Singapore ISP MyRepublic, Foxtel jump on NBN

Singaporean internet provider MyRepublic and pay TV company Foxtel are eyeing new revenue streams with the national broadband network, with both this week announcing new product offerings on the NBN.

MyRepublic will bring its operations to Australia from November 15, selling plans on the NBN up to the maximum 100/40 Mbps speeds, without data caps. The plans will start from $59.90 per month with a wi-fi enabled modem costing $1. 

Pay TV company Foxtel will sell fibre to the premises (FTTP) plans on the NBN, optimised for streaming video and the company's on-demand programming.

Foxtel will offer bundles with broadband, TV and home phone service, starting from $111 a month for a 24-month contract, with either a 100GB data cap, or unlimited traffic and a wi-fi modem included.

MyRepublic grew out of Singapore's Next Generation National Broadband Network, the island nation's fibre-to-the-premises project.

Founded by staffers Malcolm Rodrigues and KC Lai from Singapore telco StarHub together with Alcatel-Lucent's NBN team lead Greg Mittman, and backed by Indonesian and French investors, MyRepublic started selling 100 Mbps fibre plans in 2011. 

It has since expanded to Indonesia and New Zealand. Across the Tasman, MyRepublic is selling fibre access plans with up to 1 Gbps on New Zealand's Ultra Fast Broadband network.

MyRepublic has also applied to become a mobile operator in Singapore. The company said if the bid succeeds, it will also bring the mobile business to other markets it is active in.