Changing Mobile Plan and Telco

Just last month, my 2-year contract with Singtel for my mobile plan had expired. Initially, it seemed that it was going to be another routine biennial (once in 2 years) affair, to go renew my contract, and get a new phone. However, initially, I turned down the immediate contract renewal as I wanted to wait for the Oppo R19 to be released, though its release date in Singapore is still unknown.

When I got home, I was thinking of my options at hand. Should I wait out the Oppo R19, or just settle for the Oppo R17 and renew my contract? My contract has been an issue as of late, especially after enlisting in SAF. As the SAF camps do not have WiFi, I often rely on Mobile Data to satisfy my internet needs. It's not too bad since I am a stay out personnel, but the data plan I was on still seemed insufficient.

My plan started off with a 2GB plan, with a Data X2 to make it 4GB. Some time last year, I was going to overshoot, so as a moment of desperation I bought 2 GB more to make it 6GB. But again 6GB did not seem enough after a few more months, so I cancelled the Data X2 (incurring a penalty) and replaced it with the Data X3 to make it a total of 8GB. In total, my current plan costs just under S$70.00, which is quite a significant sum, even though my mother is paying for me. Even if I were to upgrade to Combo 3 to 3GB plan and use the Data X3, the cost will still balloon beyond S$70.00. And not to forget the fact that I probably cant cancel the extra 2GB per month due to it being a year long contract.

After 10 years with Singtel, I was starting to get quite fed up with my plan. Why are my parents paying so much for this bit of data and the plan? And every 2 years I will have the hassle of deciding between renewing contract and changing phone or waiting for my phone to spoil, then change contract. Although the contract gives us phone discounts, being tied down felt quite constraining, and I wanted out.

I did some research online and realized the existence of SIM-Only Plans. How this works is that we will only be buying the SIM card without a contract. The plus to this is that at first look, each telco offers quite a significant amount of data as compared to contract plans, and at a cheaper cost too! The downside, however, is that we are unlikely to receive discounts when we purchase a new phone, having to bear the full cost of the device. I will analyse whether switching over to a SIM-Only plan in my case would be worth it later in my post.

My primary research was done on 2 websites.
  1. https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-which-telco-offers-best-sim-only-no-contract-plan-singapore-updated-31st-december-2018
  2. https://blog.seedly.sg/singapore-telco-plan-comparison-data-price-best-plan/
I will not go into deep details regarding the telcos that I had eliminated early on, MyRepublic, Zero, Zero1, and (shock) Singtel. While I am sure these telcos do reach out to certain groups of customers, be it unlimited data or more talk time or the emphasis on contracts, I don't necessarily need these benefits. I'm looking for more data, but not unlimited data. I still need talktime and SMS, because some people at work are simply technologically illiterate.

The first telco I looked into was Starhub, because of their current promotion of 3GB per month for S$25.00. Of course, 3GB is not enough for me, but they gave the promotion of an extra 10GB/month! I was very drawn to them initially and almost decided. However, I noticed that the extra 10GB only lasts for 1 year. After the one year, I will be left with 3GB per month. If I wish to add on more data, I will have to opt for 10GB/month for an extra S$10.00, or choose the unlimited data for social media (which takes the bulk of my data use) for the same cost. Either ways, my plan will balloon to S$35.00. Furthermore, to my dismay, I have to add on S$3.00 for SMS. I decided to put Starhub on hold.

The second telco I looked into was M1. Of the 3 "OG" telcos, the reviews of M1 was the best at the point of research. The SIM-only plan that caught my eye was also 3GB per month, but for S$20.00! Furthermore, there was an additional bonus of 12GB/month for a year. This placed it in the same column as "what happens after a year?" with Starhub. However, they have the ongoing promotion of 25GB/month for S$5.00! Furthermore, considering that the plan already has calls and SMS, M1 certainly edges out Starhub in terms of sustainability of contract.

This is where I point out that although I would want to change telco and mobile plan, I am after all still a rather loyal person. I do not really fancy jumping from one telco to another, even if it means saving a lot of costs. I'd rather stick with 1 reliable telco with a good pricing. However, that being said, I can be swayed by huge discounts.

Unfortunately, M1 does not provide free caller ID. That is an extra S$5.00 per month to pay, hence the cost increases to S$25.00 per month, and S$30.00 per month after the first year. 

The third and final telco I looked into was Circles.Life. Of the 3 I have shortlisted, Circles Life is the newest Telco in the block. The plan that draws to me now is their S$28.00/month base plan, which comes with a whopping 20GB of base data. There is even a bonus of another 14GB/month while stocks last! Wow! I do not need to worry about not enough data after a year as 20GB is far more than what I require. Furthermore, they are offering S$60.00 cashback to offset any cost I may have by ending my partnership with Singtel. Also, they offer a loyalty programme with an extra 500MB/month for every 6 months with them, and an extra 2GB/month for porting my number over. The only issue is that Circles Life does not have free SMS, and hence I have to pay S$0.05 per SMS, or at an add-on of S$1.00 for 25 SMSes. 

Currently, I am still quite tied between M1 and Circles.Life. Circles.Life gives me a good impression due to staunch reviews and their simple plans, but the SMS issue may set me back a bit. M1 has a slightly higher long term cost, but it too has good reviews and it has been tried and tested. So do I go with the new kid on the block, or the old bird who is trying to do better?

On my dad's advice, I will be visiting the IT show next week to check out the plans in greater detail to make my final call on which to switch to.

Actually, though I am hopping back and forth between these 2 plans, it's actually a very good thing. After a long time of having issues with insufficient data and the monopoly of telcos by Singtel, Starhub, and M1, it's great to see more telcos rising up and causing competition, such that we have such great deals to choose from.

May the best telco win.

ANNEX A: Will a SIM only plan justify the extra spending on a phone?

If I were to choose either M1 or Circles Life, the spending will be around S$30.00 per month. Currently, my plan balloons to around S$70.00 or more, but we shall set it at S$70.00. The cost difference per month is S$40.00. With a 24-month plan, that means I will save S$960.00 if I were to switch to SIM only. 

The current OPPO R17 Pro is of cost S$999.00 across Singapore. 

If I were to retain my current plan with Singtel, I will have to pay S$278.00 for the phone. The difference between buying a set itself and renewing my current plan with the set is S$999.00-S$278.00=S$721.00. I still will save around S$239.00 more if I were to switch to SIM only and purchase the phone itself.

If I were to upgrade my plan to Combo 3 with Singtel, I will have to pay S$0.00 for the phone. The difference is hence S$999.00. However, do note that Combo 3 costs S$68.90 monthly, not to mention my Data X3 (S$5.90/month) and extra data which hasn't expired, and my other add-ons such as Caller ID and CNA news. My new plan will be at least S$80.00 per month then. The cost difference between an upgraded plan and a SIM only plan is S$50.00 per month, and 24 months makes it S$1200.00. Purchasing the phone and switching to SIM only still makes more sense!

And not to forget the sense of ease and no frills without being bound to a contract, which you cannot put a price tag on.

Hence, for my case, yes. A SIM only plan would be more cost efficient.

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