ASIA : Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) today announced that its BroadBand on Mobile service is now commercially available.

‘BroadBand on Mobile’ uses next generation mobile technology known as High Speed Downlink Packet Access, also known as HSDPA or 3.5G.  

A commercial trial involving more than 400 customers was announced last November, making the telco the first in Singapore to introduce such a service.  

The BroadBand on Mobile service will initially be available in the Orchard Road and CBD areas, promising download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps, a significant step up from 3G’s maximum speed of 384kbps. 

“BroadBand on Mobile opens up a whole world of possibilities in the realm of information and entertainment on-the-go,” said Ms Vicki Brady, SingTel’s Vice President of Consumer Marketing.  “We are delighted to be able to offer our customers yet another service that perfectly complements their increasingly mobile business and lifestyle needs.”

Coverage will be extended to the North Zone by June, and the rest of the island by December this year.  SingTel is also the operator providing free wireless Internet (WiFi) access in the North Zone for IDA’s Wireless@SG initiative.

SingTel also announced a range of highly competitive data price plans for its BroadBand on Mobile service.  At 512kbps, this is the fastest entry-level plan in the market and priced from only $31.50 for 10GB worth of data.  Selected price plans also include unlimited WiFi access at 1Mbps, giving SingTel subscribers who require mobile access a true multiple platform advantage. 

BroadBand on Mobile - which is technology-agnostic and backward-compatible - can be accessed through devices such as laptops with HSDPA modems, as well a range of mobile phones and PDAs on any 3G price plan using a 3G SIM card.  To make data use even more convenient and accessible, all SingTel 3G customers who are currently not on a 3G data plan will be 3.5G-enabled by the time the service is available island-wide.

Customers can also look forward to an array of special introductory offers and freebies to be announced over the weekend.