Gone are the days where we had to pay exorbitant amounts for mobile bundled postpaid internet plans with miniscule data caps. Most telcos still offer these ancient plans, with some charging you S$49.90 for 2 GB Data, 200 minutes of Talktime and 1000 SMS. To make matters worse, you are locked into a 2 year contract with them with hefty penalties to break them.
Ever since Circles.Life launched their first Sim-only plan in 2016, it shook the industry. What Circles.Life offered was unique: A data focused plan without contract at a low cost. They achieved that by renting bandwidth from M1, passing on the savings to the consumers since they did not have to deal with hardware maintenance.
This unorthodox move proved to be extremely popular and prompted many new entrants and telcos themselves to offer their own sim only plans. How do Sim-only plans stack up against the traditional mobile plans and are they worth it in 2022? Let’s find out.
Mobile Bundled vs Sim-only Plans
Mobile bundled plans (MBP) as their name suggests, ties you into a payment contract with a mobile phone and plan. They would offer a discount on the retail price of the device, either paid upfront or monthly. Sim-only plans (SOP) only charge you for the data plan.
Cost
Ok, arguably the most important factor to subscribing to a data plan is cost. SOPs charge you less per gigabyte of data than MBPs when you deduct the price of the device from MBPs’ monthly payments. Let me illustrate with Singtel’s XO Plus 88 plan and Giga’s 60GB plan, adding in the cost of a brand new iPhone 13 Pro.
| Singtel XO Plus 88 MBP | Giga 60 GB SOP | |
| Monthly Cost of plan (S$) | 88 | 25 |
| Benefits | 60 GB Data, 600 minute Talktime, 600 SMS, 5G access | 60 GB Data, 2000 minute Talktime, 2000 SMS, data rollover, 5G pack sold separately |
| Cost of iPhone 13 Pro 128 GB (S$) | 708 (after discount) | 1648 |
| Monthly cost per GB (S$) | 0.975 [(monthly cost of plan – 708 / 24) / 60 ] | 0.42 |
| Total cost over 2 years (S$) | 2820 | 2248 |
As you can see in this example, even with the discount the MBP offers, the total cost you pay over 2 years with the phone is 25.4% more than the SOP. This is despite the fact that you are getting the same amount of data but lesser Talktime, SMS than the SOP. The caveat is that you don’t get complimentary access to 5G on the Giga plan.
Corporate Individual Schemes (CIS) pricing and discounts may apply to some MBPs. A quick look at Singtel’s website shows that they currently offer an additional S$100 off phones with XO Plus plans coupled with a percentage discount on the monthly cost.
The percentage discount depends on your company’s enrollment to the scheme and can range from 20 to 30%. In my example, a 27% discount to the XO Plus plan would make the total cost over 2 years equal to Giga’s 60 GB plan. It is thus wise to do the math before choosing between a MBP or SOP.
Contract
All MBPs come with a 2 year contract, and you are obliged to pay the same monthly price regardless of price revisions (usually downward due to intense competition). Termination fees are hefty, consisting of a penalty fee and the remaining monthly payments for the contract. SOPs on the other hand usually do not come with contracts, unless offered by the big 3 telcos (more on that later).
Excess data usage
MBPs and SOPs from the big 3 telcos charge an exorbitant S$10.70 per GB for excess usage beyond your stipulated limits while SOPs from Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) don’t, with the exception of Circles.Life.
Speeds
All 3 telcos claim to have the fastest 4G speeds, citing different reports to back their claims. Truth is, the differences in 4G speeds among all 3 telcos are not that big a difference. You would have to really dig into those reports to find out which is truly the fastest.
MBPs and SOPs ultimately use 4G/5G hardware from the 3 telcos, and your data speeds would depend on which hardware operator your plan uses.
Telco Sim-only vs MVNO Sim-only
Now that we knoNow that we know SOPs are generally more efficient in cost and flexibility, note that all SOPs are created equal. In this discussion, MVNOs mean Gomo, Giga, and Circles.Life since they are the 3 most popular providers.
Cost
In order to capitalise on the popularity of SOPs, telcos introduced SOPs with contracts that allows them to capture customers’ attention, while retaining the right to impose excess data charges and termination fees among others.
For example, Singtel’s Sim Only Plus 30 offers 60 GB, 1000 minute Talktime, and 500 SMS for S$25 with a 12 month contract. Sounds reasonable, until you know that a one time registration fee of S$10.70 and S$37.45 for the Sim card is charged before your plan even starts.
What’s more, excess data usage is levied at S$10.70 per GB, and termination fees continue to apply. The terms are found here and here.
If you thought only Singtel imposes these kinds of charges, most, if not all 3 telcos impose similar rates. MVNOs on the contrary do not currently levy any of the above charges, with the exception of Circles.Life (data will be auto purchased in increments of 200 MB if AutoBoost is left on, TalkTime and SMS as described here).
