High Risk Apps - Verizon Wireless publishes high risk Android apps

Source: Verizon

Occasionally we learn about apps in the Google Play™ Store that might have serious negative effects on your device. Examples of these effects could be:

• Loss of functionality (e.g., loss of data connection)
• Unexpected high data usage
• Battery draining 2 or 3 times faster than normal
• Security or privacy exposure

This page lists apps that may be especially risky for you to use at this time. We work regularly with app developers to help them fix problems with their apps, and apps are removed from this list as soon as the issues are fixed.

One App I used and I concur with VZW finding is "Hill Climb Racing". With Mydatamanager, I found that it used close to 100MB in an hour. Not very sure why but it's a battery killer & bw hungry. Ofcourse addictive too ;)

It's certainly an interesting article from VZW and certainly useful for the end user. Wish SingTel can do something similar in local market. Or may be with iPhone too.

Smart (?) way to cover up the faulty network - SingTel to offer free minutes during festive period (CNY)

Source: SingTel

I am one of those frustrated mobile users in Singapore. Things were not so bad few years ago and I used to show my brand new iPhone which can be used to 'make calls' to my American friends. Then slowly the smart phone became a show device which can be used to listen to music, messaging and snapping pictures.

That's it. Atleast for the last two years majority of Singaporean mobile phone users experienced dropped calls, coverage issues, terrible voice quality, cross talk and what not.

Call me cynical, but the above offer from SingTel doesn't make me happy. With such crappy coverage and experience who wants to use mobile phone unless if there is no option. For me, the good old Skype does a great job.

SingTel, you can't throw things under carpet by giving free minutes. You'll still get complaints from people that the quality sucks these days.

SingTel Website down - or is it my computer problems??

Just an hour ago, SingTel website was dead and it simply showed an error message. It even showed some junk page filled with ads for a couple of seconds. Don't think it is an outage. At least not at this hour (~11.30AM)

Or it could be my laptop having some issues. Not very sure but within 5 min the website was back and it is working fine. 

Wrong charges to some SingTel subscribers - Charges for 3rd party provider services

Source: CNA

This is not the first time we see similar complaints and certainly not a new answer from SingTel (or likes). The standard reply is to "offer discount" or claim that "

Under IDA guidelines, content providers like TMG Asia Pte Ltd required to state upfront the charges for transactions. Customer have the option to opt-in or opt-out."

What Service Providers forgot(?) to mention is that they themselves are taking profit from these not so clear transactions.

If service providers were to really help subscribers, they should stop charging customers on behalf of third party content providers. End customers see "SingTel or Starhub or M1" charging them illegally and start to complain. If it is a real requirement from Customers, and they are interested to "subscribe" to these third party services they can (and will) always subscribe directly.

Service providers on the other hand, can maintain a "list of services" in their portal and charge 'specific amount' from the third party providers. In this way, Service Providers doesn't have to loose money when there is a conflict while still getting some revenue in a much fairer way.

If not, the unhappiness will continue as long as Service Providers tend to charge customers without a clear and intended consent from customers.

Newsloop - New app from SingTel

Source: http://www.newsloop.co/about

NewsLoop brings traditional media to the next level by putting together news and lifestyle content into an elegant app. With over 230 content sources and 25 categories of stories to choose from, NewsLoop lets you discover news that matters to you.

I've installed it on my iPhone few hours ago and trust me, this is by far the best news app available in Singapore (or region). 

Some screen shots below showing the granularity of customization. wish I could show the functionality but you must try to get a feel :)

It's available from Appstore. Give it a try !!!!!

SingTel m-Commerce or mCash

Source: SingTel Website
So there is one more option for people to remit money out of Singapore and this is from SingTel.

It is expected to be launched in a few days time and the first place will be Philippines or Globe GCash. This is a good 'try' to expand in to new business areas. However I am not sure whether this is another 'try' which is going to be short lived.

The market is there and Philippines getting 21 Billion dollars (US) in remittances. In Singapore, I don't have the stats but some what old document shows the estimates to SEA from Singapore are around 4-5 Billion Dollars (Source) in 2005. I'm sure this figure is easily doubled and if I take 10 Billion now and 50% of it going to Philippines it'll be ~ 5 Billion.

