SingTel

[Dividend Knight]

Heng Ah...

Optus cable blow to NBN rollout

• THE AUSTRALIAN
  
  
• NOVEMBER 25, 2015 5:01PM
  
• Mitchell Bingemann
  [Image: mitchell_bingemann.png]
  Reporter
  Sydney
  
  

[img=650x0]http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/96b422377b8f98f72fc9da35c75bd4b1?width=650[/img]

Malcolm Turnbull, with Coalition MP Sarah Henderson, in an NBN rollout picture opportunity before he became PM.

[*]

The company building the National Broadband Network has drawn up plans to build over Optus’s cable network, in a move that would cost the project $375 million and make it miss its 2017 and 2018 connection targets.

The NBN paid $800m in 2012 for Optus’s hybrid-fibre coaxial (HFC) network — which is used to deliver broadband and pay TV services — but the company has since discovered that large portions of the network are in such poor condition that they will need to be replaced to deliver superfast internet access speeds to consumers.
In a confidential NBN document titled “HFC Plan B: Overbuilding Optus”, the network builder said the Optus network is not “fit for purpose” in parts and lacks the capacity to support NBN’s services.
It says overbuilding the network with either Telstra HFC cables or NBN fibre could deliver “higher probability of success” and “significant operational simplicity”.
“Some Optus equipment is arriving at end of life and needs to be replaced,” the document said.
However, any move to replace the Optus network would come at a cost of up to $375 million, overbuild some 470,000 premises and make the NBN miss its rollout targets by a total of 633,000 across 2017 and 2018, leaving those premises unconnected until 2019.
Those costs would be contained in its already revised construction costs, which the NBN said in August were now expected to come in between $46 billion and $56bn.
The confidential plans — leaked to and released by Labor Communications spokesman Jason Clare — suggest a range of options to overcome the problems associated with the Optus network including: expanding the reach of Telstra’s cable TV network; and overbuilding Optus’ network with fibre-to-the node technology.
It also suggests using Labor’s preferred technology choice of fibre-to-the-premise as a replacement, but that would come with an additional cost of $600 million in peak funding.
The documents suggest NBN’s preferred option is to use a mix of technologies costing between $150m and $375m.
A spokesman from NBN confirmed the veracity of the leaked document, saying the company regularly prepares for multiple scenarios to mitigate risks in the project.
The spokesman also said forecast cost increases in the plan were accounted for in its corporate plan.
“Our corporate plan has accounted for the ebbs and flows expected in a project of this scale. NBN has met or exceeded all targets over the past 18 months and we remain confident in our long range plan and the various strategies we have in place to manage the risk,” he said.
Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare said the document provided “more evidence of the absolute mess that Malcolm Turnbull has created with his second rate NBN”.
“It reveals that the Optus HFC network, a key component of Malcolm Turnbull’s second rate NBN, is in far worse condition than Australians were led to believe and NBN Co is considering overbuilding the network — costing hundreds of millions and meaning hundreds of thousands of Australians will have to wait longer to get the NBN,” he said.
An Optus spokeswoman said it and NBN had always acknowledged parts of the HFC network would need an upgrade.
“In advance of handover there has been and continues to be major investment into the HFC network to manage subscriber growth and capacity demand,” she said.

[*]

I dun really understand this article. Is it good or bad for Optus?

[Dividend Knight]

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (Singtel) has teamed up with GrabTaxi on a mobile wallet for the taxi app in the region.

See more at:
http://business.asiaone.com//news/singte...0CXeR.dpuf

[CityFarmer]

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (Singtel) has teamed up with GrabTaxi on a mobile wallet for the taxi app in the region.

See more at:
http://business.asiaone.com//news/singte...0CXeR.dpuf

One of the great advantages of SingTel, is the regional tie-up with its associates. It should be the telco-of-choice in Singapore, for any global OTT player.

(not vested)

[ozone]

Will be Interesting to track prices after XD !

[CityFarmer]

An preparation for the upcoming Neflix (Starhub), and HOOQ (SingTel)?  

(not vested)

Singtel to charge users of TV Go from January
28 Dec 2015 09:00
By Lester Hio

Consumers who have signed up for a Singtel app that lets them watch TV programmes on the go will have to pay for the service from next month, when a fee waiver ends.

The Singtel TV Go app, which was launched in July 2013, also allows users to view multiple channels wirelessly on mobile devices without the need for additional set-top boxes while they are connected to their Singtel Internet network at home.

From Jan 12, customers will have to pay $6.90 per month for the service, which allows a user at home to stream a different channel on his or her mobile device while someone else watches another TV channel.

Or they can pay $9.90 monthly for a plan which allows three other users to view different programmes at home simultaneously.

