SINGAPORE-The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said the number of prepaid card subscribers in Singapore has doubled in the 12 months ending January 2001 from 306,600 to 741,200 users. The 141.7-percent increase exceeds the 65-percent rise in the country’s overall mobile-phone subscribers during the same period.
The reasons for using prepaid cards are to filter all incoming calls so users can answer only those deemed necessary and for those who monitor the timing of calls. Phone operators said buyers of prepaid cards tend to be foreign workers in Singapore, who number nearly 1 million, and parents who buy mobile phones for their children but want to maintain control over the amount of time they spend talking on the phone.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of prepaid card subscribers is lower than users who subscribe to postpaid plans. Although the number of prepaid card subscribers is increasing, the amount spent by each user is decreasing. Mobile-phone operator MobileOne (M1) said the most important measure for prepaid services is the top-up rate. SingTel Mobile said there is little cause for worry regarding the rapid increase in the number of prepaid subscribers because prepaid and postpaid serve different markets.
An analyst from JP Morgan in Singapore said the prepaid market could be reaching a saturation point given that there are already more than 700,000 subscribers.
Phone companies are now hoping to convert as many prepaid customers as possible to postpaid plans by offering postpaid services that are cheaper than prepaid services. Another Singapore-based analyst said a prepaid push is an approach telecom companies will take to net more subscribers, who may eventually convert to postpaid plans when they are financially more able. Operators expect mobile data services to overtake voice data services soon, and mobile data services are targeted mainly at postpaid customers, the larger potential data user group.
All three companies that market prepaid cards in Singapore, namely SingTel Mobile, M1 and StarHub, tout their offerings as being the lowest in Singapore. SingTel offers prepaid cards with special rates for territories like Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. These incidentally are the countries with large contingencies of laborers in Singapore working in the construction and similar sectors.
SingTel claims its rates are lower and compares its and other operators’ prices in its brochures.
Similarly, M1 claims its outgoing rate of US$0.10 for every second minute onward is the best offer available. M1 also offers many value-added prepaid services, such as short message service (SMS) and downloading of programs like Fun Icons, Fun Pix and Fun Tunes, all entertainment services. M1 also offers free caller number display, call divert, call waiting and other services.
StarHub offers two prepaid cards. The US$10 card and the US$21 card supposedly meet the needs of migrant workers. StarHub offers a selection of six languages to choose from, namely English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, Tagalog and Bengali. This again corresponds to the customers it targets-guest workers from countries such as China, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Thus, there is a need for prepaid cards in Singapore given that Singapore has nearly 1 million foreign workers who find the convenience of purchasing these cards a better alternative than using longer fixed-term arrangements. Because the workers’ stays in Singapore are short, their dependence on prepaid cards will remain. Prepaid is proving to be a boon for those who also want to monitor their calls or receive and make calls selectively.
