NLT fibre broadband: Unlocking the RAB model in telecom

• Main Authors: MISRA, Archan, BHATTACHARYA, Lipika, JOSEPH, Flocy
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Risk Management; Growth Strategy; Telecom; Fibre Broadband; Regulatory Asset Model; Communication Technology and New Media
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/406; https://smu.sharepoint.com/sites/admin/CMP/cases/SMU-21-BATCH%20%5BPDF-Pic%5D/SMU-21-0040%20%5BNetlink%5D/SMU-21-0040%20%5BNetlink%5D.pdf?CT=1645494252148&OR=ItemsView
• Institution: Singapore Management University

It was April 2021, and Widjaja Suki, Director of Business Development at NetLink Trust (NLT), was contemplating on his firm’s future growth and revenue prospects. NLT was the sole broadband fibre infrastructure provider in Singapore for the residential segment, and had played a key role in the country’s Smart Nation initiative towards a digitally-led economy. The firm had relied on a regulatory asset base (RAB) funding model to finance its infrastructure, operations and services. However, it faced stiff competition in the non-residential segment, where telecom players with their own fibre were able to provide broadband services. As of 2020, NLT held an overwhelmingly dominant 91% share of the residential segment, but a far lower 35% share of the non-residential segment. While NLT was the only approved player for the residential market, its share in the segment was not 100%, as some of the residential customers from economically weaker sections had yet not availed broadband services. With limited growth prospects in residential and other segments, what growth strategies could NLT adopt in the coming years? How could the firm expand its business to drive more revenue? Was the RAB framework effective in delivering long-term sustainability for the firm? The case allows students to deliberate on (1) digital infrastructure and connectivity needs of growing economies (in this case Singapore), and the significance of government strategies and regulations in achieving infrastructure goals, (2) broadband infrastructure policies implemented by governments to manage competition and provide affordable services to consumers (3) advantages of the RAB model in the infrastructure sector (4) and the growth strategies implemented by infrastructure companies in the telecom sector.