What should I check before I pay a deposit on a place?

Run the ISP's TP availability or address check against the exact unit number, because the block address alone tells you nothing and the port situation is per-unit. Ask the agent in writing whether there is a live TP, who the current broadband subscriber is, and whether they will terminate before handover. Photograph the TP box and any ONT on viewing day, and budget for a mobile hotspot for your first week.

The ONT light is red in my new condo. Should I change provider?

No. A red light on the ONT usually means the building-side fibre is not live yet rather than that your kit is faulty, and in new condos NetLink can be live all the way to the MDF while the developer or MCST has not finished the in-building segment. Hopping between retailers achieves nothing, because none of them own that cable. The pressure belongs on the MCST or the developer.

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Fibre TP and NetLink delays for Singapore renters

If both fibre TP ports are taken, a past occupant's service is often still holding one. Check the unit before signing, and know when a second TP helps.

Arriving5 min readReviewed 15 Sep 2026Updated 20 Sep 2026

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Move-in broadband threads on r/askSingapore nearly all end the same way. You signed the LOI, booked the fibre install for day three, and then the ISP portal tells you both ports on the Fibre Termination Point are already in use. Switching from Singtel to StarHub to MyRepublic won't conjure up a free port. The bottleneck is almost never the retailer you picked; it's NetLink Trust's infrastructure plus a subscription the previous occupant never released.

The words that get your ticket taken seriously

Support staff treat you differently once you use their vocabulary, so learn these four before you call.

Term	What it means for a renter
Fibre Termination Point (TP / FTP)	The wall box where NetLink's fibre ends inside your unit. Typically two ports, and that is the entire supply
Unreleased Fibre Issue	A port still linked to a former owner or tenant after they've left. The IMDA process requires your ISP to request the release; NetLink won't act on a ticket you raise on your own
Second / additional TP	A paid install of another termination point, for when both ports stay occupied or the unit never had fibre-ready COPIF cabling
ONT + router	The ISP-owned gear that plugs into a free TP port. A red light on the ONT usually means the building-side fibre isn't live yet, not that your kit is faulty

Cheap insurance before you sign the LOI

Run the ISP's TP availability or address check against the exact unit number before you pay a deposit. The block address alone tells you nothing useful, because the port situation is per-unit. Then ask the agent in writing: is there a live TP, who is the current broadband subscriber, and will they terminate before handover? Ask in writing because you may need to prove later that you asked.

On viewing day, photograph the TP box and any ONT parked next to it. If there's no box at all, which happens in older walk-ups, that's a different and considerably slower problem, and you want to discover it before you commit. Whatever the answers, budget for a mobile hotspot for your first week. Banks, HR onboarding and your first Monday of working from home don't wait for NetLink.

The forum consensus runs through every thread on this: ports in use, an old property with no FTP, a new condo stuck in the NetLink backend. Read "fibre ready" as the building can have fibre, not as your unit's port will be free on Monday.

Unreleased fibre: the month nobody warns you about

When the previous occupant cancels, the industry process often keeps the port unavailable for roughly one month, and then a few more working days pass before the address check flips to free. Only the ISP of the service occupying the port can drive that release, going through NetLink. You cannot cold-call NetLink with your passport and your tenancy agreement and get anywhere, which is where a lot of frustrated evenings disappear.

So work around it instead.

Move	When it helps
Ask the agent to chase the outgoing tenant's termination confirmation date	You can book the install after the release window rather than before it
Take over or transfer the existing plan, if the ISP allows it	Skips the wait for a free port entirely, though check the account name against your FIN
Pay for a second TP	Both ports are stuck, or you need service before the release lands. Landlord permission needed for the trunking
Escalate from ISP to NetLink to IMDA when providers bounce the blame	Rare, and only worth trying once you have ticket numbers documented

No TP, dead signal, or a new build

Older flats built to pre-2013 COPIF rules may need a chargeable NetLink TP install with surface trunking. The published tariff examples, effective 1 Apr 2024, are roughly S$182 w/GST for high-rise and S$334 w/GST for landed, for a standard install without a retail subscription. Confirm the live figures on NetLink's tariff PDF before you sign, not after.

