During our Digital Unwrapped week Justin spoke to Ng Tian Chong, CEO, Singtel Singapore about enabling advanced 5G consumer services.

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He explained Singtel began building out SA 5G sometime in 2021, with work completed in 2022, “three years before regulatory requirements – we were ahead of time”.

Backed by a forward looking government that invests in future technology, Tian Chong said from 2022 it was able to use its SA network to support the public sector in homeland defence, public security and over time extend this out to other sectors, citing examples in the EV sector, and digital twin and AI robotics deployments with Hyundai Group.

Putting the focus on network slicing, Tian Chong opened up on a collaboration with vendor Ericsson to develop different kinds of network slicing at big events, to support manufacturing at campuses and most recently application-based slicing.

He explained there is strategic importance to offering differentiated services in Singapore given the competitive landscape, with a population of just over 6 million served by four operators, along with multiple MVNOs.

Take-off
Putting its “know-how” in standalone 5G to action, Tian Chong said the operator applied it to the consumer side of 5G by using examples from the airline industry to offer services similar to economy, business and first class.

“On the same 5G network, we can have the lower ARPU customers, and yet we want to be able to add differentiation for business class and first class, meaning the higher ARPU customers.”

To do this, the CEO said it acquired four lots of 700MHz, being the first operator to do so and deploy it for 5G only.

“Straight away, 5G became the main airline and 4G the budget airline. On top of that we unlocked slicing capability to high ARPU customers, and we offered business and first class ARPU customers priority access and four times faster speeds.”

Enhancing the offering further, it worked with Palo Alto Networks on security features inside the slice.

“To do this like an airline, it is not just about the product in the aircraft. It’s about the loyalty programme, it’s about the service,” he concluded.

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Its previous guidance expected high single-digit EBIT growth for the full fiscal 2026 (ending 31 March 2026).

Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon noted while the macroeconomic outlook remains challenging and the Optus business faces uncertainty after its emergency call service failed, “our business and geographical diversity is lending stability to the group’s performance”.

He added it expects the company’s growth engines to change the complexion of the business in “the mid-term as they to continue to scale”.

Net profit in the period nearly tripled year-on-year to SGD3.4 billion ($2.7 billion), aided by exceptional gains of SGD2 billion, mainly from the sale of part of its stake in Bharti Airtel as well as the Intouch-Gulf merger. Operating revenue was down 1.2 per cent to SGD6.9 billion.

Its regional associates’ after-tax profit contributions increased by 12 per cent to SGD920 million, with strong performances from Airtel and AIS in Thailand but lower contributions from Indonesia-based Telkomsel and Globe Telecom in the Philippines.

In Singapore, operating revenue was stable despite mobile service revenue falling 9.7 per cent to SGD601 million. Handset sales grew 5.6 per cent to SGD263 million, and data and fixed internet revenue was up nearly 2 per cent to SGD653 million.

Mobile subscribers slipped 1.2 per cent to 4.6 million, with ARPU down 2.1 per cent to SGD23. Monthly data usage rose 20.6 per cent to 17GB.

Sales at its ICT unit NCS increased 6.2 per cent to SGD1.5 billion; Digital Infraco revenue dipped 1.5 per cent to SGD216 million, dragged down by a decline in its data centre unit.

Its Australia business recorded 2.4 per cent growth in mobile service revenue to AUD2.8 billion. Equipment sales dropped 4.6 per cent to AUD681 million ($445 million).

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The operator claimed a net gain of SGD1.1 billion from the sale.

Singtel CFO Arthur Lang noted it has been working with Bharti Enterprises to gradually equalise its stake in Airtel over time.

Lang added the total capital generated is about half of the operator’s new mid-term target of SGD9 billion. “This gives us the financial flexibility to strengthen our balance sheet” and fund growth opportunities in digital infrastructure and digital services.

The sale reduces Singtel’s interest in Airtel to 27.5 per cent, valued at an estimated SGD51 billion.

In August, Singtel sold about 1.2 per cent of its stake in Airtel for SGD2 billion.

