PUBLISHED ONApril 07, 2026 12:10 PMBYSean LerThe Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is investigating a series of network issues that plagued Singtel over a three-day period between March 16 and 18, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo in Parliament on Tuesday (April 7).
Teo was responding to questions from several MPs who asked about the telco's network resilience, system robustness and redundancy, after more than 600,000 of the telco's customers were reportedly affected by the incidents.
Singtel Singapore chief executive Ng Tian Chong had earlier apologised for the incidents, acknowledging that "this should not have happened".
It also announced a "goodwill rebate" to affected customers on their upcoming bill.
Referring to the Telecoms Act, the minister assured MPs that all incidents of service disruptions are taken "seriously" by both the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and IMDA.
"Service providers are required to ensure that service incidents are resolved within one hour, failing which, IMDA may take enforcement actions and impose financial penalties.
"Among other measures, service providers are required to conduct regular audits on key telecom infrastructure for resilience," Teo said.
In December 2025, Singtel was hit with a $1 million fine over a nationwide landline outage that disrupted calls to public institutions and emergency services on October 8, 2024.
The disruption on March 16 affected some 600,000 customers over a nine-hour period.
Teo also told the House that there is presently no evidence to suggest that the incidents were due to cyberattacks.
She added that even as mandatory stress testing is already carried out, ongoing investigations may reveal parts of the system where the performance may not be sufficiently ideal.
"So this will inform our understanding of the extent to which we need to then strengthen the regulations and put in place the right set of obligations and expectations," the minister said.
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