M1 to Sell iPhones

Local telco M1 is set to become the second carrier to officially sell the iPhone in Singapore, according to this MacNN post. This will happen before the end of this year. Currently, iPhones are available exclusively through SingTel, which started selling iPhones since the iPhone 3G model in 2008. This new deal between M1 and Apple will set the stage for greater competition in iPhone sales, and we’d expect more aggressive phone prices and subscription rates.

As there is already true number portability in Singapore, there hasn’t been much barrier to switching telcos.  Telcos had to court customers with better deals. M1 has been slightly disadvantaged because the two other telcos in Singapore, namely SingTel and StarHub, had been able to bundle mobile phone, fixed home broadband, fixed phone, and pay TV services together. This may be an opportunity for M1 to gain back some lost customers, and I’d imagine they will be aggressive to drive down the total cost of owning the iPhone.

One thing the telcos got to do in Singapore is to bring down the cost of mobile broadband, particularly as a value added service . It is getting ridiculous that instead of prices falling over time, we’re actually seeing that the mobile subscription plans are getting more expensive.