Singtel is the largest mobile player in the city state with 4.6 million connections at end-September, data from GSMA Intelligence showed. Airtel is the second-largest operator in India with 364 million mobile connections.

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Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong noted the system, the first in Southeast Asia, gives enterprises “a practical and scalable way to protect their most sensitive data while preparing for what’s next”.

A hybrid quantum-safe network is a secure method for distributing encryption keys only known between shared parties, while post-quantum cryptography is a new generation of encryption algorithms engineered to resist quantum attacks, a statement explained.

Singtel also signed an agreement allowing it to use Palo Alto Networks’ post-quantum cryptography to offer access to hybrid quantum-safe networks as a managed security service for businesses.

The hybrid network gives customers a range of flexible deployment options and service models, which the operator said helps enterprises adopt a more proactive and accelerated approach to quantum readiness.

The operator launched its first quantum-safe network in August 2024 for enterprises.

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Chair John Arthur stated the board appointed global consultancy Kearney to conduct an investigation, as it moves to strengthen its mobile network to regain customer confidence after recent network woes.

After meeting with Australian Communications Minister Annika Wells, Yuen stated it would take time for Rue to make the required changes at the troubled operator, Reuters reported.

He noted Rue has been at the helm for less than a year, suggesting it takes time to transform a company.

The meeting included Rue and Arthur and followed a second failure of Optus’ emergency call system in ten days.

Wells reiterated in the meeting the emergency call system outage “must never happen again”.

She requested Optus appoint external advisers to independently assess its network plans “to provide confidence” to the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the government the problems would not recur.

The outage occurred just more than a week after a 13-hour disruption to the emergency call system led to multiple deaths.

In November 2023, then Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin stepped down about two weeks after a network outage impacted as many as 10 million customers.

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In a statement, the operator explained the issue lasted about nine hours and impacted a population of about 4,500.

Optus noted it restored the site and all services, and issued an apology to customers impacted. The company added “where necessary” it is working with the police as part of the emergence call welfare check process.

Singtel, in a separate release, noted the incident is unrelated to last week’s outage, adding it was a different type of outage, which was limited to one cell site out of 3,140 in New South Wales. “This incident did not arise from any upgrade or maintenance action being conducted.”

It confirmed one person requiring emergency services was impacted, but the person was able to call emergency services from another phone successfully.

Optus suffered a 13-hour disruption to its emergency call system on 18 September, which led to multiple deaths. The outage occurred during a routine firewall upgrade.

Optus started an independent review of the outage to determine what went wrong.

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The operator is preparing to offer Honor of Kings – Cloud on dedicated portions of its 5G network, a set-up it expects will provide gamers with low-latency and access to cloud-based processing it stated would remove the need for heavy downloads.

Keith Leong, MD of enterprise with Singtel Singapore, said “no-one else has applied network slicing at this scale” to provide a service which “truly takes the gaming experience to another level”.

The operator explained Tencent Games’ title has a “massive player base” and the companies are preparing to commence tests of its network slicing capabilities next month.

It highlighted Mordor Intelligence predictions global cloud gaming revenue would grow from $5.3 billion this year to $39.6 billion by 2030.

Tencent Games vice GM for cloud gaming Sammy Chen explained the collaboration involves a “deep integration of 5G networks with cloud gaming, which can significantly enhance the real-time interactive experience”.

Singtel is lining up the launch of TxStore in its domestic market, initially targeting users of Android smartphones with 30 Tencent Games titles and offering a range of discounts and other incentives.

Honor of Kings – Cloud is to be added to the lineup in November.

Singtel noted it employed 5G network slicing at events including the National Day Parade and the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix.

In the Tencent Games deal, it is using user equipment route selection policy to provide app-based slicing and 5G-Advanced latency priority scheduling, an element deployed in collaboration with Ericsson.

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Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon noted in its earnings statement the company is on track to deliver on its goals and accelerate growth in the second year of its 2028 plan. “Looking ahead, we expect our data centre business to be another bright spot” for fiscal 2026.

It forecasts high single-digit revenue growth in its operating company for the full fiscal year.

