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| Thousands of users reported Singtel and Gomo outages on March 16 in Singapore. 4G and 5G services were down for over 8 hours, affecting payments and digital services. |
Thousands of Singtel customers reported network service issues on Sunday morning, March 16, 2026. Reports surged on the outage monitoring website Downdetector, which tracks status updates from multiple sources, starting around 10:30 a.m.
Downdetector recorded more than 5,800 outage reports by 10:59 a.m. Most users complained that they could not access mobile services for calls, messages, or internet browsing.
The disruption affected not only Singtel users but also Gomo, a SIM-only provider that runs on Singtel’s 5G network.
Singtel Acknowledges The Outage And Investigates
In a social media post at 11:12 a.m., Singtel confirmed awareness of the network issues and said an investigation was underway.
The company advised customers to try restarting their devices as a temporary workaround to restore service.
“We are aware of the network disruption and are investigating the issue. In the meantime, please turn off your device and turn it back on,” Singtel said.
Gomo issued a similar notice at 11:36 a.m., giving the same guidance to its users.
However, some users reported that restarting their devices did not resolve the problem.
Outage Lasted More Than Eight Hours
The network disruption lasted for several hours, affecting users across Singapore. Full service was restored after more than eight hours from the first reports.
At around 7 p.m., Singtel confirmed that 4G and 5G services had returned to normal.
“We would like to update that 4G and 5G mobile services have been restored. We apologize for the inconvenience caused,” the company posted.
The exact cause of the outage remains unknown. Singtel emphasized that there is no evidence linking the disruption to a cyberattack.
Payment And App Services Also Disrupted
The network outage also affected critical services in Singapore.
Payment provider NETS stated that Singtel’s connectivity issues could impact transactions at payment terminals and QR code payments.
“We have been notified by Singtel of ongoing mobile connectivity issues. This may affect some NETS transactions,” NETS wrote on social media.
In addition to payment systems, gig economy apps such as ride-hailing and food delivery services were disrupted.
Gig Workers Lost Income
Some gig workers reported income losses due to the outage.
Delivery driver Suhada Abdullah (51) said she could not connect to her app when starting her shift at 11 a.m. Connection was restored around 3 p.m., causing her to lose several hours of potential earnings.
“My income could drop by about 40 percent today,” she said. Normally, she earns around SGD 100 during a 10-hour shift.
Telecom Regulator To Investigate
Singapore’s digital regulator, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), confirmed awareness of the network disruption and plans to investigate.
IMDA emphasized that any telecom service disruption affecting the public is taken seriously.
Downdetector’s live tracker showed 827 outage reports around 10:30 a.m., peaking at over 5,300 reports at 11:04 a.m. The number of reports gradually declined to around 1,276 by 1 p.m., and roughly 450 by 3:20 p.m.
This incident marks one of the largest mobile network disruptions in Singapore in recent years.