Both packages allow one user to watch programmes while outside and on-the-go.
...
Rival cable TV provider StarHub has a similar service called StarHub Go, which is free for its customers. They will be charged $5.35 per month from March 1
Source: Straits Times

[CityFarmer]

The cable-TV service will face a tough year 2016, after HOOQ and Netflix coming to Singapore market next year. Let's see what is the new normal...

(not vested)

Netflix focusing on shows' quality in S'pore debut
29 Dec 2015 09:00
By Jacquelyn Cheok

NASDAQ-LISTED Internet streaming service Netflix is not overly worried about take-up rates when it launches in Singapore early next year - despite the competition or that it will debut here with a slimmer version of its US television and movie catalogue for the same price.

"We face a lot of competition in every market," Jonathan Friedland, Netflix chief communications officer, told BT. "But it's good because as the market shifts from linear to Internet TV, the more acclimated people get to the latter, the more opportunities there will be (for Internet TV players)."

Netflix has been a firm champion of on-demand Internet TV replacing linear TV. The former lets viewers watch any show at any time on any device, while the latter allows viewers to watch a show at a scheduled time and on a fixed channel. Said Mr Friedland: "In linear TV, every channel shows different content and competes for viewers. Internet TV will change that."

And original content is what Netflix will bank on to distinguish itself from the competition here - which includes existing players Spuul, a homegrown Indian content-focused service; Apple TV; MediaCorp's Toggle; and new players such as Singtel's Hooq (which will launch here next year); and possibly Malaysia-based iflix, which had earlier said that it had no plans for a Singapore launch but most recently revealed that local operators have been strongly asking it to launch here in partnership with them.

Of Netflix's original content ambitions, Mr Friedland said: "With the same amount of money (invested in or paid to license a popular show), Netflix can do more: produce an original series and launch it globally and simultaneously, without viewers in some parts of the world having to wait longer than others to see it."
...
Source: Business Times

[CityFarmer]

Interesting partnership. Let's see how it will end up?

Starhub has lost on Netflix partnership negotiation, and probably the reason for its share price adjustment today.

(not vested)

SingTel and Netflix team up with exclusive promotion

SINGAPORE (Jan 14): SingTel ( Valuation: 1.70, Fundamental: 1.30) and Netflix have partnered to offer customers promotional offers for the streaming service.

The telco's customers can get up to nine months’ worth of complimentary Netflix subscriptions if they re-contract or sign up for Singtel’s mobile plan or its Fibre Entertainment Bundle from Jan 22 to July 22.

With the partnership, customers will be able to watch Netflix through SingTel TV set-top boxes in April.

Netflix subscriptions offered in Singapore are priced according to Netflix’s prevailing pricing plans.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...-promotion

[CityFarmer]

The blocking will likely kill those local RSPs who provided the proxy services...

Netflix to block proxy access to content not available locally
15 Jan 2016 07:09
[LONDON] Video-streaming service provider Netflix Inc's subscribers will no longer be able to use proxies to watch content not available in their home country.

Subscribers often resort to proxies, or servers that facilitate access to Internet content not available locally, to watch Netflix's popular shows such as "House of cards" and"Orange is the New Black." "If all of our content were globally available, there wouldn't be a reason for members to use proxies or unblockers,"David Fullagar, Netflix's vice president of content delivery architecture, wrote in a blog. The company said it would clamp down on these proxies or unblockers in a few weeks.

The announcement comes just a week after Netflix went live in more than 130 countries, covering almost the entire globe except China.
...
REUTERS

Source: Business Times Breaking News

[chialc88]

NCS/MHI has won ERP 2.0 tender ($556m) against ST Electronics ($1.2b).

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/NR-NCS%2...hority%20S$556%20million%20Next-generation%20Electronic%20Road%20Pricing%20Project.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=391216



[vested]

Love Compassion

[CityFarmer]

Singtel has the scale to provide the service, unlike the other local telcos...

Singtel to provide cyber-security to maritime industry via Inmarsat
06 Apr 2016 11:02
By Amit Roy Choudhury

SINGAPORE Telecommunications (Singtel) has entered into a strategic partnership with Inmarsat to enhance maritime cyber-security using Trustwave's Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution.

Trustwave, which was recently acquired by Singtel, is the cyber-security arm of the telco. It will provide the software-based UTM service to be integrated with Inmarsat hardware onboard ships, to protect data and reduce cyber risk for maritime companies.

According to Singtel, the UTM service offers a suite of cyber-security defences, such as advance firewall, anti-virus, intrusion prevention and Web filtering, which is backed by global round-the-clock support.

It will be delivered through Fleet Xpress, a high-speed broadband solution for maritime and offshore operators, available from a single communications provider.
...
Source: Business Times Breaking News