Net profit more than quadrupled to SGD2.9 billion ($2.3 billion), due to exceptional gains of SGD2.2 billion from the partial sale of its Bharti Airtel stake and the Intouch-Gulf Energy merger. Operating revenue was flat at SGD3.4 billion.

Net contribution from its regional associates increased 15.4 per cent to SGD468 million.

In Singapore, mobile service revenue dropped 10.7 per cent to SGD303 million, as ARPU fell 3.7 per cent to SGD23 and its user base dipped 1 per cent to 4.6 million. Average monthly data usage rose 21.9 per cent to 17GB.

Its Australian unit Optus booked a 4 per cent gain in mobile service revenue to AUD1 billion ($652.9 million). Blended ARPU was up 1.9 per cent to AUD33. Mobile subscribers increased 1.8 per cent to 10.7 million, with a gain in prepaid offsetting flat post-paid figures.

The group’s IT unit NCS’s revenue rose 3.7 per cent to SGD733 million, lifted by strong bookings of SGD732 million in the quarter, with a pipeline of projects across various sectors, Singtel stated.

Digital InfraCo revenue dipped 1.8 per cent to SGD107 million mainly due to lower fees from project-based satellite deployment services.

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Ericsson stated it holds 50 per cent of the equity, while operators AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, Orange, Reliance Jio, Singtel, Telefonica, Telstra, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone have as expected taken the remaining stake combined.

Aduna became operational in September 2024, with a goal to create an ecosystem of companies also including hyperscalers, developers and other industry players committed to advancing APIs and establish a set of common interfaces based on the existing industry-wide CAMARA open source project.

It has also stated its work will be in-keeping with the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative.

In addition to funding and commercial agreements, Ericsson stated the 12 operator shareholders will provide support through telecom operator relationships, knowledge of the developer community and expertise in network APIs.

Since its formation, Aduna has expanded its ecosystem, with operators including SoftBank Corp and NTT Docomo and five vendors including Microsoft and Syniverse the latest to join the effort.

Anthony Bartolo, who was named CEO of Aduna in January this year, stated closing the transaction was another important step for Aduna.

“In just ten months we have built an impressive ecosystem comprising the biggest names in telecoms and the wider ICT industry,” he said. “The closing provides renewed motivation for Aduna to accelerate the adoption of network APIs by developers on a global scale.”

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It’s latest annual sustainability report shows 20.4 per cent of electricity usage was generated by renewable sources, up from 9.3 per cent in fiscal 2024.

Total electricity consumption across its operating companies fell 2.3 per cent.

Singtel is working to increase renewable energy usage across Singapore and Australia to 50 per cent by 2030.

Total third-party emissions (Scope 3) declined 7 per cent in fiscal 2025.

Between fiscal 2015 and 2025, Singtel reduced Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 30.5 per cent, exceeding its 25 per cent reduction target set for fiscal 2025.

Singtel noted it invested SGD227 million ($178.7 million) in climate mitigation and adaptation to address environmental risk.

Its Singapore and Australia units signed new renewables energy power purchase agreements to increase the share used their operations.

They also committed to continue to roll out more on-site solar photovoltaic systems in the coming year to boost renewable energy capacity and reduce emissions.

Singtel aims to reach net-zero emissions across the group by 2045.

“We recognise the path to net-zero will not be linear and that implementation challenges will arise. Nevertheless, we are embedding climate considerations into business planning, investment decisions and operations where feasible,” it stated.

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By integrating Lenovo Connect’s device connectivity and floLIVE’s global network and multi-SIM technology into its global IoT network, Singtel introduced its multi-domestic connectivity service, which streamlines enterprise operations, reduces time-to-market and ensures consistent service delivery across borders, the operator explained in a statement.

The tie-up with floLIVE enables enterprises to use a single access point to expand their overseas footprint across more than 190 markets, eliminating the complexity of managing multiple mobile network operator agreements, SIM platforms, billing systems and network switching.

The deal with Lenovo Connect gives OEMs a single, unified platform to support their overseas expansion, the statement added.

Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong stated its global IoT offering “simplifies global connectivity, ensures compliance and enables scalable device lifecycle management”.

