Singapore - Regulator Says SingNet_s Toll-Free Net Access Scheme Is Fair.

Singapore_s telecommunications regulator, the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore, said a scheme by the country_s largest ISP SingNet was not anticompetitive. The authority investigated complaints from rival operators that a promotion that absorbs the telephone call costs of subscribers through a deal with parent company SingTel is not unfair. Singapore_s telecommunications regulator has ruled that a scheme by leading Internet service provider (ISP) SingNet that absorbs the telephone call costs of subscribers is not unfair. SingNet_s "Tide the Tough Waves" promotion promises to subsidize all its subscribers_ time-based Internet telephone calls through an agreement with parent company Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel). Competitors Pacific Internet ltd and CyberWay lodged a complaint with the Telecommunications Authority of Singapore (TAS), claiming such cross-subsidization was anti-competitive. The TAS spent five months investigating the claims and has now ruled the promotion fair and not predatory. "After an extensive five-month investigation, TAS ascertained that SingNet was not engaging in any unfair practices," said the regulator, in a statement, claiming there was no instance of any cross-subsidization by SingTel of the time-based charges.