StarHub to pursue analytics to offset mobile squeeze

Singapore’s StarHub plans to lean on providing data analytics based on its customers’ consumption habits to compensate for the increased competition set to be caused by the introduction of a fourth player to the mobile market.

The operator is already facing intense competition in the mobile sector, and this will intensify with the entry of Australia-based TPG Telecom, the recent winner of Singapore’s fourth mobile license.

StarHub is preparing for a worst-case scenario involving TPG offering unlimited mobile data services, and bundling its offer with broadband, leading to competition for StarHub on two fronts.

In an interview with Bloomberg, StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai said the company is pursuing generating revenue by providing analytics based on consumers’ use of mobile phones, broadband and TV services to corporate clients.

The enterprise segment is already generating increasing proportions of StarHub’s revenue – earnings from StarHub’s corporate customers now account for around 42% of StartHub’s annual revenue, up by more than double from eight years ago.

But StarHub is facing competition in the analytics segment from incumbent Singtel. The report also cites an OCBC analyst as expressing skepticism that the extra revenue generated from analytics will be enough to offset the impact of TPG’s entry into the market on StarHub’s bottom line.