He said the multi-domestic connectivity service is designed to cope with the complexities of next-generation IoT applications, enabling intelligent, borderless mobility.

In January, the operator partnered with US-based Verizon to enable its customers to activate IoT devices internationally using Singtel’s networks in the region.

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The CEO of Singtel’s International Digital Services unit outlined how, after launching the world’s first commercial network slice in 2022, the company has expanded this offering to support “event-based slicing” for concerts, the country’s National Day Parade and its annual Formula One race.

The technology allows operators to allocate dedicated network resources, or ‘network slices,’ to prioritise specific applications and guarantee a certain level of service quality.

The strategy has proven successful for Singtel in the enterprise space too, with businesses using it to overcome congestion and achieve high speeds for critical applications. “We are under discussion to now use network slicing for smart ambulances and remote patient monitoring,” revealed Yip.

It has also pushed the concept of network slicing to its entire customer base via the launch last month of its 5G+ (5G Advanced) service, the latest evolution of 5G technology. In an announcement at the time of launch, Singtel declared it “the world’s first country-wide deployment of network slicing for consumers.”

AI-native
Naturally the conversation turned to Singtel’s work in the AI space, with Yip keen to express Singtel’s desire to become “an AI-native telco.”

To that end, she stated that all of the operator’s staff are being trained in AI, with an objective to ensure that 5 per cent become “AI specialists.”

“Governance and ethics are crucial,” said Yip. “We need to use AI in the right way, the fair way, with tools for transparency and fairness. We want to make sure our people are mindset ready and have the tools at their disposal.”

She gave examples of how Singtel is using AI tools to protect customers, such as blocking scam calls (citing 10 million scam calls and SMS’ blocked monthly) and more than 6 million malicious URLs and DNS requests blocked monthly as part of its Mobile Protect offering.

She also talked up Singtel’s role in the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA) – an initiative launched at MWC Barcelona 2024 by SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, Singtel and Softbank to develop Large Language Models (LLM) specifically for telecoms –  as well as its focus on specific AI powered solutions such as a ‘Smart Travel’ AI trip planner.

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Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon noted in its earnings release the results “mark a strong finish” to the first year of its 2028 growth plan, having restructured the business and delivered on its capital recycling target to fund growth.

He added its cost optimisation efforts “further aligned spending with our business objective”. The company targeted SGD200 million in cost savings in the current fiscal year, after cutting about SGD250 million in fiscal 2025.

The Singapore-based operator recorded a profit of SGD2.8 billion compared with a SGD1.3 billion loss in the second half of fiscal 2024. The one-off gain was generated mainly by the partial disposal of its Comcentre property.

Regional associates’ pre-tax contribution increased 16.4 per cent to SGD1.3 billion, mainly driven by Bharti Airtel in India and AIS in Thailand.

Its Singapore mobile operations suffered a 5 per cent drop in service revenue to SGD627 million and an 11 per cent decrease in equipment sales.

Blended ARPU fell 3.3 per cent to SGD24.

Prepaid customers declined 5.9 per cent to 1.6 million and post-paid was flat at nearly 3 million.

In Australia, mobile service revenue grew 4.2 per cent to AUD2.9 billion ($1.9 billion) and equipment sales 4.6 per cent to AUD844 million.

Mobile subscribers increased 2.3 per cent, with 10 per cent growth in prepaid to 3.8 million partially offset by a 2 per cent drop in post-paid to 5.8 million. Blended ARPU rose 2.4 per cent to AUD33.

Full-year group capex increased 9 per cent to SGD2.4 billion and is forecast to rise to SGD2.5 billion in fiscal 2026.

Singtel noted the share buyback programme over the next three years is part of a new capital management initiative.

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The sale, generating a gain of about SGD1.4 billion, reduces Singtel’s stake in India-headquartered Airtel from 29.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent, valued at an estimated SGD489 billion.

The transaction by Singtel subsidiary Pastel was executed via a private placement to international and Indian institutional investors, including existing Airtel shareholders.

