NetLink Trust fined S$500,000 for not meeting service standards

SINGAPORE — Fibre network operator NetLink Trust will have to shell out a record S$500,000 for failing to activate services for homes and businesses in time last year.

Across the year, the company fell short of the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) requirements, except for one month, for business orders.

NetLink Trust, formerly known as OpenNet, is required to activate fibre broadband services for businesses within four weeks for at least 80 per cent of orders, and within three working days for 98 per cent of orders for homes. It missed the target in 11 out of 12 months for businesses. For its worst-performing month, in April, only 29.3 per cent of orders were met within this timeline.

For homes, NetLink Trust fell short from January last year through June this year. It only managed to keep to this deadline for 87.15 per cent to 93.19 per cent of orders.

The IMDA requires all business orders to be completed within eight weeks. Again, NetLink Trust fell short. In March last year, its worst performing month, only 45.06 per cent of orders were fulfilled in the time frame. NetLink Trust is also required to connect all residential orders within seven business days. It fulfilled less than 95 per cent within this deadline from January last year through June this year.

In deciding the quantum of the latest penalty, the IMDA said it took into consideration NetLink Trust’s previous failures to meet service standards. Last year, the firm was hit with a S$450,000 penalty for similar
shortcomings.

The IMDA also noted that some operational improvements had been made by the company.

It also took into account the fact that a number of delayed residential service orders were churn orders or second fibre orders, which required the use of a second optical fibre or handing over of fibre between service providers.

"IMDA expects NetLink Trust to ensure that there is sufficient spare fibre in residential buildings to cater to all residential orders, and continue to improve its processes and ensure it fully meets all Quality of Service (QoS) standards. IMDA will continue to monitor NetLink Trust’s performance closely," the authority said.

In response, NetLink Trust’s chief executive officer Tong Yew Heng said his company is "fully committed" to improving its operations and performance.

"We are investing about S$150 million to install more fibre across the country and to upgrade the operational and business IT systems in order to deliver a robust fibre broadband network," he said.

In its earlier brushes with the IDA, NetLink Trust was penalised S$200,000 in November 2013 for breaching residential QoS standards between April and June that year.

This was followed by a S$240,000 fine — issued in May 2014 — for installation delays affecting business users between April and September 2013.

In December 2014, the company was fined S$50,000 for failing to meet residential QoS standards in the first half of the year.