IDA has established the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), which spells out the key regulatory responsibilities of all telecom equipment and service providers, including the duties of providers to their end users. Some of these obligations include: the duty to disclose price and non-price terms to end users in advance, and the duty to provide procedures for end users to contest charges. You may wish to refer to the TCC for more information.
If you are dissatisfied with the level of service provided by a particular service provider, you should raise the matter to the service provider concerned. IDA has established a set of minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards for telecommunication services for compliance by the relevant service providers. IDA will ensure compliance of service providers with the minimum standards set.
As stipulated in the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), service providers are expected to provide periodic, accurate and timely bills. All statements of charges must also be clear and concise.
If you have queries on matters pertaining to your bills, you should first seek clarification from your service provider. If the issue remains unsolved, you may refer the matter to the Small Claims Tribunal or to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) for assistance. You may also bring the matter to IDA's attention.
Under the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), an end user must pay the undisputed amount of the bill, but must not be required to pay any reasonably disputed amounts pending the resolution of the dispute. Should the end user ultimately be found liable for the payment, the end user will be required to pay the amount due, with reasonable compensation for the service provider's arbitration, litigation and collection expenses, plus interest. The rate of interest must be set at a commercially reasonable amount, which will be specified in advance by the service provider.
All service providers must disclose, in advance, all price and non-price terms governing the provision of telecommunication services or equipment to customers. These terms should be disclosed in service contracts, the service providers' websites, brochures, pamphlets and/or other publicity material. You are strongly advised to read these terms and conditions prior to signing the service agreement.
Should you encounter such a situation, please approach your service provider for clarification. If the terms are not stipulated anywhere in either of the service provider's publicity material, you may bring the matter to IDA's attention for assessment.
Under the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), equipment and service providers are prohibited from making any claims or suggestions regarding the availability, price or quality of their telecommunication services or equipment, or of the telecommunication services or equipment of another provider, that are not supported by objective evidence or that are reasonably likely to confuse or mislead end users.
If you encounter a confusing or misleading telecom advertisement, you should first approach the relevant service provider for clarification. If you still consider the advertisement to be misleading after seeking clarification from the relevant service provider, you may approach IDA for further assistance.
Under the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), equipment and service providers have a duty to protect End User Service Information (EUSI), defined as all information a provider obtains as a result of an end user's use of a telecommunication service or equipment provided by that provider. Unless an end user has provided authorisation, a licensee may only use EUSI for the following purposes:
Equipment and service providers are not permitted to use EUSI for purposes other than as stated above, unless the end user consents as such. This means that providers may not use your EUSI for the development or marketing of other goods or services, and may not release this information to third parties or affiliates, without your consent. Equipment and service providers also have a duty to develop and inform end users of easy-to-use procedures by which end users can subsequently grant or withdraw consent for the use of their EUSI for purposes other than as specified above.
Under the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), any licensee that provides a telecommunication service must specify prominently in the service agreement or equipment lease:
You should refer to your agreement with your service provider for the specific terms and conditions under which your service provider may unilaterally suspend or terminate your service.
Under the Telecom Competition Code (TCC), equipment and service providers may enter into agreements under which they provide an end user with a discount or special considerations in return for the end user's agreement to commit to a minimum service or lease duration period. Such agreements may contain provisions providing for termination liability in the event that the end user ends the agreement prior to the agreed upon termination date.
However, the amount of any early termination liability must be reasonably related to the extent of the discount or special considerations that the equipment or service provider has provided and the duration of the period during which the end user took service or lease.
If you experience poor service coverage at a particular location and would like to see coverage improve, you should alert your service provider of your experience. IDA has imposed a set of minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards for mobile phone services, which include outdoor and in-building coverage.
If you lose your mobile phone, you should immediately inform your service provider to disconnect your service and arrange for a replacement SIM card and/or mobile phone. You may also wish to make a police report if you suspect that your phone has been stolen. You may activate certain security features (e.g. SIM card locking, PIN codes) to further prevent unauthorised usage of your mobile phone
As the regulator of the telecommunications sector in Singapore, IDA does not mandate that the mobile service providers install phone-blocking systems, such as those based on IMEI, to trace stolen mobile phones for their customers. From the commercial perspective, phone tracking or blocking systems are costly, can cause substantial network delays, and are technology dependant. This is compounded by administration difficulty with fast churn of handsets prevalent in the consumer market and a relatively short economic lifespan of handsets today. Instead, IDA supports other measures taken by the mobile service providers to help curb fraudulent activities, such as immediate suspension of service, replacement of SIM cards and exchange of information, where appropriate. More importantly, IDA advises mobile phone users to take precautions to secure their mobile phones, just as with any other personal belongings. In the event of phone theft, subscribers can lodge police reports, and our mobile service providers are obliged to render assistance to the Police for any investigation work to be carried out.
It is a common practice for mobile service providers to introduce tie-in conditions (e.g. a 2-year contract) for consumers who purchase mobile phones at a discounted rate and subscribe to their services. The handset-subscription plan bundle is just one innovative way that service providers and vendors can package their offerings. Such plans allow customers to enjoy special discounts for service plans and handsets by committing to a stipulated service-subscription period. Consumers have the option of signing up for tie-in subscription plans and enjoying the associated discounts or choosing not to be tied-in and purchasing the handsets at non-discounted prices.
