New telco TPG to offer free unlimited data roaming in Malaysia, Indonesia

Singapore's fourth telco TPG Telecom has dialled up competition here, offering its 200,000 users free unlimited data when they roam in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In a statement yesterday, TPG executive chairman David Teoh said: "These two countries are two of the top travel destinations for Singaporeans due to their proximity, so many of our customers will be able to save and break away from existing high roaming charges."

The offer will kick in from the middle of next month, allowing TPG users to make unlimited calls to Singapore mobile numbers while roaming.

There is a limit of 20 minutes for calls to Singapore fixed-line numbers. All incoming calls and SMSes will also be free. It will offer a stored-value facility which users can top up using their credit cards to pay for any other charges incurred.

"These are just one of the many product enhancements we are launching so our customers can always stay connected and benefit from our service," said Mr Teoh.

TPG won the licence to join Singtel, StarHub and M1 as Singapore's fourth telco in 2016 and has signed up close to 200,000 users for its year-long free trial, which will end in December this year .

This service is a SIM-only plan that includes unlimited data and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calls. But data at 4G speeds is capped at 2GB daily, after which surfing speed will be limited to 1Mbps for the remainder of the day. It also offers 20 local SMSes and 20 minutes of outgoing calls to local fixed lines each month.

TPG had initially been expected to roll out services last December while it was in the process of being spun off from parent company TPG Australia.

After news that TPG Australia had started the process to merge with Vodafone Hutchison Australia, speculation mounted over whether TPG would exit the Singapore market altogether.

The company dismissed such talk and subsequently announced its free service trial in December, just days before the deadline from the Infocomm Media Development Authority of having to reach 95 per cent outdoor mobile service coverage by the year end.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.