Defining Significant Telecommunication Outages to Hours Disrupted and Consumers Affected and Pursuing Third-Party Damages and Restitution for Disruption on 18 April 2026
Ministry of Digital Development and InformationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the definition of significant telecommunication outages and the pursuit of restitution following a fiber network disruption on 18 April 2026. Mr Fadli Fawzi inquired about the criteria for such outages and whether the Government would seek damages from third parties responsible for damaging the fiber network. Minister for Digital Development and Information Mrs Josephine Teo clarified that the 20-hour disruption affecting 5,000 subscribers was considered significant and was caused by unauthorized subcontractor works. She explained that while the Government enforces regulatory penalties such as fines and imprisonment, the recovery of repair costs and financial losses remains a commercial matter for operators. Finally, the Infocomm Media Development Authority is collaborating with other infrastructure agencies to enhance cable detection technologies and improve industry capabilities to prevent future accidental disruptions.
Transcript
40 Mr Fadli Fawzi asked the Minister for Digital Development and Information (a) how is a significant outage to telecommunication services defined in terms of the number of hours disrupted or consumers affected; (b) whether the current regulatory framework allows the Government to pursue third parties who damage the fibre network; and (c) if so, whether the Government will claim any financial restitutions for the damages caused by the disruption on 18 April 2026.
Mrs Josephine Teo: My response will address the questions filed by Mr Fadli Fawzi and Mr Low Wu Yang Andre in today's Order Paper, as well as the question filed by Ms He Ting Ru for tomorrow's Sitting, as they relate to the same incident. If the Member is satisfied with the response, she may wish to withdraw her question after this session. [Please refer to "Reviewing Adequacy of Path Diversity of Passive Fibre Infrastructure Owners", Official Report, 6 May 2026, Vol 96, Issue 30, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]
On 18 April 2026, a subcontractor conducting boring works along Marymount Road for the North-South Corridor project struck and damaged 25 underground telecommunication cables owned by NetLink Trust and Singtel. This disrupted broadband services to approximately 5,000 subscribers in parts of Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Sengkang and Punggol. Broadband services were progressively restored, with full recovery taking approximately 20 hours. A disruption of this duration and scale is a significant service disruption.
We have rules in place to minimise the risk of telecommunication cable cuts due to construction activity and earthworks. In 2019, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) introduced the Earthworks Requirements for Prevention of Damage to Telecommunication Cables, under the Telecommunications Act. They set out a multi-step process that earthwork contractors must comply with before commencing any earthworks near underground telecommunications cables. Measures include engaging licensed cable detection workers, verifying cable locations through trial holes and obtaining approval from relevant telecommunications operators before commencing earthworks. IMDA conducts regular dialogues with earthworks contractors to ensure that they are aware of these requirements and can take necessary precautions to prevent cable damage.
Contractors that fail to comply with the Earthworks Requirements and damage telecommunications cables face serious penalties. A contractor who damages telecommunications cables is liable, on conviction, to a fine of up to $1 million or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
The Government's role is to raise awareness and introduce safety measures to prevent damage to telecommunication cables. When cable cuts still occur despite the best efforts to prevent them, IMDA will investigate and, where necessary, commence legal proceedings against the errant parties. The recovery of repair costs and losses is a commercial matter for the affected operators to pursue against the responsible parties.
Besides protecting our underground telecommunication cables from accidental cuts, IMDA also requires NetLink Trust to ensure that its network is resilient to outages. This includes investing in projects through a dedicated Capital Expenditure Reserve Fund, to enhance the capacity and resilience of its network. NetLink Trust has built in redundancy and path diversity in its cable routes, especially near its network core. However, nearer to homes, underground space constraints in a densely built-up city do not allow for the same degree of route duplication. Should service disruptions still occur, the Telecom Service Resiliency Code requires telecommunications operators to recover their services as quickly as possible.
Finally, we recognise the need to do more to prevent such incidents in future. IMDA is working with the Ministry of National Development and relevant infrastructure agencies to improve processes, raise the industry's capabilities and promote the adoption of advanced non-invasive technologies to detect and avoid damaging underground cables.