In order not to stifle competition, IDA does not restrict or dictate the types of service packages that can be offered, as long as the terms and conditions of contracts are made known upfront. This allows consumers to exercise flexibility in choosing service plans and providers. In addition, service providers are required to structure reasonable refund policies for subscribers who terminate their subscriptions prematurely.
All consumers should read through the terms and conditions of a service contract before taking up the service.
IDA does not stipulate any minimum age requirement for mobile phone subscribers. Any such limits are decisions made by the operator.
SMS performance can be affected by many factors. For example, a user may experience delays in receiving SMS if his mobile phone is in the process of receiving other messages concurrently or if his phone is switched off or out of coverage during a message delivery attempt.
IDA has established the industry-driven inter-operator Short Messaging Services Working Group (SMSWG) to identify and address SMS interoperability issues. Please refer to this article produced by the SMSWG for more information on commonly raised SMS performance issues.
IDA recognises the increasing importance and widespread use of SMS as a means of communication amongst users in Singapore and has started measuring SMS performance in the effort to make transparent SMS service levels to mobile users.
Given the competitive mobile phone market, IDA has decided not to impose any minimal levels for compliance, but instead, measure and publish operators' performances on IDA's website to make transparent the SMS service levels to mobile users. IDA hopes that by making the results transparent, it will spur operators to maintain and improve on their service levels to the benefit of consumers.
IDA conducts half-yearly tests on the SMS performance of operators. IDA will publish these results twice a year.
A number of different charges are applicable when one uses the mobile roaming service. Generally, these include IDD rate of overseas operator to calling destination, overseas airtime charge and taxes/ surcharges of overseas operator. For example if you are roaming in Sydney and you are calling back to Singapore, you will have to bear the following charges:
Mobile operators in Singapore would have control only over the IDD charges, but not what the overseas operator charges for airtime or taxes/ surcharge. Bear in mind that calling charges may change with time. You should check with the overseas operator or your local mobile operator for the exact charges before making the international calls.
Yes, you will be incurring IDD charges from Singapore to Hong Kong, local airtime charges of the respective operator in Hong Kong and any payable value-added tax, similar to the above example. Do note that mobile operators in Singapore will only have control over the IDD charges, but not what the overseas operator charges for airtime or taxes.
Go to your phone setting and select network. Manually select your overseas network operator.
You can choose to purchase a pre-paid SIM card of the country you are in to make calls. Alternatively, you can purchase international calling cards to make outgoing international calls.
You have to ensure that your mobile phone is compatible with the frequency bands of the network (e.g. GSM, CDMA, Quad band, Tri band) of the country you are in to enable you to receive and make calls. Please check with your local mobile operator if you are unsure.
There are several reasons why your Internet/broadband connection speed may sometimes not be optimal.
Similarly, end-user access speeds may also be affected by the content providers' bandwidth connection to the Internet. If this bandwidth connection is insufficient, the end-user may experience slow access speeds, even if the local Internet service provider has allocated sufficient bandwidth for this connection.
If you are experiencing Internet connection difficulties, you may refer the matter to your service provider for their necessary action. To ensure, as far as possible, a satisfactory level of Internet/broadband services to end-users, IDA has also imposed a set of minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards for Internet and broadband access services. However, it is important to note that external factors beyond the control of the local Internet and broadband service providers can sometimes also affect your connection speeds (e.g. overseas routing delays, peak hour delays). IDA's QoS standards only apply to portions of the Internet access and broadband network that are under the control of your service provider.
If you come across a website with offensive material, you can bring that website to the attention of the Media Development Authority (MDA), the regulatory authority for Internet content.
Some Internet service providers have also launched Family Access Network (FAN) services that can filter out undesirable content on the Internet. You may wish to contact your service provider for more information on these services.
Parents may also wish to contact the Parents Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) for more information on how to protect their children from offensive material on the Internet.
Although the postal market has been liberalised on 1 April 2007, IDA continues to designate SingPost as a Public Postal Licensee and SingPost will be required to perform a set of Universal Service Obligations determined by IDA, including complying with IDA's set of minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards for postal.
Some of the performance indicators include the percentage of mail delivered within and outside CBD within the next working day and percentage of registered mail delivered by the second working day.
In view that the postal market is liberalised, your mails may not be delivered by SingPost. If you encounter problems in receiving your postal article on time or any other postal related matter, please check who the postal operator is and approach the respective operator for assistance. Should the issue remain unresolved, you may wish to contact IDA for further assistance.
You should contact the relevant service provider, via the contact information on the calling card, to ascertain if there is any system error or maintenance resulting in the card being temporarily unusable.
If the problem remains unresolved, you may refer your case to IDA for assistance.
It is important to note the effective period of the call rates quoted in advertisements. Before making any international calls using the card, it is advisable for you to contact your service provider at the hotline number or check the relevant website for updated rates.
The issue of spam is a challenging one, as whether an unsolicited message is considered useful or 'spam' is subjective. Like the sending of unsolicited faxes or distribution of flyers in mailboxes, if used appropriately, messages sent via email or SMS can be a legitimate means of marketing. Nevertheless, unsolicited email and SMS messages are recognised increasingly as an issue worldwide.
If you have been receiving spam, you may also wish to contact your service provider for further information and assistance.
You should notify your service provider for advice on the options available for tracing these nuisance calls. Some service providers offer value-added services (VAS), such as call blocking, caller ID or call tracing, which may be helpful in tracking the nuisance calls. You may also wish to lodge a police report on your case.