这可能打造出一个足以与市场领导者新电信抗衡的大型竞争对手，并重塑新加坡的电信业格局，尽管分析师警告称，消费者目前所见的激烈价格竞争可能会就此终结。
could forge a large enough rival to market leader Singtel and reshape Singapore’s telecommunications landscape, though analysts warn that consumers could see today’s fierce price competition come to an end.
星和与吉宝周三（9月23日）证实，双方正就潜在交易进行磋商，此前竞争对手Simba收购M1的提议告吹，已过去数月。
StarHub and Keppel confirmed on Wednesday (Sep 23) that they are in talks over a potential deal, months after a proposed acquisition of M1 by rival Simba fell through.
科技业观察家胡银利表示：“如果星和与M1合并，将使星和处于更有利的竞争地位，因为这将大幅扩大其客户群，并带来更多规模经济效益。”
“If StarHub and M1 merge, it would put StarHub in a stronger position to compete as it would enlarge its customer base significantly and offer more economies of scale,” said tech industry observer Oo Gin Lee.
新加坡国立大学商学院战略与政策系讲师徐乐博士表示，根据目前的市场份额数据，这种合并将创造出“新加坡后付费移动和固网宽带市场上最大的供应商”。
Dr Xu Le, a lecturer from the National University of Singapore Business School’s strategy and policy department, said that based on the current market share data, such a merger would create “the largest provider in both the post-paid mobile and fixed broadband markets” here.
南洋理工学院商业管理文凭课程经理潘良成表示：“星和与M1的合并将使两家公司能够共享网络基础设施并减少重叠成本，使合并后的实体成为对抗新电信的更强有力竞争者。”定价压力将缓解？
"A StarHub-M1 merger would allow the two companies to share network infrastructure and reduce overlapping costs, making the combined entity a stronger competitor against Singtel,” said Mr Puar Leong Sing, course manager for Nanyang Polytechnic’s business management diploma. PRICING PRESSURES TO EASE?
分析师表示，如果网络运营商数量从四家减少到三家，新加坡电信市场将变得更加集中，消费者将在价格方面感受到影响。
Analysts said the telco market in Singapore would become more concentrated if the number of network operators were to fall from four to three, with consumers feeling the effect in pricing.
胡银利表示，这将“缓解目前非常残酷的移动订阅竞争价格压力，因为现在少了一家主要电信商”。他说，理论上，竞争减少意味着价格应趋于温和。
It would “ease the competitive price pressure of the very brutal mobile subscription as there is now one less major telco”, said Mr Oo. In theory, less competition should mean that prices should moderate, he said.
潘良成表示：“短期内，竞争减少可能会缓解定价压力，这对消费者未必有利。”
“In the short term, the reduction in competition could ease pricing pressure, which may not be favourable for consumers,” said Mr Puar.
徐乐也指出，随着运营商选择减少，随着竞争压力缓解，消费者可能会看到更少的折扣和促销活动。
Dr Xu also noted that with fewer operators to choose from, consumers could see fewer discounts and promotions as competitive pressure eases.
她表示，由于星和与M1作为老牌运营商将拥有“大幅更大且更集中的市场地位”，星和-M1组合对市场竞争的影响可能比此前涉及Simba的拟议交易更大。
The StarHub-M1 combination would likely have a greater impact on market competition than the previously proposed deal involving Simba, due to the “substantially larger and more concentrated market position” they would hold as established incumbents, she said.
潘先生补充道：“这也将使新加坡电信市场进一步向寡头垄断结构迈进，即少数主导企业控制市场。”面对这种转变的前景，他强调，监管层关注运营商减少是否会导致消费者面临更高价格和更少选择，将变得日益重要。
Mr Puar added: “This would also move Singapore's telecoms market further towards an oligopoly structure, where a small number of dominant players control the market.” Amid the prospect of such a shift, he emphasised that regulatory focus on whether the reduction in operators leads to higher prices and less choice for consumers would become increasingly important.
Simba如何应对 尽管可能出现整合，分析师表示，包括Simba在内的小型运营商仍可能影响行业定价水平，具体取决于它们采取的策略。
HOW SIMBA RESPONDS Despite the potential consolidation, analysts said that smaller players, including Simba, could still impact pricing levels in the sector, depending on the strategies they adopt.
“我不会排除Simba可能采取的行动，因为它是一直在撼动市场的‘异类’，所以我们仍需关注Simba的回应，”胡先生表示。
“I wouldn't rule out what Simba might do as it is the maverick that has been shaking up the market, so we still need to see what Simba's response will be,” said Mr Oo.
他指出，新电信和星和最近的移动用户平均收入（ARPU）均出现下降，目前徘徊在20至22新元之间。相比之下，Simba的ARPU约为9至10新元。
He noted that Singtel and StarHub are both seeing reductions in mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) recently, currently sitting between S$20 and S$22. In contrast, Simba’s ARPU is around S$9 to S$10.
“由于Simba的ARPU不足竞争对手的一半却依然盈利，这表明它已能在更低售价下获利，”胡先生说。自进入本地市场以来，Simba以提供大流量低价套餐著称。
“Because Simba’s ARPU is more than half of the competition and it has still been profitable, it is showing that it can already make money at a lower selling price,” said Mr Oo. Since entering the sector here, Simba is known for its low-cost mobile plans with large data bundles.
“如果达成的是Simba-M1合并而非星和-M1，我认为新Simba将带来更大的竞争压力，”胡先生说。
“If the Simba-M1 merger had taken place instead of StarHub-M1, I feel that the new Simba would add even more competitive pressure,” said Mr Oo.
他补充道，作为新进入者，Simba在短短几年内从零起步实现增长，而另外三家成立时间更长的电信商却见其移动业务利润下滑。
He added that Simba, as the new entrant, has been growing from zero in just a few years, against the three other telcos who have been around for much longer and have been seeing their mobile profits drop.
蒲先生表示，在一个新整合的市场中，如果星和与M1的交易达成，只要小型廉价品牌能轻松进入市场，竞争仍可保持活力。
Mr Puar said that in a newly consolidated market, if the StarHub-M1 deal goes through, competition could still stay alive if smaller budget brands can easily enter the market.
他说：“像CirclesLife这样的小型运营商仍能提供一定程度的价格竞争，但前提是它们继续获得公平使用合并实体网络的权利。”
“Smaller operators such as CirclesLife can still provide a degree of price competition, but only if they continue to receive fair access to the merged entity's network,” he said.
然而，分析师指出了电信公司在价格与长期投资及创新之间的权衡。
Analysts, however, noted the trade-offs between price and longer-term investment and innovation by the telco firms.
欧先生表示：“残酷的竞争不一定有利于整个行业。如果电信商都赚不到钱，可能会拖慢未来创新或影响服务质量。”
“A cut-throat business is not necessarily for the benefit of the industry as a whole. If the telcos all can't make money, then it could slow future innovation or affect quality of service,” said Mr Oo.
蒲先生表示，从长远来看，潜在的星和-M1交易带来的成本协同效应，可释放“大量资金用于再投资下一代网络基础设施和产品创新”。
Mr Puar said that over the longer term, cost synergies from a potential StarHub-M1 deal could unlock “substantial capital to reinvest in future generation network infrastructure and product innovation”.
他说：“消费者最终能否受益，将取决于合并后的公司是将这些节省通过更优惠的价格和服务传递给消费者，还是作为利润保留下来。”
“Whether consumers ultimately benefit will depend on whether the merged company passes those savings on through better pricing and services, or retains them as profit,” he said.