SingTel cuts iPhone price plans

Move comes before rivals offer handset

SINGAPORE Telecommunications, South-east Asia's largest phone company, slashed some subscription plans for Apple's iPhone by half to lure users before rivals start offering the phone, Bloomberg news reported on Friday.

Subscription prices on the so-called monthly iFlexi plans will be cut by 50 per cent for three months, according to an announcement on SingTel's website.

Customers who buy the iPhone are required to sign up for a two-year contract, with plans ranging from $56 to $205 a month, according to the website.

SingTel faces increasing competition to sell the touch- screen iPhone in the city-state.

Rivals StarHub and MobileOne have said they intend offering the handset in Singapore by the end of the year.

SingTel started selling the handsets at midnight on Aug 22, when about 1,000 people queued up outside its main office to buy the iPhone.

SingTel said on Sept 12 that it had sold 'tens of thousands' of the iPhone, making it one of its 'fastest selling handsets ever'.

Copyright © 2008 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co.