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MyRepublic brands itself as "internet platform", not telco

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Broadband provider MyRepublic has clarified that the reason it was not buying M1 was because it was an “internet platform company” and not a telco. This followed widespread speculation late May that it was seeking financial backing for an M1 acquisition.In a conversation with Marketing, Malcolm Rodrigues (pictured), CEO and co-founder of MyRepublic, said that the company is currently undertaking branding efforts to emphasise that it is a cloud-based internet platform company which looks to transform the telecommunications space.Rodrigues added that the company is also in the midst of concluding its search for agency partners to facilitate the branding process, Marketing confirmed.Addressing why it refers to itself as an “Internet platform company”, Rodrigues explained that aside form broadband services, the company currently specialises in other products and services such as data analytics and monetisation, as well as access infrastructure.Eyeing regional expansionThe company has also unveiled plans for regional expansion and IPO. It hopes to raise SG$100million, around 13.3% of which will go into marketing spend. Currently the company spends about 5% of its total revenue on marketing spend, and has an annualised revenue of SG$110million across the group.About SG$60million of the funds raised will go into its Indonesia expansion, and SG$40million into customer acquisition, which marketing falls under.Meanwhile, it looks to launch an IPO in end-2018, which will also contribution to its Indonesia expansion plans. MyRepublic is currently operating in markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand and aims to expand in Southeast Asian markets. This includes markets such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia, to name a few.The company has also unveiled plans to launch mobile services in Singapore by end of this year, allowing it to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). MyRepublic will achieve this through the wholesale buying of mobile bandwidth from existing telcos in Singapore. This would allow it to join the ranks of Circles.Life, a current player in the MVNO market which operates by leasing bandwidth from M1.MyRepublic started its marketing initiatives in 2015, which saw it hand out 1,000 free SIM cards which will be loaded with unlimited 4G mobile data for a limited period of three months starting from August 2015. In a conversation with Marketing, a spokesperson from MyRepublic said that the SIM card hand-out is primarily a call for public participation.

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