M1 Fined For Breach of the Telecom Competition Code

Following complaints lodged by SingTel and StarHub on 6 November 2000 and 7 November 2000 respectively, concerning M1's insertion of a 10 second message in mobile-originated calls intended for SingTel and StarHub's International Direct Dial (IDD) services...

Singapore, 16 January 2001 | For Immediate Release

Following complaints lodged by SingTel and StarHub on 6 November 2000 and 7 November 2000 respectively, concerning M1's insertion of a 10 second message in mobile-originated calls intended for SingTel and StarHub's International Direct Dial (IDD) services, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) conducted investigation which revealed that M1 had breached a section of the Telecom Competition Code on "Degradation of Service Availability or Quality".

IDA took into careful consideration M1's explanation for its actions in the course of its investigation. Under IDA's policy, all mobile and local call service providers must pass all international calls through to international service providers such as SingTel and/or StarHub without any insertion of messages. It is for international service providers to manage the calls from users who have registered for their respective international telephone services. 

IDA's investigation revealed that the insertion of M1's 10-second message had the effect of delaying and thus, inconveniencing access and use of SingTel's and StarHub's IDD services. As M1's mobile phone users were made to wait for an additional 10 seconds before being connected, this delay in the connection of mobile-originating calls had degraded the availability of SingTel's and StarHub's IDD services. IDA also found no legitimate operational, technical or business justification for M1's insertion of the message.

IDA has ordered M1 to cease from engaging in such actions, and has imposed a financial penalty of S$5,000 on M1