SingTel's "Mio" offer: taking convergence to a new level

By David Kennedy

SingTel's Generation Mio offering takes IP convergence to a whole new level. It integrates FMC, broadband and VoIP services into a single consumer home gateway that will support a range of other IP-based services in the future. SingTel has reached a tipping point with this launch. It now drives consumer IP developments rather than awaits them.The Mio offer is based on the Mio box, a home gateway that is a universal connection point for a range of devices. The box is currently configured to connect to SingTel's DSL network, and connects to devices in the home via a WiFi interface. The Mio service has been launched with a bundle of fixed, broadband and mobile services. The product matrix is simple and easy to understand: every option includes unlimited free outgoing calls to Singaporean numbers (including mobile numbers), a broadband connection and a bucket of mobile minutes. There are three broadband options (3Mbit/s, 10Mbit/s and 25Mbit/s) and three mobile options (100 min, 300-min and 700-min buckets of talk time), giving a total of nine options, ranging in price from S$68 to S$148 per month. The Mio box technology will support other services in the future. Obvious candidates include home security services and the IPTV service currently being developed by SingTel. It will also be compatible with Singapore's planned next-generation networks.This announcement has changed Singapore's competitive landscape. SingTel now has an integrated offer to set against competitor StarHub's cable-based fixed/mobile/pay-TV offer, with potential for quad-play and beyond. But mobile-only competitor MobileOne (M1) now looks like the 'odd man out'.The Mio box uses VoIP for fixed calls. SingTel's local PSTN revenue is not large, so this will have a minor impact. However, the Mio box also offers fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) functionality, connecting to WiFi-enabled mobiles in the home and cannibalising mobile revenue. Remarkably, these handsets will also connect to Singapore's public Wireless@SG WiFi network, which will be free until at least December 2009. This is an aggressive move, signalling SingTel's determination to drive consumer market developments rather than await them.SingTel acknowledges that it may lose revenue in the shift to VoIP and WiFi technology, but it aims to compensate by increasing market share. These are "fighting words". The implication is that the total market will shrink, and that SingTel intends its competitors to bear the brunt of that shrinkage.