Mobile services
StarHub provides mobile services through its subsidiary StarHub Mobile. Since its launch on 1 April 2000, StarHub has been Singapore's fastest growing mobile operator. It has close to two million customers and is the second largest mobile network operator with close to 30% market share.[22]
On 27 May 2003, it became the first mobile operator in Singapore to commercially launch BlackBerry, a hand-held wireless device providing e-mail, telephone, text messaging, web browsing and other wireless data access.[23] Customers trials of 3G services began in November 2004, and was released in April 2005.
In January 2005, StarHub announced that it would form an exclusive strategic partnership for i-mode in Singapore with NTT DoCoMo, a subsidiary of StarHub's major shareholder NTT. Customer trials started in October 2005, and the service was launched on 18 November.
On 15 July 2009, StarHub became the first mobile operator in the Asia Pacific region to commercially launch a HSPA+ service.[24] Branded as MaxMobile Elite, StarHub's HSPA+ service offers download speeds up to 21 Mbit/s nationwide.[25]
On 19 September 2012, StarHub began the enhancement of its high-speed mobile broadband network with Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Dual Cell High-Speed Packet Access Plus (DC-HSPA+), which improved peak downlink speeds of up to 75 Mbit/s and 42 Mbit/s respectively.[26]
On 7 March 2013, StarHub became the first telecommunications company in Singapore to offer High Definition (HD) Voice.[27] Over a year later, the company launched 4G Voice over LTE services.[28] Both technologies enhance mobile call experience by improving speech clarity and reducing background noise.
In September 2015, StarHub was ranked world's fastest 4G network by independent mobile coverage checker OpenSignal.[29] Five months later, OpenSignal reported that according to its study, Singapore is the fastest country with LTE. Singapore's StarHub and Singtel as well as Canada's SaskTel tied in the world's fastest operator category.[30]
As of the second quarter of 2016, StarHub's 4G outdoor coverage was at 99.69%. In comparison, Singtel's coverage was at 99.95% coverage and M1's at 99.29%.[31]
In November 2016, StarHub and Vodafone renewed their partnership agreement for Singapore for a further three years.[32] The partnership was formed in 2012 to offer innovative mobile services to enterprise customers.[33]
On 1 December 2016, StarHub rolled out a travel data plan allowing 2 GB or 3 GB use over 30 days across all mobile networks in nine Asia-Pacific destinations.[34]
In January 2017, StarHub switched embedded SIM (eSIM) on its 4G network to support devices that come without a physical SIM.[35] The Samsung Gear S3 Frontier (LTE) is the first eSIM wearable to be made available in Singapore.[36]
Pay TV
StarHub provides cable television services through its subsidiary Singapore Cable Vision Ltd. Its Hybrid Optical Fibre-Coaxial network reaches 99% of households in Singapore.
In November 2004, it announced the launch of digital cable services over its cable network, which added more channels and allowed greater consumer interactivity.[37]
On 18 January 2007, StarHub introduced a commercial high definition television service.[38]
On 7 June 2012, StarHub launched TV Anywhere, a multi-platform service which allows subscribers to watch TV channels and on-demand content on their personal devices such as laptops and tablets.[39]
On 18 March 2013, StarHub started offering commercial customers StarHub TV on Fibre, its Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service.[40]
Internet services
StarHub provides broadband internet access through its subsidiaries StarHub Internet and StarHub Online respectively. StarHub Internet was formed after the acquisition of internet access provider CyberWay, while StarHub Online was formed after a merger with Singapore Cable Vision. StarHub has 475,000 home broadband customers as of the third quarter of 2016.
On 3 December 1999, a free surf plan was announced in conjunction with the rebranding of CyberWay, a first in Singapore's consumer internet industry. Customers could surf the internet for free via dial-up and pay only normal local telephone charges. Over 180,000 people signed up for the free surf plan in less than three months since it was announced.[43]
StarHub provides broadband internet access on the same network it uses for cable television services using cable modems based on the DOCSIS standard.
StarHub is a founding member of the global Wireless Broadband Alliance[44] and provides wireless broadband services at numerous locations throughout Singapore. In November 2004, it announced an agreement with Connexion by Boeing which provide StarHub customers the ability to access the internet and digital content in flight.
On 28 December 2006, StarHub became the first operator in the world to commercially launch a 100 Mbit/s residential broadband service nationwide.
Fixed network services
StarHub's fixed network, built since inception, extends more than 2000 km around Singapore and directly connects more than 800 commercial buildings. It provides a wide range of fixed network services, broadly categorised as data services and Internet Protocol and Voice services.
Data services include:
Internet protocol services include:
- Asynchronous Transfer Mode service
- Domestic Leased Circuit
- Facilities Management
- Frame Relay
- International Private Leased Circuit
- Corporate Dialup and ADSL via access to DSLAMs located in office buildings
- Dedicated Leased lines
- Global internet protocol network
- Global Virtual Private Network
