SINGAPORE - The Republic's fourth telco TPG Telecom launched commercial services on Tuesday (March 31), unveiling a SIM-only plan that at $10 monthly for 50GB of data is the cheapest in the market currently.

The plan comes with 300 local call minutes, 30 local SMS and from May, free 1GB roaming to selected countries.

TPG Singapore's acting chief executive Richard Tan said the plan is targeted at consumers such as parents buying a first SIM card for their children, users who use a second or third smartphone device, and foreign workers.

Further offerings can be expected in the second quarter of the year, he added, although he did not provide any details.

"What we want today is just to come out with a simple and easy to understand plan that provides the best value for customers," Mr Tan said.

"There will be more and more devices that require always-on connections, and that's where we see the opportunity for Singapore customers to try out our services for the additional devices they have."

The launch of its commercial plan means that consumers will no longer be able to sign-up for TPG's free-trial plan, which launched in December 2018 and has attracted more than 400,000 subscriptions.

For existing users, the trial plan will be allowed to run its course, after which they can choose to convert to the new $10 plan or not. All users will be able to port their mobile numbers over to the new plan.

Tests run by The Straits Times in January of the four telcos' networks revealed TPG's lack of 4G coverage in underground MRT tunnels and platforms.

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TPG has until January 2022 to meet the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) service coverage standard for MRT tunnels.

Asked if any progress has been made in TPG's network coverage leading up to the commercial launch, Mr Tan said: "Coverage in the rail tunnels is progressing well and coming up system by system. We are definitely on track to meet IMDA's target by December 2021."

The build-up to a 2020 commercial launch for TPG started last October, when it reduced the duration of its free trial from 12 months to six months.

It also opened its first physical store in December in Orchard Central.

TPG, which won its 4G license here in December 2016, submitted a solo bid last month for at least one of four 5G licenses up for grabs.