TPG is set to become a Singapore mobile carrier. The Australian telco announced today that it had successfully picked up spectrum in an auction staged by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
The island’s New Entrant Spectrum Auction was open only to parties that do not operate a nationwide mobile network in Singapore.
TPG picked up all the spectrum on offer - two lots of 2x5MHz in the 900MHz band and 8 lots of 5MHz in the 2.3GHz band – and will pay S$105 million (around $99 million).
The telco was up against one other bidder: Singapore-headquartered ISP My Republic, which recently entered the Australian market.
TPG is planning to setup a mobile network in Singapore by September 2018, with the telco anticipating capex of S$200 million to S$300 million.
In Australia, TPG has indicated interest in boosting its existing spectrum holdings. The telco has said it is eager to get its hands on spectrum in the 700MHz band, which is ideal for delivering 4G mobile services.
The government yesterday revealed the rules for the upcoming auction of the 700MHz spectrum left over from the 2013 Digital Dividend auction. Under those rules, TPG will be eligible to bid for all of the spectrum being auctioned off; Telstra, by contrast, has been barred from adding to its 700MHz holdings.
In the Digital Dividend auction, TPG picked up spectrum in the 2.5GHz band; the telco also has spectrum in the 1800MHz band.