Yahoo Finance The Expat’s Guide to Phone Plans in Singapore
I don’t understand why expats would need a phone plan. I mean, if they could travel 50,000 miles to work and live, they probably don’t need phone calls from Aunt Sue back home. “Uh, some people aren’t finance bloggers, so they have to maintain friends and work.” Really? Ever since I named my shadow Fred and moved into the sewer, I’ve found such things to be highly overrated. I guess those expats would need these phone plans then:
If you don’t have a line, why don’t you call them and find out what the prices are? (Real story)
How Phone Plans Work in Singapore
Singapore telcos aren’t too different from American or European counterparts. The difference is that there’s only three options: Singtel, M1, and Starhub.
Most phone plans include a mobile phone, which is either free or heavily subsidised (depends on the model you want). The type of phone that can come with the plan varies every month, so you’ll have to check with the telco before buying.
Unless mentioned, all plans below come with a 24 month contract.
If you break the contract, the penalty is based on the number of months remaining. For example: Say you buy a plan that costs $59 a month. Assuming you break the contract with 10 months remaining, you’d have to pay around (10 x $59) = $590.
There might be other administrative fees.
For your convenience, we’ve divided the plans into:
Cheapest Overall Plan
Best Plan for People Who Talk Too Much
Best Mid-Range Plan
Best Plan for Heavy Data Usage
1. Cheapest Overall Plan
Trust us, you’ll need the freebie that comes with this one.
Singtel’s iOne SuperValue is the cheapest phone plan possible. This is for anyone who prefers to sit in front of a laptop and use Skype:
Monthly Subscription | $15 per Month |
Local Incoming Calls | Unlimited |
Local Outgoing Calls | 80 minutes per Month |
Local SMS | 50 SMS’s per Month |
This plan does not come with data.
A word of caution: If you exceed the bundled minutes (the total talk time given), you’ll be charged 16 cents per extra minute. Likewise, you’ll pay 5 cents for each SMS beyond 50. If you consistently use more talk time or SMS’s, this plan stops being cheap.
The plan comes with a 24 month contract. So be sure you don’t make heavy use of your phone before signing up. Also, here is a decidedly disgusting tactic I’ll let you in on. One of my friends, Marcus, says that:
“There is a trick to using this plan. Whenever you need to call someone, call them and wait till you hear the first ring. The second you do, immediately put down the phone.
The other party will receive a missed call and call you back. Since incoming calls are free, you won’t have to pay for it. And you only pay $15 a month for the plan.”
2. Best Plan for People Who Talk Too Much
Subtle gifts: Not a strong suit in the MoneySmart office
M1 wins this hands down. Their Talk All U Can plan has unlimited free calls:
Monthly Subscription | $201.16 per Month |
Local Incoming Calls | Unlimited |
Local Outgoing Calls (Includes Video calls!) | Until They Beg You to Shut Up |
Local SMS | 500 SMS’s per Month |
This plan comes with a variable-cost data bundle. The fee is $0.107 per 10 kb.
This plan comes with a $500 handset re-contract discount. If you ever buy another M1 plan, you get $500 off the price of the phone.
3. Best Mid-Range Plan
Don’t worry, the savings will cover intensive care if I crash.
Our choice for best value is StarHub’s iPhone SmartSurf Premium:
Monthly Subscription | $98 per Month |
Local Incoming Calls | Unlimited |
Local Outgoing Calls | 700 minutes |
Local SMS | 1,000 SMS’s per Month |
Data Bundle | 6 GB |
Once you sign up for this plan, you can buy a 32GB iPhone 5 for $83.
Note that StarHub’s SmartSurf Premium is the exact same plan, but without the iPhone 5. It’s just that, if you so choose, you can fork out an extra $83 to get an iPhone.
4. Best Plan for Heavy Data Usage
And this way, we’ll save on a babysitter and childcare as well!
M1′s MaxSurf+ is for people who do all their surfing on their phones:
Monthly Subscription | $198 per Month |
Local Incoming Calls | Unlimited |
Local Outgoing Calls | Unlimited |
Local SMS | 2,000 SMS’s per Month |
Data Bundle | 12 GB |
This is the only plan with a 12 GB bundle that’s under $200.
Note that all information given is accurate as of December 2012.
Image Credits:
methodshop.com, jem, stev.ie, Beertographer, karschsp
Came across any good phone plans? Comment and let us know!
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