Singapore Government Online Homepage
Statistics on Telecom Services for 2004 (Jan - Jun)

Please note that figures are updated at the end of each calendar month. Due to compilation reasons, there is a 1-month time-lag. This means that April figures, for example, will only be released at end-May / beginning-June.

CATEGORY JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN
Fixed Line Market
Total Number Telephone Lines 1,896,100 1,893,200 1,889,500 1,885,200 1,882,100 1,877,200
Fixed Line Population Penetration Rate ^ 46.1% 46.0% 45.9% 45.8% 45.7% 45.1%
Mobile Market
Total Mobile subscribers 3,521,800 3,544,400 3,577,500 3,605,800 3,630,300 3,655,900
GSM 900 subscribers 2,474,300 2,489,600 2,508,300 2,521,400 2,523,500 2,529,900
GSM1800 subscribers 1,047,500 1,054,800 1,069,200 1,084,400 1,106,800 1,126,000
Total Pre-Paid SIM Card subscribers 1 1,006,800 1,029,200 1,050,700 1,075,200 1,091,400 1,108,400
Mobile Population Penetration Rate ^ 85.6% 86.1% 86.9% 87.6% 88.2% 87.7%
Paging Market 2
Total Paging subscribers 153,300 147,500 141,600 137,100 132,700 127,600
Numeric subscribers 96,200 91,600 86,800 83,400 79,700 76,300
Alphanumeric subscribers 57,200 55,900 54,800 53,700 52,900 51,300
Paging Penetration 3.7% 3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 3.2% 3.1%
Internet Market
Total Internet Dial-up subscribers 3 1,790,400 1,784,500 1,778,200 1,767,600 1,762,400 1,755,900
Internet Dial-up Population Penetration Rate ^ 43.5% 43.4% 43.2% 43.0% 42.8% 42.1%
Total Internet Leased Circuit subscribers 2,900 2,900 2,900 2,800 2,800 2,800
Broadband Market
Total Broadband subscribers 394,500 405,100 417,000 424,000 432,900 441,600
Total xDSL subscribers 240,700 245,600 251,400 254,900 258,600 261,400
Total Cable subscribers 153,800 159,400 165,700 169,100 174,300 180,200
Household penetration 4 34.0% 34.9% 35.9% 36.5% 37.2% 38.0%
Residential subscribers 368,200 378,000 389,100 395,700 403,400 411,700
Corporate Subscribers 26,200 26,900 27,800 28,200 29,400 29,800
International Telephone Service 5
No. of International Telephone call minutes 276.03 million 260.85 million 293.41 million 293.04 million 313.11 million 313.60 million
Trunked Radio Services
Total Trunked Radio subscribers 50,600 50,600 50,700 50,700 50,900 51,000
Analogue subscribers 0 0 0 0 0 0
Digital subscribers 50,600 50,600 50,700 50,700 50,900 51,000
Mobile Data Services 6
- Total Mobile Data subscribers 15,600 15,600 15,700 15,600 15,500 15,600

These telecom statistics are subject to revision from time to time to ensure accuracy.

^ Population Penetration rate figures from June 2004 onwards have been re-computed, taking into account the revised population figures recently released by the Department of Statistics. Population Penetration Rate = [Total number of subscriptions/Total Population].

With effect from Jan 2001, we have begun to use total population instead of total residential population as a population base for the calculation of penetration rates for telecom services. Total residential population was previously used because historically, the take-up of telecom services by foreign workers was typically low. With the government's recent efforts in promoting foreign talent, the profile of the foreign worker has changed. Specifically, there has been a marked increase in the subscription to telecom services by "non-residential" foreigners. It is therefore timely to adopt the total population figure as a population base in calculating penetration rates to give a more accurate picture of the various telecom market segments.

All subscriber figures rounded to the nearest hundred.
All penetration figures rounded to the nearest decimal point.

Please note that the fall in Internet dialup subscribers from May 2001 onwards is a result of a database correction of an Internet Service Provider, to remove from its system discontinued dial-up Internet accounts for the period of Dec '99 - Aug '00 that were not previously deleted.



1 The pre-paid SIM card subscriber base figures are included in the total number of mobile phone subscribers as well as in the total number of GSM900 and GSM1800 subscriber bases.

2 Paging figures from Jan 99 onwards have been re-computed based on updated data information.

3 The Internet Dial-up Penetration figures includes: (i) subscribers to paid Internet access service for all IASPs, including ISDN dial-up subscribers; and (ii) subscribers to free Internet access. Following full telecom market liberalisation, the number of IASPs have increased considerably. Starting Jan 2001, the published figures on the internet dial-up market include contributions from such new IASPs.

4 Total Households refers to total addresses (housing units) in Singapore, excluding shophouses and zine-roofed/attap houses. This figure is computed using the total number of residential subscribers on a per household basis. The number of households is obtained from the latest figures available from the Department of Statistics. Please note that this is not reflective of the proportion of households with broadband in Singapore. For a more reflective number, please refer to IDA's Household Survey findings at /Publications/20070822125451.aspx .

5 Following full liberalisation of the telecommunications market, Singapore's international services market has grown considerably both in diversity of services available as well as in the number of operators offering international telephone services. As Singapore continues to develop as a hub for international voice traffic, including transit and regional traffic in our published statistics will provide a more holistic picture of the vibrancy and growth of the entire international telephone services market in Singapore. For comparison purposes, figures from previous years will also be adjusted accordingly. This change has been applied retroactively from Jan 2001. Furthermore, starting from Jan 2001, traffic from other service providers such as ISR operators has also been included.

6 Mobile data services refer to services provided by licensees that offer Public Mobile Data Services (PMDS) under their Facilities-Based Operator (FBO) licence. Subscribers to such PMDS services include fleet management companies, dispatch service agencies etc.