M1 ad on rival SingTel network sparks fears over privacy, ethics

<p>MobileOne Asia (M1), Singapore's second largest telecom company, </p><p>has been ordered to withdraw an advertising message which sounded when </p><p>M1 customers tried to use rival Singapore Telecommunication's (SingTel) </p><p>network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The incident has also raised privacy and ethical issues in the </p><p>advertising sector. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>M1, which launched the ad on November 6, was ordered to withdraw it the </p><p>following day. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The message encouraged users to adopt M1, the country's No.2 mobile </p><p>phone company, by disrupting overseas calls made through SingTel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Since deregulation of the Lion City's telecom sector in April, carriers </p><p>have been caught in a vicious battle to woo customers through insistent </p><p>advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>SingTel corporate communications executive Ivan Tan said, "In Singapore, </p><p>you are free to use a number of international call carriers. If you are </p><p>an M1 customer, you can use M1's service, but you can also use </p><p>SingTel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"When customers of M1 tried using SingTel's service, they would hear a </p><p>message prompting them to use M1's own service, which is 002. To add to </p><p>the confusion, the message would end with 'Thank you for using M1', </p><p>although the customers had used SingTel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"That was not all. The company was delaying the call by inserting the </p><p>message in between the phone call. They were instructed to stop using </p><p>this (ad)." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>SingTel had earlier lodged a complaint with Infocomm Development </p><p>Authority of Singapore. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Meanwhile, the advertising sector has spoken out against the concept, </p><p>which was described as "unacceptable" by Engage CTO and co-founder </p><p>Daniel Jaye. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>BBH chief executive officer Chris Harris said, "It's not advertising, is </p><p>it? Bit low, I would say. It's intrusion into people's privacy and </p><p>inviting stronger regulations than is necessary. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I'm not sure if it's illegal. Certainly, in the UK and the US it </p><p>is. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Straits Times article said M1 had infringed industry regulations, </p><p>but it didn't say if it was actually illegal." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>AdForce executive vice-president of corporate development and marketing </p><p>Dee Cravens added that the advertising industry had to "draw the line </p><p>somewhere" and that advertisers and agencies would have to "change their </p><p>behaviour to adapt to such concerns". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>M1 could not be reached for comment, but the company had reportedly told </p><p>Infocomm that the ad only intended to "inform users of the availability </p><p>to choose whichever network provider they wanted". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Since deregulation, the telecom sector has taken the city's top </p><p>advertising product category, posting 132 per cent growth year-on-year </p><p>to Sdollars 115.9 million in the first nine months, according to figures </p><p>released by ACNielsen. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ACNielsen Singapore/Malaysia managing director Lennart Bengtsson, said </p><p>the three leading players in the telecoms market remained SingTel, </p><p>StarHub and M1. Together, the carriers account for a lion share of </p><p>Sdollars 93.9 million. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>He said, "SingTel, StarHub and M1 not only are the top advertisers in </p><p>telecommunications, but also the top among all advertisers. It is </p><p>evident that they have provided the growth impetus in Singapore's </p><p>advertising industry this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Improvements in the economy and government deregulation in a number of </p><p>other industries have also spurred advertising." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>