TPG, Singapore’s 4th telco, offers 2-year free mobile plan for citizens aged 65 and above

SINGAPORE — The Republic’s fourth telco, Australian operator TPG, aims to start its services in the second half of the year and is looking to attract elderly users here with a mobile plan that would be free for the first two years.

Only senior citizens aged 65 and above can qualify for this particular plan, which includes a SIM card, 3-gigabyte of monthly data and unlimited calls to local mobile phone numbers, TPG announced in a statement on Monday (March 19).

The company gave no details as to what charges would be like after free usage in the first two years.

TPG clinched the coveted fourth telco licence in December 2016 after it outmuscled homegrown company MyRepublic with a bid of S$105 million to secure spectrum rights. It is Singapore’s newest mobile network operator, after Singtel, StarHub and M1.

TPG said on Monday that it was “well on track” to begin services on its 4G mobile network in the second half of the year, but did not give specific dates.

The company described its offer targetting elderly Singaporeans as a contribution to Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.

“We have chosen to focus on assisting senior citizens as our first initiative to demonstrate our commitment in improving what is available for the community,” TPG’s executive chairman David Teoh was quoted saying in a statement.

TPG, which was founded in 1986, is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. The company told TODAY earlier that it planned to start offering services to consumers here in early 2018 and to establish a mobile network with nationwide coverage by September this year.