OpenNet offers plans to up installation quota

SINGAPORE--OpenNet has proposed plans to increase its weekly quota for activating connections on the national fiber network, in response to a government directive earlier this year amid a string of customer complaints over installation delays.

In a letter filed to Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), the consortium offered two proposals to revise its provision of services. It was appointed as the network company (NetCo) responsible for building the fiber infrastructure of the next-generation national broadband network (NBN).

Under its current service contract, OpenNet is obliged to activate connections for residential and business orders within 3 and 10 business days, respectively. However, it has been unable to cope with the demand and this had led to numerous complaints, with some cases reportedly involving waiting times of 4 to 6 months.

In its latest proposal, OpenNet offered a version of changes where it would fulfil a maximum of 500 orders a day--up from 480 a day. This would work out to 2,500 slots per week, an extra 100 slots from its previous quota of 2,400.

It also tabled an alternative offer of 655 slots per day. However this comes with several conditions such as limiting the number of business orders to 40 per day.

OpenNet's proposals comes a week after the consortium told ZDNet Asia that it was "working with its key subcontractor to implement another increase to its normal delivery capacity". OpenNet had previously increased its delivery capacity from 2,050 to 2,400 connections in August 2011.

The proposals have been put up by the IDA for feedback from the industry.

Lawsuit against government ongoing
OpenNet is currently also in the midst of a lawsuit against the local government in a bid to secure a "quashing order" from the Supreme Court.

A quashing order is part of a judiciary review which is usually sought to nullify a decision or directive made by an authority, and typically initiated when the authority is alleged to have acted outside the scope of its powers.

As the court documents outlining the lawsuit are sealed, the identity of the government agency named in the suit is unknown.