SingTel targets single-rate roaming network

Company plans to issue single charge for its pan-regional roaming network in eight Asian countries.

Singaporean operator SingTel is planning to launch a single-rate mobile roaming network incorporating at least eight of the mobile operations that it has investments in, including Abu Dhabi Group-backed Warid Telecom, India's Bharti Aitel, and Globe Telecom in the Philippines.

Muneer Farooqui, CEO, Warid Telecom, told CommsMEA that SingTel and its partners plan to launch the single-rate roaming network by early 2011.

"We call it 'one network, one roaming charge'. We are working on it by the end of the year, at least amongst the eight operations of Singtel," Farooqui said.

"Hopefully it will be in the market by the turn of the year. It would be a great advantage for these operations, making it a global operation across borders," he added.

SingTel, which owns a 30% stake in Warid Telecom, also has significant stakes in operators including Telkomsel in Indonesia, Globe Telecom in the Philippines, PBTL in Bangladesh, and AIS in Thailand.

View the full story in ITP.