Mr Manjot Singh Mann was watching Crazy Rich Asians at Great World City’s Golden Village cinema five years ago when a rival telecommunications company’s on-screen advertisement centred on fastest connectivity speeds made him turn to his wife with a groan: When will telcos think of something more creative than claiming the fastest network speeds?

Having earned his marketing spurs selling to giant markets such as India and Indonesia, not to speak of immigrant communities in Europe to whom matters such as price were often the most critical factor, the chief executive of M1 saw no sense in yet another race to the bottom.