Phone users in Singapore can finally say no to annoying spam SMSes or phone calls by adding their phone numbers to a much-awaited do-not-call registry from January 2, 2014.

When it swings into action, telemarketing companies will have to check against the registry to ensure that they do not call, SMS or fax people who have opted out of marketing messages.
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There’s a rather unhelpful argument going on right now in Singapore, and it seems to be between new and old media.

On one side are professional journalists whose credibility depends on the stories they deliver daily. On the other, social commentators who run independent blogs, watching over the mainstream media for mistakes and highlighting them whenever one is spotted.

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Users will spend US$65 billion on e-books, games and other content on their smartphones and tablets by 2016, up from this year’s US$40 billion, according to a research report released today.

The upsurge, according to Juniper Research, will be fueled by tablet users buying games, videos and e-books on their mobile devices, along with easier direct payment methods offered on smartphones by telecom operators. …

Some of the grumbling from SingTel in the past two days has been rather astonishing.

Right after being told to share its Barclays Premier League screenings with StarHub, it threatened to raise prices for football fans next season. It took things further yesterday, saying it might not be bidding for World Cup rights in 2014.

To which football fans should say “thank you”. Let someone else bid lower so viewers don’t have to pay so much. …

(credit: Ronnie Macdonald, Creative Commons)

Singapore’s football fans will be relieved the ref has got a crucial decision right on Wednesday evening.

Ignoring SingTel’s pleas of innocence, the country’s media regulator clearly told the team in red to show the next three seasons of the Barclays Premier League on rival services, such as StarHub’s cable TV, starting in August.

In a landmark ruling, it essentially laid out how it will deal with pay-TV operators that have somehow found a loophole in its efforts to open up the market and rid it of ruinous exclusive content contracts that have killed consumer choice for years.
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HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones is set to light up Asian screens on April 20, as the show returns for its third season just 20 days after its US premiere.

This 20-day window is remarkably short when you consider the fact that it took HBO more than 4 months to bring the first season of the show to Singapore back in 2011. …

There’s a new screen protector from Singapore that not only saves your phone from scratches but turns the screen into a 3D display capable of showing images and videos that pop out at you.

Called EyeFly 3D, the plastic film promises to turn any smartphone into a 3D display, once it is carefully pasted on the screen. Though it looks no different from regular S$5 screen protectors, the film is actually fitted with half a million tiny lenses that let you view 3D video content, say, from YouTube. …

(source: StarHub)

StarHub is using Singapore’s fibre network to deliver its pay-TV services to offices, restaurants and pubs from March 18, as it seeks to cut down on current terrestrial broadcasts to such business customers. …

(credit: Ronnie Macdonald, Creative Commons)

Being a referee is never easy.

In the latest wrangle between SingTel and StarHub for English Premier League TV rights, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has found itself exactly in that tight spot.

But unlike a match where at least one set of fans will be pleased, a bad call by the officials here will have serious impact beyond just football rights. It will drastically drag back Singapore’s pay-TV industry, just as it is showing signs of opening up. …