Singapore telecom stocks lower, weighed by prospect of intensified competition, says Dow Jones.

Country’s telecom regulator IDA will auction 3G spectrum lots on Nov. 15, potentially paving way for new entrant in mobile telephony market. Reserve price for each lot is $20 million, with 3 lots up for grabs.

“We question the rationale of a fresh auction as the additional spectrum could otherwise be more equitably distributed among the existing operators to meet the rising 3G data uptake,” says DMG; “moreover, Singapore’s telecoms market is saturated with mobile penetration at 140%.”

SingTel (Z74.SG) off 0.3% at $3.10, Starhub (CC3.SG) off 2.8% at $2.42, M1 (B2F.SG) off 0.9% at $2.24. Upcoming auction follows recent commercial roll-out of Singapore’s high-speed national broadband network, prompting all 3 telcos to launch new offerings as competition in broadband space heats up.