SingTel’s regional restructure

Nicole McCormick, Ovum senior analyst, Telco Strategy

SINGAPORE: SingTel’s regional restructure is indeed a “bold” but necessary move. The group divisional split between consumers and enterprise segments makes sense and the Group Digital L!fe unit will need to devise clever bundles and add-ons that take the OTT players head-on.

Regional strategies in these three areas make much more sense than piecemeal efforts scattered across country markets. This is a direct attempt by SingTel to “disrupt adjacent” verticals and the other-the-top players by leveraging its regional footprint to maximize the impact of its OTT initiatives.

But pan-group management across such a large and diverse portfolio will not be an easy task, and execution will be challenging. Country differences will need to be taken into account, and SingTel must successfully integrate its new regional strategy with its country strategies. SingTel’s minority stake in many of its subsidiaries will complicate this. Mobile advertising will also be a slow game.

However, by and large, we welcome the move to streamline and integrate the group. This signals SingTel’s willingness to `change with the times’ in this difficult era for operators.