SingTel gets record fine after mobile phone glitch

SINGAPORE  Reuters: Singapore's telecom regulator on Wednesday imposed a S$400,000 ($313,300) fine on Singapore Telecommunications' mobile phone unit, the largest-ever financial penalty handed out to a telecom firm in the city-state.

On Sept 6 and 7 last year, some SingTel Mobile Singapore Pte Ltd (STM) subcribers in the central region encountered difficulties making and receiving calls as well as receiving data over the firm's 3G network.

Investigations by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) found that the disruption, which affected more than 5 percent of STM's base stations, was caused by a software glitch in the new switches that were being installed. "IDA deemed that STM's efforts to identify the fault and restore the affected services expeditiously were not satisfactory," the regulator said in a statement.

"STM could have potentially shortened the duration of the service disruption," IDA added. ($1 = 1.2769 Singapore dollars)