When in Singapore, getting utilities in place is not tough. Cable TV can be safely called a utility in current times. In Singapore, it is provided by private service providers like Starhub and SingTel. They are easy to install, efficient and offer a wide choice and variety. Media Corp TV, which is indirectly owned by the government (sovereign fund Temasek Holdings owns it), runs the free-to-air channels.
Explains, Philemon Foo of StarHub, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, “StarHub has Hubbing packages, which bundle mobile, pay TV and broadband services in a single plan. For a flat monthly fee, HomeHub Go plans come with five essential StarHub services, namely, 7GB mobile plan, fibre broadband, fibre TV, mobile broadband and a home phone line. Alternatively, users can get mobile, pay TV, and broadband services on an a la carte basis.”
Travellers on short-term trips can consider the StarHub Happy Tourist Pack.” Philemon adds.
Indians going to live in the island country would not miss their favourite TV shows or movies, as many Indian regional channels are available in the country. The best packages for Indian channels are all available with a wide variety in StarHub. In fact, the top cable operator of Singapore has a Manoranjan pack offering top Hindi channels. MediaCorp has free-to-air channels which also includes a Tamil channel called Vasantham.
SingTel offer pay channels over a broadband connections. Since cable connections are offered by Internet service providers, some of them also choose combo packs with the same service provider.
“I have three televisions and as many cable connections. My mother like to watch Indian channels so we had to subscribe them for her. The biggest TV has all the sports channels that I like to watch regularly and the rest is for the children,” informs Savita Kumari who moves to Singapore six years back.
It’s all digital
The digitization drive of Singapore is almost complete as very few percent of the population watch Analogue TV without a set-top box. The process of getting a cable connection is also easy in the country where the connections are installed within 24 hours. “In fact, I never even had to go through the process of installation. My landlord had a connection already which I continued after getting a transfer. The service is also very good and I did not see the need to ever file a complaint about it,” says Rajan K, who lives with his family in the country.
TV on the net
Indians in Singapore also enjoy the excellent Internet speeds provided in the country. The cheapest of internet connections offer 10 mbps speed which augurs well with online video. However, Indians used to downloading movies and shows over the Internet might come across strictly enforced laws and stringent blocking of sites that offer Torrentz.
Live streaming of Indian applications and services that offer television online are also restricted in the country. A very popular app in the same genre Hotstar is blocked in Singapore. However, the streaming app Ditto TV from the Zee stable is available in the country for those who prefer to watch Indian TV shows on the go.
“It is a pleasure to watch live TV over the internet in Singapore. The internet connection speed at my friend’s place is over 100 mbps and there is absolutely no break or block in viewing it. We watch many cricket matches live at his place and it is very convenient,” says Rajan.
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