In 2022 and 2024, the operator raised some SGD3.5 billion from the sale of Airtel shares.

Singtel is Singapore’s largest mobile player with 4.8 million connections at end-March, data from GSMA Intelligence showed. Airtel is the second largest operator in India with 360 million mobile connections.

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The 15-month training programme will guide enterprises on how to track and optimise their energy usage and carbon emissions using IoT devices, as well as provide the companies with skills to better respond to the sustainability requirements of customers, Singtel noted in a joint statement.

Enterprise Singapore will support up to 70 per cent of costs for each participating SME.

Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong said the programme was designed with businesses in mind to make knowledge acquisition, application and implementation of green solutions in the workplace easy.

He added: “We know businesses want to be sustainable, but the journey can be complex, costly, involve multiple stakeholders and require specialised knowledge.”

Geoffrey Yeo, assistant MD at Enterprise Singapore, noted Singtel’s programme delivers practical IoT solutions that give SMEs real-time insights into their energy usage and emissions, empowering them to make data-driven decisions to achieve cost savings while advancing their sustainability goals.

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NCS will pay PHP134 million ($2.3 million) for a 51 per cent stake in Yondu, which will be renamed NCS Philippines.

In a statement, the companies explained the joint venture will combine NCS’s global delivery capability with Yondu’s resources and skills, targeting increasing its workforce in the Philippines from 150 to more than 1,200.

Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu noted partnering with NCS will “unlock new global opportunities”, enabling Yondu to widen its reach and deliver more impactful IT services worldwide.

NCS CEO Ng Kuo Pin added the deal marks a significant milestone in its APAC growth journey as it continues to invest to meet the region’s growing demand for technology services.

The purchase price is net of the PHP818 million Yondu spent to acquire NCS’s subsidiary NCSI Philippines. NCS, through wholly owned subsidiary NCSI Holdings, will have a post-transaction enterprise value of PHP1.9 billion.

The transaction will be funded using cash and internal resources, and is subject to approval of certain conditions, the statement noted.

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Under the terms of a framework agreement, Lendlease will acquire a 49 per cent stake in Singtel Somerset, the company incorporated to hold the Comcentre property, with the new entity to pay Singtel SGD1.6 billion for the land on completion of the deal.

In a statement, Singtel noted the redevelopment will be financed through external debt and equity commitments from both Singtel and the developer.

The sale of a stake in Comcentre is part of Singtel’s strategic reset announced in 2021, with an increased focus on capital management.

In early 2022, the operator revealed plans to redevelop Comcentre, a 32-storey skyscraper completed in 1979.

The new development, expected to be finished at end-2028, will have two 20-storey buildings covering a gross floor area of 110,000 square metres.

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Net profit nearly tripled year-on-year to SGD1.3 billion, aided by an exceptional gain of SGD639 million from the sale of stakes in subsidiaries.

Operating revenue rose 1.6 per cent to SGD3.6 billion.

In its earnings release, group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon noted despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment, Optus and its ICT unit NCS maintained strong performances, while its regional associates Bharti Airtel and AIS delivered higher contributions.

He added it is optimistic about Asia’s long-term growth potential and continues to see strong demand for digitalisation and the infrastructure underpinning it.

Its regional associates’ post-tax profit contribution grew 4.2 per cent.

NCS booked a 6 per cent increase in revenue to SGD742 and Digital InfraCo sales fell 6.4 per cent to SGD102 million.

Mobile revenue in Singapore slid 7.3 per cent to SGD482 million, impacted by a 16 per cent drop in prepaid ARPU to SGD9.00.

Post-paid ARPU was flat at SGD33.00.

Total mobile subscribers rose 2.9 per cent to 4.6 million.

Average date usage increased 15.4 per cent to 15GB a month.

Optus’ mobile service revenue was flat at just over AUD1 billion ($636.4 million). Prepaid and post-paid ARPU each rose, with the blended figure up 3 per cent to AUD33.00.

Prepaid subscribers rose 2.9 per cent to 3.6 million and post-paid 1.1 per cent to 6 million.

Monthly data usage rose 17.6 per cent to 20GB.

