StarHub is betting on a future that’s more meta than physical, with lots of jargon smoothing the transition from lumpy telco to nimble digital hero. Just don’t count pay-TV among its priorities.  

Singapore enters 2022 on a predictable course, with 5G the darling child at the centre of the action, an abundance of digital sparkle, still in the midst of full-blown third-party streaming enchantment accompanied by the steady drip-drip of pay-TV households going down the drain.

One of the country’s two leading platforms, StarHub, is as happy as you know it, with a shiny new phase in its transformation from lumpy telco into  nimble operator, more meta than physical, with, of course, higher profits. 

In an eloquent presentation towards the end of November, StarHub CEO, Nikhil Eapen, unveiled the next phase of the company’s transformation in a slick amalgam of words and jargon that points in one direction: more services at less cost. With no layoffs, just a concerted effort to redeploy staff.   

Along the way, the 23-year-old communications company plans to shrink its physical presence and its call centre teams and roll out what it clearly hopes will be simple-to-use services that customers can figure out themselves (aka “self-serve zero touch”) without dialling the dreaded hotline. 

StarHub is targeting S$280 million/US$205.7 million in cost savings plus S$220 million/US$161.6 million in gross profit growth cumulatively between FY2022 and FY2026. The first phase of the transformation journey, dubbed Dare 1.0, delivered cost savings of S$270 million/US$198 million. 

The grand aim of the Dare+ strategy, which follows Dare 1.0’s close in October 2021, is to “take StarHub from a telco to a company that connects digital lives for customers”. “Dare+ anchors on doubling down on digital across everything StarHub does, accelerating value creation, realising growth without frontiers, and delivering an endless continuum of experiences that enrich customers’ lives,” StarHub said in the statement that accompanied the Dare+ reveal. 

Among other deliverables, Dare+ relegates yesterday’s jargon – remember quad-play? – to its bin of history, replacing it with an “infinity play” reflecting the endless potential of the digital universe, including streaming entertainment and cloud gaming; and a commitment towards “all-encompassing super-app platforms...with the aim to offer as many services as possible on a self-serve, zero-touch basis”. StarHub’s new infinity also includes an enhanced suite of high-value enterprise solutions, including cybersecurity. 

Eapen described Dare+ as “the next giant step for StarHub in our transformation journey” and said the company was “laser-focused on growth in all areas”. He charted a course for StarHub that goes “beyond telco to becoming a full-on digital life and digital services provider of the most enriching connectivity, entertainment and other lifestyle experiences, as well as innovative business solutions for our customers, with frictionless digital engagement at our core”.  

A lot is riding on StarHub’s latest Dare. The scorecard so far: the share price climbed from S$1.28 on 22 Nov (the day of the Dare+ reveal) to S$1.37 on Monday, 29 Nov. This was pretty much the highest it has been since Eapen arrived in January 2021 and level with this time last year. But the 54% drop over five years says there’s a long way to go yet.

Published in ContentAsia December 2021 magazine