SINGAPORE: One-time fibre installation fees for residences could be reduced if the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) approves NetLink Trust’s proposal for changing certain prices in its Interconnection Offer (ICO).
That refers to the commercial agreement between NetLink Trust and operating companies such as Singtel, StarHub and M1, governing the prices, terms and conditions of services that the NetLink Trust offers to these companies.
According to the proposed changes, it would cost S$203 to deploy fibre to a residential unit in a high-rise building, down from the current S$220. Similarly, the proposed price for doing the same at landed properties would be S$323, down from the existing S$450 fee, said the IMDA in a press release on Thursday (Jan 26).
Price revisions for non-residential premises are more complex as there are three deployment options for property owners.
Option 1, which is the fastest and least resource intensive as it terminates at the telecoms room on the ground floor of most buildings, will cost S$105 instead of the current S$150. However the other two options would see an increase to S$558 and S$781 from the existing S$513 fee.
“Charges to operating companies (OpCos) for non-residential premises are thus adjusted to reflect the resources required to install and activate fibre connections depending on OpCos’ preferred provisioning option,” IMDA said.
IMDA had requested that NetLink Trust perform a holistic review of its commercial agreement with operating companies, given that one-time charges stated in the agreement have not changed since NetLink Trust started operations in 2009, and the operating landscape has since evolved.
NetLink Trust submitted its proposed revisions to IMDA last December. A public consultation exercise on the proposals starts on Jan 26 and will close on Feb 16, after which IMDA will finalise its decision on the revisions, it added.