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The agreement has a five-year term and is termed a “green loan,” financing allocated to support projects deemed to have an environmental benefit. Cash is being supplied by lenders DBS Bank, OCBC, Standard Chartered, HSBC and United Overseas Bank.

Its new facility will be at the DC Tuas site, which is expected to be operational in 2026 and meet “enterprise demand for high-quality, sustainable digital infrastructure, while optimising land, power and water use”.

Singtel CFO Arthur Lang said “DC Tuas will feature a green design and build, as well as next-generation liquid cooling systems, making it ideal for meeting the demand from enterprises for high intensity compute and AI workloads”.

“This loan will enable us to support Singapore’s digital economy while reducing our carbon footprint, in-keeping with our net zero goals.”

Singtel stated the facility will be among the most efficient in the industry and include an efficient chilled water system and water recycling to maximise water efficiency.

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Optus Finance will put the funding to use in refinancing existing credit facilities, along with committing some to more general corporate needs.

Singtel CFO Arthur Lang expressed gratitude to the banks and satisfaction at securing their backing.

“This demonstrates their commitment in the group’s improving operating performance,” Lang said.

The CFO noted the backing is a measure of confidence in the group’s Singtel28 growth plan, which targets improved performance by optimising core businesses, improving capital management and delivering solid dividends.

Lang added the finance deal also demonstrates the banks’ confidence in the company’s “business fundamentals and credit quality”.

The credit facility is guaranteed by the parent company and some of its other subsidiaries.

Among the 12 banks participating are HSBC, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Bank of China, Citibank and Mizuho Bank.

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In a statement, the operator explained by allocating dedicated network resources the agencies can improve situational awareness and response, command and control operations, swift threat detection and rapid incident response.

Singtel Singapore CEO Ng Tian Chong added by using its 5G network capabilities security agencies will be able to conduct their operations with “high precision, imperative to safeguarding” Singapore.

The collaboration follows a trial in July 2024 at Sentosa, where the three parties used 5G in video-intensive transmissions and autonomous control of unmanned vehicles and drones.

DSTA director of infocomm infrastructure Wong Chia Sern noted the high bandwidth, low-latency characteristics and network slicing capability of 5G “holds great potential for use in defence applications, enhancing operational flexibility, effectiveness and efficiency”.

Vincent Ho, director of enterprise comms and digital infra at HTX, stated as usage of 5G in Singapore increases it is “imperative we have a dedicated capacity that ensures Home Team operations are not affected even during scenarios where a surge in the number of network connections slows down data transmission speeds for normal users”.

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Port operator PSA Singapore aims to build the world’s largest fully automated facility and nearly double its annual handling capacity to 65 million 20-foot equivalent units.

In a statement, Singtel explained existing automated guided vehicles (AGVs) will be upgraded to 5G to allow real-time shipment tracking and further streamline crane operations.

From 2025, AGVs will transport containers, optimising yard operations and reducing labour costs.

Nelson Quek, regional CEO for Southeast Asia at PSA International, noted the upgrade to 5G would enable the port to streamline operations and optimise resource utilisation through real-time monitoring.

PSA International plans to also explore using 5G applications for predictive maintenance involving drone-based surveillance applications, to detect potential issues early and pre-empt equipment failure to improve efficiency and reducing downtime, added Daniel Ode, head of Singapore, Philippines and Brunei at Ericsson.

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Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon stressed in its latest earnings release it will continue scaling ICT unit NCS and building out Nxera’s data centres, which will start operations from mid-2025.

Its fiscal 2025 capex of SGD2.8 billion ($2.1 billion) earmarks SGD1 billion for data centres, equipment to fit out its GPU-as-a-service facilities and satellites. The statement noted SGD700 million will be funded by external capital partners and advance satellite receipts from customers. Capex in fiscal 2024 was SGD2.2 billion.

Yuen stated its half-year results showed continued growth in underlying earnings, indicating “a solid start to our Singtel28 plan to lift business performance.” He added the progress made in its core businesses, growth engines and active capital management are “reflected in the steady increases in our dividend payouts since our strategic reset in 2021”.