When compared head on, monthly pricing between telco SOPs and MVNOs are similar. I would take the 60 GB plans of each MVNO and telco where possible as it represents what most people need.
| Monthly Cost (S$) | Benefit | |
| Singtel Sim Only Plus 30(12 month contract) | 30 | 60 GB, 1000 minutes Talktime, 500 SMS |
| Starhub Mobile+ S$38 SIM Only (12 month contract) | 28 for 6 months, 38 thereafter | 60 GB + free 10 GB for 12 months, 1000 minutes Talktime, 1000 SMS, 12 month free Disney+ |
| M1 Bespoke Sim Only(12 month contract) | 30.95 | 60 GB, 100 minutes Talktime, 100 SMS |
| Gomo 180 GB(No contract) | 25 for first month, 30 thereafter | 180 GB for first month, 60 GB thereafter, 500 minutes Talktime, 500 SMS |
| Giga Top Pick! 60 GB(No contract) | 25 | 60 GB, 2000 minutes Talktime, 2000 SMS |
| Circles.Life Limitless Plan(No contract) | 20 if ported in, 30 otherwise | 100 GB for 6 months, 50 GB thereafter, 100 minutes Talktime, 25 SMS (You read this right) |
Generally, subscription fees for MVNO plans are cheaper than Telco SOPs as they usually have lesser TalkTime and SMS provisions.
Contract
The rule of thumb is most, if not all MVNO SOPs don’t come with any contract, while most telco SOPs come with a minimum 12 month contract.
Speeds
One interesting thing to note is that Gomo and Giga are partially owned by Singtel and Starhub respectively. Speeds for Gomo and Giga would be exactly the same as their parent telcos while Circles.Life would be the same as M1’s.
Porting over
A hassle free number port over service is definitely important so as to minimise downtime. All MVNOs thankfully offer free porting over for people looking to change from a current MBP or SOP. Fees may apply on your current telco or MVNO, so take note of that.
About the MVNOs
There are many other MVNOs available out there like Vivify, CMLink, redOne, GorillaMobile, but the most prominent ones are Circles.Life, Giga and Gomo.
MVNOs usually have flash deals on their data plans, offering higher than usual Data provisions at a lower cost. As these are time limited and can change at any time, I would not be including them in the comparison below.
Circles Life
Circles.Life uses M1’s network and offers 6 main plans as of March 2022:
- Basic 20 GB plan with 100 minutes of TalkTime and 25 SMS for S$18 if you port over your number, and S$28 otherwise
- Unlimited Data With Rollover 100 GB plan with 100 minutes of TalkTime and 25 SMS for S$38 if you port in your number, and S$48 otherwise
- Data Only 50 GB plan with no TalkTime and SMS for
S$20S$15
- Data Only 130 GB plan with no TalkTime and SMS for
S$45S$30
- 300 GB plan with 100 minutes of TalkTime and no SMS for S$18 (reverts to S$38 after 3 months)
- 100 GB (reverts to 50 GB after 6 months) plan with 100 minutes of TalkTime and no SMS for S$20
Only data from the Unlimited Data With Rollover and the Data Only 130 GB for S$45 S$30 can be rolled over to the next month, up to 300 GB.
If you need a referral code, enter K9JQ1FO4 during sign up to get 30 GB extra every month forever and S$38 off your registration fee.
Giga
Giga uses Starhub’s network and offers 4 main plans as of March 2022:
- 6 GB plan with 500 minutes of Talktime and 500 SMS, at S$10/month
- 40 GB plan with 500 minutes of Talktime and 500 SMS, at S$20/month
- Top Pick! 60 GB plan with 2,000 minutes of Talktime and 2,000 SMS, at S$25/month
- 100 GB plan with 10,000 minutes of Talktime and 10,000 SMS, at S$45/month.
Giga also periodically offers S$18 flash deals, offering 50 GB, 500 minutes Talktime and 500 SMS forever, so do check their website regularly.
Data for all plans can be rolled over up to twice your monthly cap, so the 6 GB plan can be rolled over up to 12 GB, and the 100 GB plan to 200 GB. All plans are contract-free. If you need a referral code, enter sd7DTohere to get S$10 off your first month.
Gomo
Gomo uses Singtel’s network and offers 2 main plans as of March 2022:
- 20 GB plan with 200 minutes of Talktime and 200 SMS, at S$20/month
- 180 GB (reverts to 60GB from the second month) plan with 500 minutes of Talktime and 500 SMS at S$25 (reverts to S$30 from the second month)
Gomo also periodically offers S$18 flash deals, with the current one offering 150 GB, 500 minutes Talktime and 500 SMS for 12 months. Thereafter, the plan reverts to the 20 GB for S$20 plan. Do check their website regularly for this.
Only data, Talktime and SMS from the 180 GB for S$25 plan can be rolled over up to 100 GB, 1000 minutes and 1000 SMS. All plans are contract-free.
Conclusion
MBPs still have their place in the realm of mobile plans, but with the increased competition from contract free SOPs, they are becoming less relevant. If you are ready to break up with your current telco’s uncompetitive plan, feel free to use the referral links above for an added bonus. If you aren’t, let me know why in the comments.
This article may include Referral or affiliate links that provide revenue to Tech Composition.
Derrick (Yip Hern) founded Tech Composition to provide valuable insights into the tech and finance world. He loves to scour the web for the best deals and embark on software projects during his free time, a typical geek, right?
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