No surprise here: the three leading mobile service providers in Singapore object to incentives designed to enable a fourth mobile operator in Singapore. The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) proposes to set aside 700-MHz and 900-MHz spectrum for a new entrant, also making the spectrum available at a discounted rate.
IDA has proposed reserving 60 MHz worth of spectrum at a reserve price of $40 million, when the normal reserve price is $100 million.
In many other markets, there are similar concerns about mobile markets with four, compared to three, leading providers. Even some regulatory authorities now concede that three providers might be sustainable, where four providers perhaps are not.
Let it be said that the service providers understand their own financial interests well enough, and that IDA also understands why it wants, as a matter of public policy, to encourage market entry by a fourth provider.
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