The much-anticipated decision will see the national regulator dividing the spectrum into 25 lots, with most companies allowed to bid for up to the six lots that ensure islandwide coverage. IDA will, however, limit incumbents StarHub and SingTel to four lots each, in an attempt to encourage new market entrants.
As many as four new nationwide broadband operators may thus be confirmed in April, when interested companies submit their bids and IDA allocates the spectrum. This is expected to bring about several new wireless services to consumers, including ubiquitous high-speed Net access and voice over Internet telephony.
According to IDA's director-general for telecoms, Leong Keng Thai, the move was sparked by an increasing demand for broadband services.
"While Singapore has, to some extent, good broadband offerings today, we can still afford more competition in terms of new and more broadband infrastructure, technologies and operators," said Leong. "This will in turn translate into lower prices and more choices for consumers."
IDA hopes to satisfy all demand for the spectrum with its new release, added Leong, but if there are more offers than anticipated, an auction will be held with a minimum starting bid of S$1,000 (US$612) per lot.
The regulator will not impose requirements on carrier technology or provider interoperability. Unlike 3G licensees, mobile broadband providers can also opt to roll out services in a limited area rather than nationwide.
Depending on the technology deployed by operators, wireless services may eventually be accessible from either fixed points or mobile devices. But due to a commitment IDA has made to current 3G operators, broadband entrants will only be able to offer mobile services after January 2006.
When contacted by CNETAsia, industry players greeted the announcement with mixed responses. Internet service provider Pacific Internet welcomed the spectrum release and applauded the IDA's limitations on incumbents. According to a spokesperson, the company will study the invitation and plans to bid for the full allotment.
Mobile and broadband operator StarHub, on the other hand, questioned the regulator's timing.
"We think it is premature for IDA to auction these bands now as wireless standards are still evolving," said Chan Kin Hung, head of StarHub's Mobile Services. He added that the company was "disappointed" by IDA's decision to limit its allocation, saying that this could impact its ability to provide services.
Other 3G operators SingTel and M1 told CNETAsia they were evaluating the situation.
Many technologies have been touted for the emerging mobile broadband segment, including TDD (time division duplexing), offered by several vendors, and Flarion's Flash-OFDM. In Korea, operators are deploying the WiBro standard in the 2.3GHz band.
But with different technologies offering different capabilities and harnessing different frequencies, some carriers are waiting for a global standard to emerge. One such candidate is WiMax, based on IEEE's 802.16 standard, which many expect to be largely adopted in the 3.5GHz band.
According Leong, IDA may release the 3.5GHz spectrum in the future, a development that both StarHub and Pacific Internet are monitoring.
"3.5GHz is heavily used in Singapore for fixed satellite services," said Leong. "We can't take away that frequency overnight. But we are looking at it to see whether it's feasible to take part of the spectrum. If it's possible, we may allocate that."
Successful bidders for the 2.5GHz band will have to offer public wireless broadband services within 18 months, while those working on the 2.3GHz band will be given 36 months due to the limited amount of equipment, said Leong.
They will be given 10-year spectrum tenures, with annual fees of S$13,200 (US$8,084) per 2.3GHz lot and S$13,500 (US$8,268) per 2.5GHz lot.
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