Singtel offers rebates and free data after string of disruptions from March 16 to 18

SINGAPORE – Singtel and its sub-brand Gomo are offering $5 to $10 “goodwill rebates”, as well as 50 gigabytes (GB) of data, to customers after a series of service disruptions in mid-March.

In messages sent to customers on the $5 to $10 rebates around midday on March 31, the telco said: “We’re truly sorry for the recent network issues that you faced.”

The rebates, which Singtel called a “small gesture”, will be reflected on customers’ bills within the next one to two billing cycles without them having to take any action.

“We will continue to enhance our network and strengthen its resilience. Thank you for your understanding,” it added.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a Singtel spokesman later said that all prepaid customers will also be given 50GB of data. Customers will be informed of this from April 2 to April 7, and this will be reflected in their next bill.

He said the rebates are assessed based on the customers’ services with the telco.

“This is part of our ongoing efforts to support and reconnect with our customers,” the spokesman said, adding that the company deeply regrets the recent incidents and has applied additional network enhancements to improve resilience.

He also said Singtel customers will receive SMS notifications only from official Singtel channels, and it will not request for any personal or banking details.

Singtel’s outage on March 16 affected about 600,000 customers and was caused by a mechanical fault at one of its network facilities.

Separately, about 2,000 customers experienced mobile connectivity problems on March 17 because of a software bug from a planned IT system upgrade.

On March 18, an undisclosed number of customers experienced connectivity issues after the telco experienced a brief spike in network traffic while carrying out network reconfigurations to further stabilise and optimise network performance following the earlier disruptions.

The outages had disrupted essential services in Singapore, with many Singtel users facing issues for services such as payments, ride hailing and food delivery during the affected days.

Sector regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is investigating the mobile network disruptions between March 16 and 18, and it previously said it would take firm action against Singtel should any lapses be identified.

Private banker Kelvin Tan, who was on a family holiday in Hokkaido, Japan, had paid $35 for Singtel’s 14-day data roaming plan. As a result of the disruption, he had to buy another local SIM card in Japan, which cost him about $20.

“The least they can do is to offer a full refund of all data roaming plans purchased (for) that period,” said Mr Tan.

Singtel’s last major mobile service outage was in November 2025 for about six hours, during which customers could not make phone calls and had to tap public Wi-Fi networks.

In October 2024, an unprecedented islandwide disruption involving Singtel’s telecommunications network saw the hotlines of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the police, as well as those of hospitals and banks, made unreachable.

The telco was fined $1 million for the incident, which affected about 500,000 users for more than four hours.