Award of additional 3G spectrum to all 3 Singapore telcos following recent government auction generally a non-event for investors, says Dow Jones.

Telecom shares underperforming most other stocks as players turn to higher-beta names for better risk-reward potential amid current market uptick. SingTel (Z74.SG) off 0.6% at $3.13, Starhub (CC3.SG) flat at $2.60, M1 (B2F.SG) flat at $2.22 (vs STI +0.7%).

"The news is not a major surprise as we had not expected any new bidders to emerge from this process and is in fact positive as the three telcos avoided a bidding warfare and obtained the spectrum at a fairly low cost," says CIMB analyst Kelvin Goh; but flags rising content costs, pressure on fixed broadband revenue, escalating handset subsidies as key concerns for sector.

Telcos will each pay government $20 million for new 3G spectrum.