by Background
Though most parents would like their kids to spend less time on screens, it is unavoidable to give a mobile phone to secondary school kids. They use it for WhatsApp group discussions related to school activities and to communicate with teachers. Parents also wanted to contact their kids in case of emergencies and keep track of delays in their school schedules. As the students are allowed to use the phone only for a limited time in school, a 5 to 10 GB data plan should be good enough. Similarly, if anyone is looking for a similar light data usage plan, which is economical, the ‘SIM only’ mobile plan, the following comparison will help.
There are 4 Mobile Network Operators (MNO) in Singapore, namely Singtel, Starhub, M1, and TPG. All these companies offer their SIM only plans to customers. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) purchase mobile networks from the four MNOs mentioned above and serve the customer with various other mobile plans 1. “Circles.Life”, MyRepublic, etc. are such virtual network operators.
What is ‘SIM only’ plan
As the two year postpaid contract, which includes a new mobile phone, usually requires you to pay a downpayment and a high monthly fee. E.g., the minimum monthly fee is SGD 55 for StarHub. Usually, neither a fixed-term contract nor a mobile phone device is included in the SIM-only plan. This gives the flexibility to switch to another provider at any time.
SIM only plan comparison
Most of the cheaper options suitable for light users are from Virtual Network Operators, as you can see in the below table.
All four Mobile Network Operators in Singapore offers SIM only plans.
These are not very economical compared to plans offered by virtual network plans. TPG provides a S$10 plan for a good amount of data and talk-time. However, as a new entrant in the market, TPG’s network is not fully ready, especially in the MRT2. Please note that the TPG network voice calls can only be made using VoLTE capable handsets3. Use the table given below to check the details of all plans from their respective websites.
| Plan Link | Network1 |
|---|---|
| CIRCLES.LIFE S$5 | M1 |
| RedOne Amazing8 | StarHub |
| VIVIFI Lite | Singtel |
| MyRepublic Lite | M1 |
| giga! | StarHub |
| China Mobile CP10 | Singtel |
| TPG | TPG |
| zero1 6u | Singtel |
| geenet 8GB | M1 |
| gridmobile 20GB | Singtel |
| gomo 20GB | Singtel |
| M1 | M1 |
| StarHub | StarHub |
| Singtel | Singtel |
Additional information
- RedOne has free calls to Malaysia, while China mobile allows calls to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the USA. China mobile data can be used in China and Hongkong.
- Most of the providers give free caller number display while M1 charges S$5.35 per month.
- StarHub and Singtel’s plan comes with a one year contract.
- Zero1 charges S$9.9 for the first six months and S$13.9 for the next six months.
- Most of the MVNO services such as Giga accepts payment online by credit card.
- MVNOs will rely on online chat, and mostly automated chat and hence accessing support will be more difficult than big telcos (StarHub, Singtel, and M1 )
- Most of these plans have a number-porting facility from another postpaid service.
- Most of these low data plan has either additional data available for a charge as low as $2 per GB or unlimited low-speed internet once the quota is used up.
Customer review and complaints
Though networks used by MVNOs are from big telcos(MNOs such as StarHub, Singtel, and M1), there are complaints from users that the network is not available in certain areas. There were multiple network outages for days from TPG, and many people switched to other service providers from their free plans. These outages also happen to big players like StarHub or M1 4.
Plans for existing customers of big Telcos
There are also data only plans such as Singtel Mobileshare 1 GB plan for S$12.9 if you are an existing Singtel customer. A similar plan was offered free by StarHub (Maxmobile) earlier but currently not available for signup or renewal. As Singtel Mobileshare plan doesn’t have any talk time, it might not be suitable for an independent phone connection. StarHub Welcome plan offers 1 GB data and 50 Minutes talk time for S$8 when you signup or renew your StarHub contract for mobile or broadband. The Welcome plan has 1 year contract and additional data will costs much more than other plans.
Prepaid plan
You can also consider Pre-paid plans from Starhub, Singtel, or M1. Plans such as S$15 plan from StarHub might be suitable for light users. The plan gives 180 days of validity with 8GB of data. While calls are charged at 18 cents per minute, WhatsApp text and audio/video messages are free for six months. Singtel plan for S$15 gives 3GB data with 120 days validity.
Best sim only plan for light users
Based on the above comparison, the $10 plan from MyRepublic, Giga, and China Mobile are good enough for light users. If you are looking for even cheaper options, S$5 plan from Circle.life or Amazine8 plan from RedOne plan for S$8 are the plans to go.
Much needed info