Net profit in H1 dropped 42 per cent year-on-year to SGD1.2 billion, impacted by an exceptional gain of SGD1.2 billion in the same period last year from the issuance of shares by Telkomsel in Indonesia to integrate IndiHome.

Operating revenue was flat at SGD7 billion, impacted by the divestment of Trustwave in October 2023.

Mobile gains
In Singapore, mobile service revenue was up 4.1 per cent to SGD666 million, with equipment sales down 1.1 per cent to SGD249 million.

Prepaid subscribers jumped 10.5 per cent to 1.6 million, while post-paid users were up 1.6 per cent to 3 million. Blended ARPU declined 4.4 per cent to SGD24, driving by a 17.2 per cent drop in prepaid to SGD10.

The increase in mobile service revenue was offset by the continued structural decline in legacy services, softer ICT demand in enterprise and lower data and internet revenue, it said. Operating revenue was steady at SGD1.9 billion.

Optus’ mobile service revenue also grew 4.1 per cent to AUD2 billion ($1.3 billion); equipment sales rose 5.8 per cent to AUD714 million.

Prepaid and post-paid subscribers were mostly flat at 3.5 million and 6 million respectively, with blended ARPU rising 3.7 per cent to AUD32.

Its regional associates’s post-tax profit contributions fell 4 per cent to SGD817 million; the figure was stable on a constant currency basis. Telkomsel was impacted by intense mobile data competition, while its units Thailand, the Philippines and India booked profit and revenue gains.

Its Digital InfraCo unit saw revenue increase 8.2 per cent to SGD219 million, fuelled by 17.6 per cent growth in data centre business to SGD169 million.

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The technology was offered as part of Singtel’s 5G Express Pass for spectators, which gave subscribers priority network access. This allowed them to access next-generation capabilities despite the congested environment including livestreaming, sharing content and accessing taxi apps.

ARRP is a component of Ericsson’s network slicing product designed to intelligently allocate network resources to meet enterprise workloads or consumer applications.

The vendor noted use of the software would overcome “issues of over- or under-provisioning” and eliminate “the risk of compromising network performance”.

ARRP is also being marketed as simplifying network management and is said to be “particularly beneficial for mission-critical applications where demands on the network frequently changes abruptly”.

The deployment of the technology at the Singapore Grand Prix was hailed by the pair as the first commercial deployment of the technology.

It is Ericsson’s latest world first claim when it comes to ARRP, with the vendor announcing an implementation on a standalone 5G network slice with stc Group during a demonstration in April.

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The two companies explained in a release they aim to combine their respective GPU resources and infrastructure to extend their footprint into “previously untapped markets”.

Singtel’s Digital InfraCo CEO Bill Chang noted the agreement “expands capacity and availability zones in Asia Pacific”, complementing its GPUaaS points of presence and giving enterprises flexibility and scalability.

GMI Cloud CEO Alex Yeh added the tie-up aims to create an ecosystem that will accelerate AI adoption, enabling telecoms providers and enterprises to enhance their services.

The AI-native GPU cloud platform operates data centres across the world to offer access to GPUs optimised for AI and machine learning workloads.

Earlier in the week, Singtel signed an agreement with Norway-based Nscale to share their respective data centre resources to run enterprise customers’ AI workloads.

Singtel also recently forged deals with Japan-based Hitachi and the Bridge Alliance covering GPU cloud services.

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In a statement, Singtel explained it will tap Nscale’s cloud platform running AMD and Nvidia GPUs to serve customers in key markets in Europe, while the AI cloud provider will use the operator’s GPU capacity in Southeast Asia through an integration with its orchestration platform Paragon.

The operator noted the tie-up will enable it to keep up with rising demand from enterprises for generative AI, high-performance computing and data-intensive workloads.

Nscale founder and CEO Josh Payne noted it will provide Singtel customers with “unmatched access to sustainable, high-performance and cost-effective AI compute to accelerate enterprise generative AI in the region and beyond”.

Its data centre in Glomfjord runs on 100 per cent renewable energy sources.