Other way is by looking at total number x average remittance. Which is ~100,000 (80,000 FDW + 25,000 other permits) and in an average if they are sending $ 250 / month that would be close to $ 3 Billion / Year.

Question is what % SingTel or other telco's can get from this amount. If it's even 3% that's going to be wonderful for SingTel.

Based on my observation, typical remittances are depending on "other party" or "recipient" rather then the "sender" convenience. If the recipient prefers to use GCash or Gcash channel this might be a success. If the other party prefers to go for normal channel, then this is going to be few weeks/months publicity.

So Globe customer base is approx 30 million and market share is ~ 30-35% in Philippines. Also in rural areas (where I guess the recipients are located) their presence is not as strong as PLDT. So this could be a negative point for them.

Overall if Globe can execute this well, this will bring some additional cash to SingTel bottom line. If Globe fails, this will fail.

Oops SingTel did it again.. MIO TV glitches during EPL season finale

Source: CNA

SingTel did it again with its MIO TV. I'm sure the exec, engineers will kill who ever with the name Murphy.

During the most critical moment the system failed again. As usual, SingTel issued a statement that

This was due to an unprecedented number of viewers tuning in for the season finale. 


So now, we've

• Expensive HDB's/Condo because 'unprecedented number of people migrated to Singapore'
• Trains failing because of 'more than anticipated people riding public transport'
• Slow/poor mobile networks because people are using mobiles
• TV/Cable systems failing because people are watching programs.

The root cause is clear. It's the people

We should schedule it in a way, like in a HDB block, all the even number units should watch first half. Odd number units should watch for the remaining half. Then they can share between themselves.

Remember, you shouldn't sms or call each other. It could congest the mobile network.

SingTel Optus to cut hundreds of jobs

Source: Skynews

Though this is no surprise I pity Optus. Its a double whammy for Optus, given the current business situation &on top of it the regulatory situation in Australia is not good either. But the timing of this may send a wrong message to general public. i.e. Major re-organization to merge Consumer businesses in Singapore + Optus, then sack hundreds of Optus staff. Is it the jobs're taken our from Australia and moved to Singapore?

Well, that's not the case atleast for the time being. It may happen in the future which is uncertain right now. But one day SingTel or for that matter majority of telco's in Asia will go towards managed services path. With such a heavy reliance on $ &C & limited focus on innovation, we are not going to see an Engineering led TELCO. This will simply result in 'less costs' & 'more profits' culture which MS promises on the paper.

Update:


Too fast to post my entry. Saw the news on SingTel 'outsourcing' their network to Huawei in ChannelNewsAsia

Too bad to hear that SingTel outsourcing to Huawei. I believe its a tough decision for SingTel given their legacy/culture.

SingTel 2G/3G BBOM or Data Network down..II

Well its just 48 hours and need to write a new post :|

The BBOM is not working again since morning in City area. Change to Internet works like a charm though a bit slow..

These days it is getting very common and I don't want to blame them solely. Competition is driving prices down and operators are squeezing vendors in return. The entire value chain is in a 'price war' and there is no such thing as "cheaper, better, faster" :). So if we want quality then we should be ready to pay for it and given the current market situation I don't think this is going to happen any time soon.. Sad to say but this is the reality today in Singapore (Be it Telco or ISP or any other)

SingTel 2G/3G BBOM or Data Network down..

I was in the office yesterday and seems SingTel Mobile BBOM was down again.. @ Tanjong Pagar to Suntec (CBD area) I couldn't connect.

This morning there was a slight problem but so far seems the problem resolved quite fast.

However right now (@1500 Hrs) I could connect to 3G + Data network but I can't browse any sites. I tried resetting the network settings & turn on/off the phone but still the same problem.

There was a old trick I remembered since Magix days. change the proxy.. So I did changed the APN settings and it started working :).. So e-ideas to internet on my iPhone resolved the problem. Though it did disabled my Personal Host Spot (reason here) it worked well.

Past links:

1.  Outage in Jan 2012

2. Outage in Sep 2011

OCBC & Lim Tan securities were down due to a Power Failure at Hosting site

Source: CNA

Strange enough, SingTel came to the news once again for not so good reasons. According to the press release from OCBC there was a "electricity" fault at the Hosting company premises and it caused the four hour outage this morning.

Also Lim Tan Securities servers too failed. Now the big question is how come both the servers failed at the same time unless the entire power feed in the row of racks tripped or both servers hosted in the same rack and the rack power supply tripped.

