Having a fourth telco in Singapore would do consumers good ("Hefty discount on airwaves to woo 4th telco"; July 8).

At present, due to restricted competition, telcos in Singapore seem to have a free hand, especially in terms of charges, to do whatever they wish.

Singtel, for instance, does not allow users who no longer need to use a number frequently to convert from a post-paid to a pre-paid line.

However, users can easily and readily convert from pre-paid to post-paid. This is an unfair practice for consumers.

Whenever customers activate any services, they are immediately charged on the day of activation.

However, when I recently activated a suspended number, I was told that I would have to wait two to three months in order to enjoy the bundle discount from the many subscriptions my family have with Singtel.

This does not make sense.

Singtel also recently doubled the cost of suspending a number.

To increase a fee by 100 per cent when inflation in Singapore was only 1 per cent last year and is expected to remain the same this year is unacceptable.

This is especially so as no labour cost is incurred for a number to be suspended.

With more competition, telcos here will think twice about what they charge customers.

Neo Seok Kian (Ms)