Cogent Communications

Connectivity decisions in Singapore hinge on licensing, route diversity, and contractual SLAs far more than headline speeds. Use this checklist to separate a resilient carrier partner from a thin reseller before you commit to a 24-36 month term.

How to evaluate a telecommunications / connectivity provider in Singapore

• Confirm the IMDA licence class behind the service: an FBO owns fibre, spectrum, and exchanges, while an SBO resells that capacity — for low-latency, mission-critical links, ask which underlying carrier actually delivers the circuit.
• Pin down the SLA in writing — committed uptime, latency, jitter, packet loss, and a named MTTR with a credit schedule — and reject any "best effort" language for business-grade lines.
• Ask for route and carrier diversity: verify that primary and backup paths use physically separate ducts and ideally separate carriers, not two lanes in the same conduit.
• Lock down installation lead times and require a site survey upfront — fibre installs can run 4-12 weeks — and negotiate 30-day dual-running of old and new services to avoid a hard-cutover outage.
• Read the termination and exit terms before signing: early-termination charges, notice periods, IMDA-mandated number portability for any fixed-line or mobile numbers, and who owns the on-site equipment at the end.
• Map data sovereignty for voice: ask where call recordings and CDR/metadata are stored and processed, and require PDPA-compliant cross-border clauses if any of it leaves Singapore.

Verify for Cogent Communications

• Confirm key details directly with the vendor — this listing isn't vendor-managed yet.
• Ask for two recent Singapore client references you can speak with.
• Ask for a written scope of services before comparing quotes.
• Request evidence of relevant certifications and their current validity.

Questions to ask

• What committed uptime, latency, jitter, packet loss, and MTTR are in the SLA, and what credits apply when you miss them?
• Are the primary and backup routes physically diverse, and which underlying FBO carries each path?
• What are the full early-termination charges, notice period, and number-porting process if we leave?
• What is the realistic installation lead time after a site survey, and can you guarantee dual-running during cutover?

Prepared under the TechDirectory editorial byline with review credit June C; this label is not proof of identity, credentials, or a completed human review. This directory-authored checklist is not attributed to Cogent Communications; editorial independence has not been independently audited. Editorial standards