Circles.Life parent firm sues M1 over allegedly failed virtual telco negotiations
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 14 Oct 2025
Author: Irene Tham
Liberty Wireless has commenced a High Court action against M1 over their contract dated May 22, 2019.
Circles.Life has started legal proceedings against M1 over their virtual mobile telco arrangement, amid the proposed sale of M1 to Simba Telecom.
In a filing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Oct 13, M1 owner Keppel said Liberty Wireless, the parent company of Circles.Life, had commenced a High Court action against M1 over their contract dated May 22, 2019.
Liberty Wireless alleges that M1 had wrongfully refused to enter into good faith negotiations to amend or vary the 2019 contract “to the extent reasonably necessary or appropriate” to address the implications of the Framework for the Wholesale of Mobile Services issued by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in January 2020.
Liberty Wireless is seeking a declaration that M1 is obliged to enter into such negotiations, and an order that M1 enter into the negotiations within 14 days.
Liberty Wireless also alleges that the 2019 contract may contain an error, and/or a mistake. If necessary, it would seek to rectify the 2019 contract. No details about the error were provided.
In its SGX filing, Keppel said: “M1 has instructed counsel and does not find the allegations meritorious, and intends to vigorously defend its position at the appropriate forum.”
When contacted, a spokeswoman for Circles.Life said: “As the matter is currently before the courts, we are unable to provide further comment. We want to reassure our customers and partners that this will not affect our day-to-day operations.”
Circles.Life is a virtual telco, or a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), which is a company that provides mobile services without owning its own physical network infrastructure.
MVNOs do this by leasing capacity on a wholesale basis from traditional host telcos such as M1, StarHub, Singtel or Simba Telecom.
In January 2020, IMDA put out the Framework for the Wholesale of Mobile Services to govern such wholesale contracts to ensure that host telcos do not participate in unfair practices.
According to the framework, host telcos and MVNOs should provide one another with a six-month notification period for unilateral termination or suspension of a wholesale contract. Exceptions include default in payment, breach of contract, or activities that are likely to create imminent physical harm to the host telco.
The framework states that a reasonable notification period should still be provided for unilateral termination or suspension under exceptional circumstances.
Host telcos are also prohibited from imposing unreasonable, discriminatory traffic management practices, among other conditions outlined in the IMDA framework.
An August analyst report by DBS Bank stated that Circles.Life is the single largest virtual telco on M1’s network, contributing up to 80 per cent of M1’s net profit, and between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of M1’s service revenue.
M1 has 2.29 million mobile subscribers. Circles.Life’s subscriber numbers have not been disclosed.
On Aug 11, Keppel said it would be selling the telecommunications business of its subsidiary M1 to rival Simba Telecom for $1.43 billion, in what is the first telco consolidation in Singapore’s history.
Keppel also said in its filing on SGX on Oct 13 that it does not expect the outcome of the legal proceedings to adversely affect or delay the completion of M1’s sale to Simba Telecom.
The proposed deal is before IMDA for approval. In their submissions to IMDA, both Simba and M1 had committed to retain current prices for existing mobile subscribers for at least two years after their proposed consolidation is completed.
M1 had also undertaken to honour all existing commitments and contracts. For instance, current subscribers of M1’s MVNOs will also not be affected.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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