Terry Clontz, then CEO of StarHub, was a sober voice. In an interview with The Edge Singapore published in Issue 40 (Dec 2, 2002), he warned that the industry might be getting a bit ahead of itself. The three telcos — Singtel, M1 and StarHub — had all committed to rolling out their own 3G mobile networks by the end of 2004 but Clontz wondered if such a rigid schedule was the best way to go. “The way 3G is rolled out in Singapore should depend entirely on the market readiness and business plans of the mobile operators,” he said then.
The three key telco players have charted different strategies. However, they face the common challenge of stiff competition while making sure new technologies can generate new business opportunities
Slightly less than two decades ago, the world was caught up in the 3G fever. For the first time ever, mobile phones can enjoy high-speed Internet access, albeit from generally dour-looking screens. Mobile operators around the world were enthusiastically dreaming up different ways of selling plans to their subscribers.