Seems both were hosted at Expan (SingTel Hosting services name). My guess is based on IP addresses of iocbc & trade.limtan.com.sg

iocbc.com - 203.126.125.141
trade.limtan.com.sg - 203.208.245.168

Both were owned by SingTel (first block is old block from SingNet and those days they used to give /27 or /26 blocks to customers. So the address in APNIC shows OCBC).
http://wq.apnic.net/apnic-bin/whois.pl

Hopefully this is not going to affect DBS :)

Non Camera Phones - Secured Office

I am trying to find mobile phones (preferably smart phones) without camera but I am quite surprised that I couldn't find any in the market right now.
There are a couple of smartphones but they are running windows 6.1 (HTC Snap & Fuze) and one from Blackberry.
Seems like the best bet is to go for ipad v1 & use VoIP :)

So my plan is to subscribe to MIO MOBILE and use the soft client on iPad for incoming and outgoing calls. Let me see how it goes.

Not again...SingTel seems to be forgotten the lessons learned (if they have the plan to learn from their mistakes in the first place). I've no idea what is wrong but my sources told that this is some thing to do with the packet core network (PS Core) which is supplied by Ericsson. If my memory serves me well this is not the first time they had this problem. Hopefully both SingTel & Ericsson works to overcome this problem to help SingTel and Customers :)


Source: CNA
Customers of SingTel 3G mobile services have been experiencing problems with the network in parts of Singapore. Those affected since Tuesday night are mainly in the northern and western parts of Singapore.

Past Links:
http://srichakrak.blogspot.com/2011/09/singtel-3g-network-down-again.html

SingTel 3G network down again..

Source: CNA

SingTel mobile customers have been experiencing intermittent difficulty in making calls and accessing the 3G network since Tuesday. The cause of the problem has been traced to a software glitch.

Not again dear SingTel. As if the 3G network is almost unusable in the city area with frequent handovers between 3G-2G. I remember the excellent coverage and great quality SingTel offered not long ago. Not sure what's wrong with the network or people it went terribly wrong. Now a days, I don't even connect continuously for 10 min on a 3G network in City area be it in building or on the street.

Hopefully singtel'll wake up before people start to change service providers.

iPhone - Personal Hot Spot Missing

Recently I've got few messages and comments on the Personal Hot spot thingy on iPhone4. Most of them are complaining how the hot spot went missing after the recent iOS upgrade (4.3.3) and calls to SingTel or Starhub are always telling them to reset the device.

First of all, we in Singapore are much "pampered" crowd. Places like US, Europe & AU the option to have "tethering" is a privilage and you'll be paying exorbitant prices (e.g. USD 45 for 4GB/Month). I know some of my friends are not very happy to see SingTel "limited" data bundle which stands at 30GB per month / SGD 15.

Coming to the point, the personal hot spot works on something called "tethering".
There are two different situations where the PHS end up missing.

1.First time usage (just go to settings and enable it)

2. When you change some of the carrier settings or network settings or APN settings
Solution is simple and simply reset the network settings.

Now let me explain why you need to reset. This is a standard defined in 3GPP and whenever the phone communicates to the network, they both try to agree on this option. So when you change the carrier settings/APN settings, the phone tries to get the information from operator network. However this is not really 'authorized' but we'll still do and when the phone tries to get the details from operator network, it ends up disabling the hot spot.

A reset will change the APN back to "e-ideas" with all default settings and Hot spot is back :)

SingTel Hello Card - Please try again after five minutes..

SingTel Hello card is a prepaid calling card. It allows cheaper overseas calls and offers excellent quality. However recently I am getting quite frustrated with the "busy" tone. During the day time it seems acceptable but the frustration starts after 7 PM. When you dial the number, it simply says "please try again after five minutes" and disconnects. Today I've been trying since 7 and no luck yet.

I think this problem started after they started the "callback" service + free calls for prepaid numbers. Most of the overseas workers use this card and after 7 they will be busy calling homes. This is really the cheapest and most convenient way to call overseas. Right now it gives ~ 1000 minutes for $10 card. I remember in 2003, it used to offer 12 min for the same amount. :)

Hopefully, SingTel can add few more lines to this service. If the same thing continues, I believe many people will go to other alternatives.