A $1.5 billion telecommunications expansion in Singapore backed by billionaire David Teoh has been put on hold after the project ran into problems with the regulator, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Teoh, who built TPG Telecom into Australia's second-largest mobile operator before his exit from the company's board, is the driving force behind the Singapore venture. The plan called for more than $1.5 billion in investment to build out a new telco business in the city-state.

The expansion is now effectively frozen. According to the report, unresolved issues with Singapore's telecommunications regulator have blocked progress, leaving the investment program in limbo until the company and the authorities reach an accommodation.

The setback marks a significant pause in one of the largest private telecom investments attempted in Singapore in recent years. A buildout of this scale — spanning network infrastructure, spectrum commitments and operating costs — depends on regulatory approvals at multiple stages, and any delay in those approvals pushes back the deployment timeline and the point at which the network can begin generating revenue.

Teoh has a track record of taking on incumbent operators. In Australia, TPG's entry into the mobile market — initially through a low-cost network strategy and later via the merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia — reshaped the competitive dynamics of a market long dominated by Telstra and Optus. The Singapore project was positioned as an attempt to repeat that challenger playbook in another compact, high-density Asian market.

Singapore's telecom sector is regulated by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), which oversees spectrum allocation, facility-based operator licences and infrastructure deployment rules. Entrants must satisfy the regulator on network rollout obligations, coverage commitments and compliance with national infrastructure requirements before large-scale deployment can proceed. Disputes or delays at this stage are not unusual for new facility-based entrants, and they typically translate directly into deferred capital expenditure.

For now, no revised timeline for the rollout has been confirmed. The $1.5 billion program remains contingent on resolving the outstanding regulatory issues, and the venture's next steps — whether a resumption of the build or a renegotiation of its commitments — will depend on the outcome of discussions with the regulator.