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SINGAPORE consumers may get all the broadband, phone and pay-TV services over one network in future, if new rules proposed for the telecom market come to pass.
The rules aim to prevent a dominant player like StarHub or SingTel from leveraging its market power to force users to subscribe to an entire suite services like broadband or pay-TV in future.
Potentially, this could mean users do not need multiple set-top boxes to watch different programmes as, is the case now.
They may also pick and change an Internet service provider easily without changing out modems.
The reason: there may be only one ultra-fast broadband network needed to deliver all these services. Many Internet service providers will offer users a choice of different packages, but they would do so over the same network.
To push for this, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) on Thursday released details of proposed rules on its website.
In a call for industry feedback, the regulator said it was seeking to prevent one telecom operator from dominating the market.
It has already set out such rules for an ultra-fast broadband network that it is pumping $1 billion into.
When rolled out islandwide by 2015, this network would let people surf the Net 10 times faster and choose from a wide range of services.
IDA is now seeking to apply the same rules to other telcos which build a similar ultra-fast network on their own.
These rules will prevent one telco from owning the cables, running the network and also offering services like broadband and pay-TV that run on these networks at the same time.
The 'separation' is to encourage smaller players to enter the market without fearing that the big boys would entrench themselves in every sector.
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