Update – December 7, 2009: Two new Singapore carriers plan to launch iPhone on Wednesday.
Singapore carrier MobileOne Ltd. announced today that they will offer Apple’s iPhone 3GS in Singapore starting Wednesday, December 9. Not to be upstaged, rival carrier StarHub Ltd. released a statement today announcing that they too will sell the iPhone beginning Wednesday. There are now three official iPhone carriers in Singapore:
- Singtel
- MobileOne
- StarHub
All three carriers will subsidize the iPhone cost depending on the monthly services plan subscribers choose. The high-end plans (with maximum calling minutes and data) can reduce the iPhone cost to zero (free). Singapore Straits Times reports that the new iPhone launches will spark a price war to win over new subscribers:
StarHub put out its plans at around 8.30am on Monday. Its customers will pay between nothing ($0) and $668 (USD $477), depending on the phone model and plan chosen, which start at $38 (USD $27) monthly.
M1 promptly followed suit, at about 12.30 pm. Its customers will pay between nothing ($0) and $658 (USD $470), depending on the model of phone chosen. Its iPhone plans start at $36 (USD $25.75).
M1, Singapore’s smallest mobile operator and which has been bleeding market share to its rivals, is also offering an aggressive package with 10GB of mobile data for its entry-level $36 (USD $25.75) a month packages, 20 times SingTel’s and 10 times StarHub’s offer.
Rival SingTel was the first to provide the latest incarnation of the iPhone 3GS to its customers, selling the 3Gs for up to $678 (USD $485). The phone has proven a coup for the telco, as an iPhone user brings in a higher revenue per month on average, compared to a regular phone user.
Update – November 8, 2009: StarHub makes it official
via Singapore News
SINGAPORE: Singapore News - StarHub has announced that it will bring the iPhone to its customers in Singapore later this year after reaching an agreement with Apple. The telecommunications company said on Monday it looks forward to offering the iPhone and a range of tailored service plans to its customers. It added that more information on pricing and availability dates will be released in due course.
StarHub is the last of the three phone service providers here to reach a deal with Apple in offering the iPhone. Last month, Mobile One said it would also sell the iPhone later this year. SingTel began offering Apple’s third generation network iPhones late last year. Since then, with the exclusive agreement, SingTel has sold more than 100,000 iPhones.
October 13, 2009: MobileOne (M1) will soon join SingTel as an official iPhone carrier in Singapore. According to media reports, M1 has secured the rights to sell iPhone later this year. M1 issued a brief statement yesterday. “M1 looks forward to offering the iPhone and a range of tailored service plans to customers in Singapore.” The specific launch date and the price/plan info was not unveiled.
Rumors of an iPhone deal with M1 and Starhub go back to November 2008 > see here
The third major carrier in Singapore, StarHub, may also be talking to Apple. StarHub, declined to confirm if it would offer iPhone in Singapore, but a spokesperson did say that StarHub is “interested to bring the iPhone to StarHub customers.”
In July 2009, the 2nd gen iPhone 3G and 3GS launched via SingTel with much fanfare. Thousands lined up for launch day. See video below.
Thanks to AAPL Sanity reader Jnaina for the “heads up” re the latest with M1
crowd queuing for the July 10 iPhone 3GS launch in Singapore
