22 November 2000, Singapore -- StarHub today announced the results for its operations for the second quarter ended 30 September 2000. The company’s market share continued to gain momentum, as sustained growth was observed in various key business units including mobility, international call services and the business market.

 

Highlights (July – September 2000)

  • Total post-paid mobile customer base increased by 88,000, from 79,000 in Q1 to reach about 167,000 customers at end of Q2. This accounted for a growth of more than 100% over the number of mobile customers signed up in the first quarter of operations.   
  • Volume of international call traffic grew in tandem along with the total market increase for international call services.   
  • Customer base for corporate data services grew by more than 210%.   
  • An additional 109 commercial buildings were connected directly to StarHub’s optic fibre network.   
  • Q2 showed strong momentum growth in serving the wholesale market.

Overview of StarHub’s operation in the first six months is as follows:

Product/Service Category

Update (Apr –Sept 2000)

MNCs/SMEs Business Market

S$40.08 million – annualized run rate

Mobile (post-paid) including

- WAP (iPower)

11% of total post-paid market share

>10,000 active customers

International Services

(IDD 008 & I-Call 018)

5% average market share

6.3%, Q2 run rate

Internet

- Consumers (VAS & dial-ups)

- Business Customers


265,000

>700 internet access leased lines

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These achievements have been attained due to the company’s focus on key segments in the consumer, business and wholesale markets. Key initiatives for StarHub’s second quarter of operations included:

  • Launch of I-Call 018, the company’s quality budget international call service.   
  • Launch of WAP roaming to Malaysia and Hong Kong, in partnership with Maxis and Smartone.   
  • More than 30 new applications added to the extensive range of StarHub iPower WAP service, which now offers about 100 applications as of end September.   
  • Increase of roaming destinations from 45 in Q1 to 63 in Q2.   
  • Extension of free internet surfing to Malaysia in partnership with Maxis.   
  • Addition of new services for business customers such as business ADSL, Arcstar ISDN Backup, Concert ATM and Concert CVNS.

StarHub’s market share in various lines of business has grown steadily over the last three months. Recently, mobile sign-ups reached the first year target of 200,000 customers just after the company’s first seven months of operations, five months ahead of schedule.

 

A recent Quality of Service (QoS) report by the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) for the period July to September 2000, showed that StarHub has achieved 99.97% island wide coverage to date, but efforts have not stopped there. StarHub has recently announced the investment of an additional S$100 million over the next four months to enhance mobile network coverage throughout the island and increase its capacity to take on more customers.

 

StarHub’s business market segment also saw solid growth with an addition of 47 new corporate data customers over the previous quarter. New customers include Credit Suisse First Boston, Hewlett-Packard, Lucent Technologies and Maybank. StarHub IP.Q, Singapore’s first broadband Intelligent IP Network was also announced and formally launched this month. StarHub IP.Q can prioritise and deliver mission critical applications at guaranteed bandwidths and speeds of up to 100 times faster than conventional networks. To date, 27 commercial buildings have been directly connected to the StarHub IP.Q network.

 

"I am very pleased with StarHub’s progress to date. It shows that StarHub has established a firm footing in the Singapore market and sustained growth momentum despite the heightened competition in the industry this quarter. We have stayed focused on our strategy, continuing to enhance existing services and introducing quality products that are of value to both our consumer and business customers," said Mr Terry Clontz, President and CEO of StarHub.

 

Most people in Singapore are well aware of StarHub’s focus on the consumer market, with aggressive marketing campaigns to position its brand, products and services. As the company moves forward over the next few months, there are plans to launch GPRS and m-commerce services into the mobile market. StarHub will also be expanding the number of WAP roaming partners and move towards securing a license in 3G.

 

StarHub has also mounted sustained efforts to acquire new business customers by differentiating itself through its global management services and the StarHub IP.Q solution to local enterprises and MNC customers. Business customers can also look forward to IP-related services like StarHub Internet’s managed IP-VPN solutions.