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SingTel to raise phone rates!!!

According to AsiaOne News:

SingTel fixed-line telephone customers will soon have to pay an additional $10 a year in subscription rates. The revision, starting from 1 January 2009, will represent an increase of 83 cents a month.

This is the first rate revision by Singtel in 18 years for its fixed-line telephone subscription and call charges.

With the revision, residential customers will now pay $110 per annum and business customers will pay $160.

Call charges will increase to 0.8 cents from 0.7 cents per 30-second block during peak hours and per 60-second block during off-peak hours.

To reflect changes in call traffic patterns, peak hours will also be revised to 9am to 7pm from 8am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays. Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays are off-peak.

The new rates will translate to an additional cost of not more than $1.50 a month for most customers.

Mr Allen Lew, SingTel?s CEO Singapore, said: ?We have held off rate revisions for 18 years despite rising costs. Over the years, the two main cost components, manpower and materials, have increased substantially. The recent rapid increase in utility costs has also pushed up our running costs.??

Mr Lew stressed that with this adjustment, SingTel’s charges still remains one of the lowest in the region.

Read the full article at AsiaOne News

- Singtel is shooting their own foot by raising fees now when the economy is bad, there are so many alternatives out there that many people can simply move on to other service providers like Starhub which provide FREE telephone over their broad band connection.

Skype and other Voice Over Internet Service Provider can easily replace this void in a sweep across the market. Skype users can voice call another skype users for free when both are online at the same time…and pay a relatively low charges for toll charges if calling to mobile phones.

Singtel may inevitabily have to either lower the price of their land lines services or totally lose the land line market share when the new IT Generation Z comes out and makes land lines the thing of the past.

It’s time to head to the malls to buy that wireless Skype phone today! :)

I bet most electronic shops will hear more “ka-chin” sound from their register soon!

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Categories: Complaints - News - Singapore
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7 October 2008 at 10:00 - Comments
  • Jimmoo
    I think Singtel must be feeling the itch to raise prices and take advantage of the so call blooming economy at the moment. I don’t think is true that Singtel haven’t revised the rate in 18 years. The reason for me to get a residential line is to make cheaper calls out compare to using a handphone. I am not sure but I remember in order to register for utility like gas, electricity, a residential line is a must. I am paying a subscription fee of $8.33 per month and my usuage per month is around $1.50 – $2 (usually parents who call us).

    Although technology allow us to have more alternative such as Skype or VOI, many of the older generation still prefers to chat using the housephone as the signal is so far the best. If there is one thing Singtel needs to change, is to provide cheaper international calling rates to other countries. With so many people from different parts of the world coming to work in Singapore, many wants to look for ways to make cheap phone calls to their families elsewhere and they do not have the luxury of having a laptop or internet access. I saw a surge of calling cards sales in many places but I unsure how the rates are if you call to different countries.

    Maybe we can post something here to compare different calling cards so that non-Singaporean will know which card provides the best rate for their home country.
  • Simon Tay
    I had tried those calling card to call USA….to cancel a subscription…and it’s terrible connection haha…cannot hear anything at all. keke

    Skype on the other hand just have a small delay in the voice but clearer then day reception.