Singapore mobile phone debutante MobileOne has announced plans to accelerate the expansion in its network after being flooded with subscribers in its first six weeks of operation.
Yesterday, the firm signed a S$40 million (about HK$215.21 million) agreement with Finland's Nokia Communications to double its network capacity to accommodate 120,000 users.
The company, in which Hongkong Telecom and its British parent Cable & Wireless each have a 15 per cent stake, reported 35,000 subscribers in its first month, after being allowed to break Singapore Telecom's mobile phone monopoly on April 1.
This far surpasses even MobileOne's bullish forecasts. It had predicted 15,000 to 20,000 subscribers by the end of the first month.
'That's a pretty powerful performance,' Schroders Securities in Singapore's regional telecommunications analyst, John Chessher, said.
When MobileOne launched on April 1 it had a capacity for up to 70,000 subscribers, which analysts and management thought more than sufficient for the immediate future.
Faced with strong demand, they are having to think again. Chief executive Neil Montefiore said: 'We are working hard to bring forward all our investment plans.' Nokia Telecommunications (Singapore) managing director Antti Raikkonen said: 'To gain a 10 per cent market share of cellular services within the first few weeks of operation is a remarkable achievement.
