Beneath the idyllic exterior of the cosmopolitan city-state lies a grim reality: the trains don’t work. Well, most of the time they do, but every two weeks or so, they cough, sputter and grind to a halt, leaving tens of thousands of commuters stranded. Breaking down, it seems, has become the new normal. But what irks commuters even more are the lies.

On a rainy Friday night (Feb 19), SMRT did it again. According to the company’s Twitter feed, train service on the East-West Line (green) between Jurong East and Joo Koon was suspended for an hour from 5.43 pm to 6.42 pm. But commuters had a much different experience.

SMRT claimed that only the train service between the Jurong East station and the Joo Koon station was disrupted but commuters disagreed.

@SMRT_Singapore Lame. not only jurong east is affected. Stuck in the train from red hill onward…

— Xinyi (@Xinnnnyyi) February 19, 2016

@SMRT_Singapore u should state those on EWL are all affected. Im at redhill, mrt at the stn has been delayed for almost 10mins w/o moving.

— seki (@seki010) February 19, 2016

SMRT said that a free bus service was available. But what does available mean?

@SMRT_Singapore more than one hour waiting for buses

— Shaun Chai (@ShaunChaiLS) February 19, 2016

Then, at 6.02 pm, SMRT said that the train service had resumed. Commuters called bullshit.

@SMRT_Singapore Eh hello, 1min delay, another min no train, now resume. U dont cb…

— Otokiru (@Otokiru) February 19, 2016

@SMRT_Singapore nah man we still stuck

— Muhammad Afandi (@Afandeyh) February 19, 2016

Then SMRT said again that service had resumed, at 6.42 pm. Still bullshit.

@SMRT_Singapore No it is not! I am now asked to get out of the train and stuck at queentown!!!!!

— Xu Yimin (@XuYimin2) February 19, 2016

@SMRT_Singapore TRAIN SERVICE AT BOON LAY HASN'T BEEN RESUMED YET. WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SPROUTING?!

— Annice Cheong (@AnniceEatsWorld) February 19, 2016

This is not the first time that SMRT has refused to communicate truthfully with commuters about its train breakdowns. Its attempts to downplay the severity of these breakdowns and its failure to fix recurring problems with the rail network first came under the spotlight in 2011 when train service was disrupted for close to half a day on Dec 15 and Dec 17.

Since then, SMRT has tried to repair its image with ad campaigns and attempted to diffuse public outrage by showing diligent SMRT employees hard at work. It has said that it is committed to improving the reliability of its public transport services but it has yet to reduce the frequency of train breakdowns.

Moreover, this persistent lying has not only irritated commuters, it has also prevented them from making appropriate plans. One commuter said: “Exactly the point. The lies. People had the opportunity to look for alternative means or simply stay in town longer to avoid the situation but SMRT keeps downplaying the situation. Despicable.”

When it was reported that SMRT’s CEO earned $2.5 milion in 2015, questions were asked about whether he deserved it. In January, it was reported that SMRT’s profits from the train service jumped three-fold. It is likely that more than half of this profit will be paid out in dividends to shareholders rather than reinvested into improving the train service.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans remain powerless in the face of the government’s unwillingness to impose heavy penalties on the train company. This is despite the fact that SMRT’s incentives are skewed towards profit-making rather than maximising service reliability.

SMRT may be likened to an errant employee who constantly goes on leave unannounced and then lies about it. When Singaporeans find out, they can’t fire it. Instead, it seems that the more handouts we give it, the more it loses the incentive to work. We have become a welfare state for SMRT and have eroded its work ethic. It’s a tragic irony.

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The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has confirmed plans to introduce a fourth telco in Singapore. It is seeking to facilitate the entry of a new mobile network operator (MNO) to “enhance innovation and competition in the mobile market” and it is confident that a fourth telco is likely to increase innovation and spur competition.

The entry of a new MNO… is likely to bring about a wider variety of innovative services and more competitive offerings to benefit consumers. – IDA

Two auctions will be held to determine how a total of 235 MHz of the spectrum band will be allocated. The first auction will only be opened to new mobile network operators (MNO). MyRepublic has previously announced its intention to bid. The second auction will be open to any of the four telcos. The spectrum rights will commence in April 2017.

In a press release, IDA explained its decision:

“IDA’s decision follows two public consultations that were conducted in April 2014 and July 2015 respectively on the allocation of radio spectrum for mobile broadband services and the introduction of further competition to enhance the vibrancy of the mobile and wireless landscape in Singapore. Several industry players supported the allocation of more spectrum in view of the increasing consumer demand for mobile data services and the Internet of Things (IoT). Studies have shown that the global mobile data traffic is expected to grow between 40% and 60% over the next few years.

“Potential new entrants also indicated strong interest to enter the mobile market. The entry of a new MNO will increase competition in the mobile services market. It is likely to bring about a wider variety of innovative services and more competitive offerings to benefit consumers. A new MNO is expected to bring about increased investments in the infocomm sector, leading to more advanced technologies and improved service quality.”

Addressing concerns that a fourth telco may not be able to survive, IDA said:

“IDA will allow a reasonable period for the new MNO to build up its own network, and will require the new MNO to achieve nationwide outdoor service coverage by October 2018. The new MNO will be required to comply with IDA’s relevant regulatory frameworks and requirements, including Quality of Service (QoS) and service resiliency standards, in phases.”

On 12 February, the CEO of Singtel objected to the introduction of a fourth telco on the grounds that it would have to respond by reducing prices. She said such a price war would be bad for the industry:

“The only way that [the new operator]can gain customers will be by way of reducing prices. Clearly just leading prices down, it’s not good for the sustainability of the industry.”

She also disagreed that there was any need for a shakeup of the industry:

“We disagree that the industry in Singapore is stagnant. The industry is in healthy competition to innovate to win and keep customers.”

MyRepublic’s CEO rebutted these claims saying:

“The world is changing. Meaningful data services are everything. Today’s services in Singapore are not fit for purpose. The incumbents’ networks are not ready for the future. There is a desperate need for innovation in Singapore. We intend to bring it.”

A State of the Internet report released by Akamai in 2015 contradicts Singtel CEO’s claim. Singapore was ranked 22^nd out of 66 countries in terms of mobile network speed. It took 3 seconds on average to load a web page in Singapore compared to 2.7 seconds in Russia and Poland, 2.3 seconds in the Czech Republic and Ukraine, 2.2 seconds in Jordan and 2.1 seconds in Romania. Iran topped the list at 1.6 seconds.

Many Singaporeans remain hopeful that MyRepublic will force the other three telcos to provide higher data caps.

In July 2012, Singtel stopped offering 12 GB plans. M1 and StarHub matched SingTel’s practice and also stopped offering high data plans in January the following year. This led to charges of de facto collusion among the three telcos who, together, monopolise the mobile network market.

In Q3 of 2015, Singtel made a profit of $954 million. Net profit for the first nine months of 2015 was $2.93 billion. This includes profits from investments in Australia and from other aspects of its business, and is not solely made up of profits from its mobile network business in Singapore.

In a press release, Singtel also stated that mobile usage was growing rapidly. According to its report, 26% of postpaid customers exceeded their data bundles.

Republished with permission from The Online Citizen. Read the original article here.

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