Your landlord has to approve any drilling or trunking, particularly on common corridors. Agents who go quiet on that question once your deposit has cleared are a renting-process problem rather than a NetLink one, and they get handled differently.

New condos have their own version of this. NetLink can be live all the way to the MDF while the developer or MCST hasn't finished the in-building segment. Hopping between retailers achieves nothing here, because none of them own that cable. The pressure belongs on the MCST or the developer.

If the installer arrives and finds no light on the TP, get a written memo saying the fault is outside the unit. That memo is what lets you chase the HDB Branch Service Centre, the MCST or NetLink through your ISP. Without it you get the BTO-style round of finger-pointing that surfaces on the forums every few weeks.

The renter playbook

Day −7 to keys: run the address check and get the TP status from the agent in writing
Keys day: photograph the TP, open the ISP order, and ask explicitly whether this is an Unreleased Fibre case
If you're blocked: hotspot, put the release date in your calendar, and decide between transferring the plan and paying for a second TP, with the landlord's email already on file
Install day: an adult on site, the wall clear, and nobody touches the anti-tamper seal
On exit: terminate your own broadband early enough that the next tenant isn't stuck behind your unreleased port

This slots into the wider utilities and telecom sequence, which runs SIM, then Singpass, then SP, then fibre. Fibre sits at step five for good reasons, but the TP check belongs before the LOI, not after the sofa arrives.

One family note. If both of you work from home, boring fibre uptime is what makes an HFMD exclusion week or a sports-day half-day survivable. Check the ONT lights and your ISP's app for outage status before you blame the preschool WhatsApp group.

Questions, answered

Both TP ports are in use. Will switching to another ISP fix it?: No. Switching from Singtel to StarHub to MyRepublic will not conjure up a free port, because the bottleneck is NetLink Trust's infrastructure plus a subscription the previous occupant never released. The Fibre Termination Point typically has two ports, and that is the entire supply to your unit.
How long does an unreleased fibre port take to free up?: When the previous occupant cancels, the process often keeps the port unavailable for roughly one month, and then a few more working days pass before the address check flips to free. Only the ISP of the service occupying the port can drive that release through NetLink, so you cannot cold-call NetLink with your passport and your tenancy agreement and get anywhere.
What does a second fibre TP cost, and do I need the landlord's permission?: The published tariff examples, effective 1 Apr 2024, are roughly S$182 with GST for high-rise and S$334 with GST for landed, for a standard install without a retail subscription. Confirm the live figures on NetLink's tariff PDF before you sign, not after. Your landlord has to approve any drilling or trunking, particularly on common corridors.
What should I check before I pay a deposit on a place?: Run the ISP's TP availability or address check against the exact unit number, because the block address alone tells you nothing and the port situation is per-unit. Ask the agent in writing whether there is a live TP, who the current broadband subscriber is, and whether they will terminate before handover. Photograph the TP box and any ONT on viewing day, and budget for a mobile hotspot for your first week.
The ONT light is red in my new condo. Should I change provider?: No. A red light on the ONT usually means the building-side fibre is not live yet rather than that your kit is faulty, and in new condos NetLink can be live all the way to the MDF while the developer or MCST has not finished the in-building segment. Hopping between retailers achieves nothing, because none of them own that cable. The pressure belongs on the MCST or the developer.
The installer came and found no signal. What now?: Get a written memo saying the fault is outside the unit. That memo is what lets you chase the HDB Branch Service Centre, the MCST or NetLink through your ISP. Without it you get the round of finger-pointing that surfaces on the forums every few weeks.

Sources & citations

Admin and policy details change. Prefer the official page when making decisions; we cite primary sources for Singapore government and statutory guidance.

ServiceTelco & utilities setup (category guide)