Not the ‘be all and end all’ for MyRepublic, says CEO

After mounting an aggressive campaign in its bid to become Singapore’s fourth telco, MyRepublic was left with nothing to show for its efforts, but its chief executive Malcolm Rodrigues (picture) insisted it was not the “be all and end all” for the homegrown start-up.

In a phone interview with TODAY, he reiterated yesterday that topping the S$105 million bid from its rival TPG “breaks the logic” of its business plan. Asked whether he was disappointed, he said: “I think we put a lot of time and effort, we had a real vision to change the mobile industry in Singapore and wanted that opportunity, we wanted to be a lean, mean operator.”

Mr Rodrigues described TPG as a “good company” but he felt the Australian telco may not have “a vision”.

“They know how to operate cheaply and offer low-cost prices — you can expect good pricing in the market when they enter,” he said.

MyRepublic was set up in 2012. Along with other newcomers, its entry into the fibre broadband market subsequently ignited a price war among the telcos.

In April, the company launched its “My 4th Telco” campaign, pledging to offer unlimited mobile data plans, “bring back big data bundles” and encourage the use of third-party apps.

Following the unsuccessful bid for the telco licence, Mr Rodrigues, a former vice-president at StarHub, said that MyRepublic intends to penetrate other market segments here.

Among other plans, it is seeking to provide over-the-top services in Singapore next year, and has launched such services in Indonesia, allowing customers to stream their television programmes or movies.

It is also looking to be the next mobile virtual network operator after Circles.Life, which has an agreement with M1. The company plans to do the same in Indonesia and later in Singapore, he added. Currently, the company also has operations in Australia and New Zealand. FARIS MOKHTAR