Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.'s (SingTel) Internet subsidiary SingNet Pte. Ltd. has joined the free ISP (Internet service provider) market here with the launch of its Mysingtel service, SingTel announced yesterday.
The service is being launched through a strategic alliance with Freei.Net Asia-Pacific Inc., which last month announced its plans to offer free Internet services in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand this year.
SingTel is using its market muscle to counter a free access service launched last month by rival Starhub Internet Pte. Ltd. Instead of waiting for subscribers to register, SingTel is mailing out Internet access user names and passwords to all of its 1.8 million fixed phone line customers.
Under the alliance agreement, SingTel and Freei.Net Asia-Pacific will jointly develop free Internet businesses and services in the Asia-Pacific region. The partnership expects to generate revenue from on-line advertising, sponsorships and electronic activities, SingTel said in a statement yesterday.
SingTel's move into regional markets is in response to growing competition in its home market, caused by the deregulation of Singapore's telecommunications market. The international StarHub consortium has been aggressively attacking SingTel on the fixed-line telephone, mobile phone and Internet fronts, beginning even before the official launch of StarHub's telecommunications services on April 1.
SingTel can be contacted at +65-838-2740 or online at http://www.singtel.com.