M1's roaming revenue slumps as subscribers switch to OTT services

It has dropped to as much as $7m.

Subscribers wanting to make overseas calls now rely on Over-the-top players, leading to the decline in roaming revenue for Singapore telco giant M1.

According to DBS Vickers Securities, M1's roaming revenue, which accounts for about 10% of its mobile yields, has continuously declined on a QoQ basis over the past eight quarters, with revenues dropping to as much as $7m, around 31%, over this two-year period.

With this, the research house anticipate roaming revenue to decline further albeit at a slower rate.

"Introduction of data passport plans by M1 in 2015, whereby customers can use their local data bundles when overseas by paying a monthly subscription fee of $10 ($50 in Europe) has had little impact on roaming revenues, indicating that the decline is likely to take time to stabilise," it said.