Singtel Digital InfraCo CEO Bill Chang added as it continues “to augment our GPUaaS offerings, we are forging a series of strategic partnerships to grow our ecosystem and broaden our service availability”.

In March, the operator outlined plans to introduce a GPUaaS for enterprises in Singapore and across Southeast Asia later in the year.

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In a statement, the pair explained the partnership will bring together Singtel’s data centre and connectivity expertise and platforms with Hitachi’s AI applications for manufacturing and end-to-end data centre capabilities, covering integration, green power, cooling, storage and data management.

Hitachi executive officer Toshiaki Tokunaga pointed out that as generative AI continues to drive new innovations, the issue of environmental impact due to rising electricity demand is becoming more prominent. “Striking a balance between these two factors is a significant mission for Hitachi’s social innovation business.”

The companies noted the deal expands on a partnership unveiled in June to trial Singtel’s 5G, edge and multi-cloud orchestration platform at Hitachi Americas’ Santa Clara R&D Labs, targeting the enterprise market using services from both companies.

Using Singtel’s Paragon platform and Hitachi’s deep AI expertise, the companies added they will address the “complexities faced by customers when deploying AI capabilities”.

The pair will also explore developing data centres across Asia-Pacific to cater to rising demand for AI capabilities and combine Singtel’s GPU platform with Hitachi’s AI expertise to develop enterprise applications.

Digital InfraCo CEO Bill Chang said the tie-up with Hitachi opens up new opportunities in a strategically important and expanding market.

Japan is one of the largest and fastest growing data centre markets in Asia Pacific, forecast to grow 9.8 per cent annually and reach $5 billion by 2028, the statement added.

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The pair signed a strategic partnership which will give the 35 members of the mobile alliance access to Singtel’s GPUaaS service, which is scheduled to launch in the current quarter.

Bridge Alliance noted in a statement the tie-up will assist members in “fast-tracking their go-to-market strategies”.

The service will be powered by Nvidia H100 Tensor core GPU clusters running at Singtel’s data centres in Singapore. The offering will be expanded to run in new sites across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia when they begin operations from mid-2025.

Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo, explained the collaboration will “help democratise and accelerate” the use of AI by enterprises across industries by giving them the tools to improve productivity.

He added it sees the AI service offering low latencies by combining 5G and edge computing as a key growth driver for enterprises.

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Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon noted the company improved across core operations in Singapore and Australia during its Q1, and saw momentum in growth businesses, which “helped mitigate lower contributions from our regional associates due mainly to significant currency headwinds in Africa”.

He added despite a more challenging macroeconomic environment, “we remain optimistic about the growth opportunities across our markets”.

Net profit jumped 42.9 per cent to SGD690 million ($523.7 million), aided by an exceptional gain of SGD88 million from reducing its stake in Bharti Airtel.

The profit gain comes after it unveiled a growth plan in May following a SGD1.3 billion loss in fiscal H2 2024.

Operating revenue fell 2.1 per cent to SGD3.4 billion due mainly to the absence of contributions from Trustwave. Singtel sold its stake in the US cybersecurity player October 2023.

In Singapore, mobile service revenue grew 6.8 per cent to SGD339 million. The operator said the growth was driven by roaming and IoT connectivity, with strong traction in connected cars.

Its mobile user base grew 6.3 per cent to 4.6 million, led by a 12.3 per cent gain in prepaid subscribers to 1.6 million. Post-paid ARPU rose 4.1 per cent to SGD33 and prepaid fell 18.6 per cent to SGD10.

Optus’ mobile service revenue rose 4.7 per cent to AUD1 billion ($662 million).

Blended ARPU was up 3.7 per cent at AUD32, while mobile subscribers were flat at 10.5 million. Data consumption per month increased 12.7 per cent to 19GB.

Post-tax contributions at its regional units fell 5 per cent to SGD405 million, with strong performances at AIS and Globe Telecom offset by declines from Bharti Airtel and Telkomsel.

Sales at its ICT unit NCS increased 3.8 per cent to SGD707 million and Digital InfraCo grew 5.8 per cent to SGD10 million.

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