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Jean Iau

The unravelling of a S$1.43 billion (US$1.12 billion) merger between Singapore mobile operators M1 and Simba has highlighted the city state’s brutally competitive telecoms market, revealing a potential regulatory minefield around scarce radio spectrum.
The foiled deal would also mean Singapore’s mobile network operators – Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba – will continue to operate in a cutthroat price war environment while M1’s owners look for new ways to divest, according to experts.
Singapore has nearly 10 million mobile subscribers, exceeding its population of about 6.1 million, with operators and mobile virtual network operators jostling for market share.
Asha Hemrajani, a senior fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said: “Due to Singapore’s small size, the saturated market here and deep price-cutting, mobile network operator market consolidation has to happen, otherwise it is not sustainable.”
If M1 and Simba consolidated, they could have pooled resources to strengthen their investment in capacity, coverage, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, Hemrajani added.
The consolidation of M1 and Simba would have been the first since the government eased regulations in the telco industry in 2000, removing limits on the number of licences and foreign ownership.
M1 and Simba, through their parent companies Keppel and Tuas respectively, jointly announced the consolidation deal in August 2025.
For Simba, investigations into its unauthorised use of radio frequency bands continue despite the scuttled deal. The reported breaches were serious and could see the operator, whose parent company Tuas is listed in Australia, fined at least S$1 million, according to analysts.
Keppel, a majority shareholder of M1, has been trying to divest the operator to become an asset-light global asset manager, noting last May that the deal would allow it to unlock nearly S$1 billion and shed assets not aligned with its long-term focus on digital infrastructure.

On May 18, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said it suspended the assessment of the proposed consolidation until further notice after it learned that Simba could have been using radio frequency bands not assigned to it for mobile services.
During a press conference on the same day, Keppel CEO Loh Chin Hua said the company would implement a 90-day plan focused on improving M1’s efficiency by right-sizing the telco company and reducing costs.
Tuas said on Friday that it had decided not to proceed with the deal to buy M1 via its Simba unit after several conditions were not fulfilled by a May 21 deadline.
Loh did not answer questions about the possibility of job cuts and said more details would be disclosed alongside the company’s first-half results slated for July, Bloomberg reported.
The unauthorised use of frequency spectrum was a breach of the Telecommunications Act 1999 and the conditions of Simba’s facilities-based operations licence, said IMDA, adding that it would take the appropriate enforcement actions if necessary.
Under the Act, IMDA can impose a financial penalty of S$1 million or up to 10 per cent of the licensee’s annual turnover, whichever is higher.
IMDA declined to comment further, citing ongoing investigations.
Finite resources
Experts note that radio spectrum, which enables all wireless connectivity, is limited and tightly regulated, with telco networks forming the critical infrastructure of a country’s essential communications. Unauthorised use could create interference risks and affect network reliability.
Hussaini Saifee, an analyst at Maybank Securities, likened radio frequency to road lanes and said: “A four-lane road can accommodate more and faster traffic than a two-lane road. That’s why telcos try to secure more frequencies to have a better network quality and coverage.”

Frequency bands are allocated through auctions or sometimes through bids, during which operators submit detailed plans showing why they are worthy to run the spectrum, according to Hemrajani.
In 2021, IMDA allocated and assigned frequency bands to mobile operators through auctions for frequencies for 5G services.
Jeanette Whyte, head of public policy and external affairs in Asia-Pacific for GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association), noted that radio spectrum was carefully assigned and managed by regulators to ensure reliable services, avoid interference and maintain a fair and competitive market.
“Compliance with spectrum licences and regulatory requirements is fundamental to the safe and effective operation of mobile networks,” she added.
Joyce Lee, senior associate of technology and intellectual property at Withers KhattarWong, said the breach was “potentially very serious” since operators’ use was typically subject to technical and operational conditions, including specified frequency bands, bandwidth limits, geographic coverage, power levels and interference controls.
If IMDA were to conclude that a major contravention has occurred, it may exercise further regulatory powers, including suspending, varying or cancelling relevant licences or spectrum rights, according to Lee.
Telecommunications networks were a key part of Singapore’s essential communications infrastructure, supporting not just consumer mobile services, but also businesses, financial systems, emergency communications and increasingly, other connected digital services, she said.
“Spectrum management is therefore not simply a commercial or technical issue; it is closely tied to network integrity, operational resilience and regulatory oversight of nationally significant infrastructure,” Lee added.


David Chong, co-managing partner at Shook Lin & Bok, said the M1-Simba deal was meant to benefit both Simba and M1.
“If a merger had gone through those base stations can be used for Simba spectrum as well. So, in other words, you’re scaling up effectively and you don’t need to build new stations,” he said.
Singapore is not the only country where telcos have been accused of using unauthorised frequency spectrum.
In 2020, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority took action against China Mobile Pakistan, known more commonly as Zong, after it continued to use a spectrum without authorisation after its licence expired in 2019.
After years of legal battle, the authority ordered Zong to stop using these frequencies and pay for the period of unauthorised use at a rate of US$29.5 million per MHz for 15 years, including for late payment.
Hemrajani cited a case in Hong Kong where a shoplifting detection device at the entrance of a shop was found to be using an unauthorised frequency, and after it was detected, the shop was asked to turn off the device.
“This type of interference or illegal frequency is usually suspected by the mobile network operator whose spectrum is being used and either detected by itself or with the help of the telecommunications regulator,” Hemrajani said.
On the absence of mergers among telcos in Singapore so far, Chong said the regulator had to consider, among other issues, whether its original objective of ensuring healthy competition in the market could be achieved.
“The ARPU [average revenue per user] of telcos has fallen since [Simba entered the market in 2016], among other factors, because of intense competition and voice carriage being replaced by data calls. Accordingly, the decline in voice carriage and IDD call revenue needs to continue restructuring,” Chong said, referring to international direct dialling.
Referring to repeated talk of M1 being sold or merged, Hemrajani explained that the pros of a merger outweighed the cons of fewer competitors in the Singapore market.
Mobile networks can never be stagnant
Asha Hemrajani, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ senior fellow
Another local or foreign player could step in to take over M1, allowing cost savings and more investment to improve mobile networks in Singapore, she added.
“Although some of the 5G roll-outs in Singapore are approaching maturity, mobile networks can never be stagnant. There is always room for improvement and growth in terms of coverage, capacity, cybersecurity and automation,” Hemrajani said.


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With a major merger scuppered by an official investigation, four telcos remain locked in a costly war to win over local customers


With a major merger scuppered by an official investigation, four telcos remain locked in a costly war to win over local customers.


Failed M1-Simba merger prolongs Singapore’s cutthroat telco price war

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With a major merger scuppered by an official investigation, four telcos remain locked in a costly war to win over local customers

With a major merger scuppered by an official investigation, four telcos remain locked in a costly war to win over local customers