Eight Telecom discussion thread

[BBCWatcher]

The shop at Shopee is not owned or managed by Apple.

Sorry, yes, you're correct. The Apple Flagship Store on Shopee is an authorised Apple reseller. Same status as Singtel.

The core point is that you should never use list prices when you're trying to compare offers. Always use realistic "street" prices.

 

[CPTMiller]

Recently I notice very poor performance in the city on my $18 5G plan, despite having full signal bars on n78.

https://www.speedtest.net/result/i/7000595424

How often you get 5G signal eg Roadside , HDB area etc???

 

[OnePunch!!]

Who knows can update? Wondering is it move to another line?

WOW can request to move main balance to buy 1year plan ?

 

[neptunesea]

How often you get 5G signal eg Roadside , HDB area etc???

I see 5G everywhere, never seen a specific area without 5G.

 

[yujin86]

Any network outage for eight? My data seems intermittent and very slow. Ping is very high as well

 

[mosmos]

Any network outage for eight? My data seems intermittent and very slow. Ping is very high as well

Seems fine to me at jurong east

 

[xiaofan]

Personally I think the no-refund condition for top ups should be caveat enough for the customers. Customers should recognise topping up is a form of tying themselves to the telco, much like prepaid cards, and exercise restraint and sensibility. No one is forcing them to top up so much. The regular price is already very affordable.

Good point.

On the other hand, probably needs some types of limit on the wallet balance for eight and SIMBA. Both have the one-for-one top-up offers (even though we may not see another one-for-one top-up offer from eight in the near future) and both may have the issue of excessive wallet for seniors, just like the prepaid cards.

Good discussions earlier.

OK, but reasonable guardrails are important, too. Eight and SIMBA (as notable examples) have a lot of seniors topping up their wallets into the stratosphere. Let's suppose a senior topped up their Eight wallet just twice in the recent $88 promotion. That senior now has nearly 6 years of prepaid mobile service on the senior plan! And if the senior unfortunately dies next year, most of the $176 they topped up is vaporized.

Is that fair and responsible business practice? I don't think so. Just let a surviving family member cash out whatever's left in the mobile wallet, disregarding promotional credits. In other words, for these purposes (payout on death) the cash portion is effectively drawn down first, then the promotional credits. Make it simple: for example, the mobile subscriber can list up to 2 other mobile numbers (belonging to 2 other people), and either line's owner can claim the remaining cash portion of the wallet upon the original subscriber's death. And set a reasonable limit on how much cash you can put into a mobile wallet. This part is important to maintain competition in the mobile market.

Mobile carriers shouldn't be playing life insurance-like actuarial games with their customers.

In this aspect, if the wallet is accumulated to sizable amount, it is due to the fact that the user is willing to prepare to take the risk to forfeit it in the event of death as the offer is attractive enough. It is quite unfair to just blame the provider for loss in such situation as the greed is really coming from the user.

I think regulators ought to take reasonable steps to protect consumers, including vulnerable elderly consumers. Perhaps we disagree about that, but I hope not.

OK, consider Singtel as a notable example. If you have a mobile or other contract with Singtel and die mid-contract, your survivors can straightforwardly terminate the deceased's contract with no early termination charges. Or transfer the account free of charge. Whichever the survivors prefer.

Hefty mobile wallet balances are a relatively recent "innovation." They should be handled fundamentally the same way when the owner dies: cash refunds, no penalties.

Hmm, this is because such plan structure is profitable enough for the telco to provide such exception for death, the telco are not really handing out cash upfront too especially when buying devices wholesale directly cost much less, usually after half way through the contract the cost is ploughed back. Wallet type plan structure is not so especially when the already-low price plans may even need to slash another 50% off.

2 years phone contract is the downright exploitation and it is definitely damaging the majority living one. That should be the concern.

I think most people would agree that ethical mobile businesses don't seek to profit off the deaths of their customers. And, for those few that might try such stunts, regulators ought to step in to quash them.

Maybe we disagree. If so, you're not going to persuade me otherwise. It's a core, widely accepted and followed principle in consumer-oriented businesses. Eight and SIMBA are presently outliers.

 

[xiaofan]

Just for reference, Singtel hi! 4G postpaid plan (heya replacement) is another type -- indicate max validity of the wallet so that the users will not top up too much.

But then it does not have top-up offer after the rebranding, even though the S$5 per 30 days Singtel hi! 4G senior plan is not too bad for local usage (or MIT usage, Malaysia, Indonesia and Tailand).

https://cdn1.singteldigital.com/con...ts-services/mobile/hi/pdf/singtel-hi-faqs.pdf

++++++++++++
What is Singtel hi! wallet?

Singtel hi! wallet refers to your charging account, with which you can purchase new Singtel hi! plan or any
Singtel hi! Add-on pack with credits in the account.

You can top up your Singtel hi! Account wallet credits in denominations of $10 for 60 days validity or $30 / $50
for 180 days validity through the Singtel hi! app or Singtel hi! authorised retailers.
++++++++++++

 

[The_King]

just checking

i have a eight line and i read that if i have 2 eight line (same owner) it will have 2 main balance?

if that true? mean i need to top up to 2 main balance even if the main line under me?


what if i sub to their internet? mean 3 main balance to top up (2 mobile + internet)?

 

[roborovsky]

In China now.
Iphone connected to China Unicom automatically. Same for wifey iphone.

 

[torrent06]

just checking

i have a eight line and i read that if i have 2 eight line (same owner) it will have 2 main balance?

if that true? mean i need to top up to 2 main balance even if the main line under me?


what if i sub to their internet? mean 3 main balance to top up (2 mobile + internet)?

Yes, you have separate accounts but you can link them

 

[BBCWatcher]

Yes, you have separate accounts but you can link them

Linking just gives you visibility but does not combine wallets.

You're not required to have any wallet balances for any lines. You can set up auto-renew with a credit or debit card on file — and zero running wallet balances. Of course if you want to take advantage of a wallet top up promotion, you'll carry a wallet balance.

 

[torrent06]

Linking just gives you visibility but does not combine wallets.

You're not required to have any wallet balances for any lines. You can set up auto-renew with a credit or debit card on file — and zero running wallet balances. Of course if you want to take advantage of a wallet top up promotion, you'll carry a wallet balance.

Yes, the balances are not combined. My answer is more from the perspective of managing multiple lines with one login.

 

[The_King]

Yes, the balances are not combined. My answer is more from the perspective of managing multiple lines with one login.

mean combine also no use since wallet is not combine


to take advantage of a wallet top up promotion mean 3 wallet = top up 3 times = GG

 

[torrent06]

mean combine also no use since wallet is not combine


to take advantage of a wallet top up promotion mean 3 wallet = top up 3 times = GG

I don’t think there will be much top up promotion going forward. Only top up if it makes sense after weighing pros and cons.

 

[koohansen]

I won't bother those top up promotion, it locks you in.
Can have a wonderful promo, then 2 - 3 months the network/services goes ****, you LLST

 

[jun12345]

I see 5G everywhere, never seen a specific area without 5G.

same, Lakeside 5G, Promenade Suntec also 5G for me

 

[CPTMiller]

In China now.
Iphone connected to China Unicom automatically. Same for wifey iphone.

Last time use to be China mobile telco roaming

 

[JAYSCS]

Actually, if you do the math, 2y contract is not as exploitative as you think and might be somewhat worth to the consumer. Especially for those with CIS.

Below is a table for Singtel plans with 25% CIS discount and assuming you buy a iPhone 17 Pro Max 256GB (retail price $1899).

Phone price is after the $50 off for online orders and the $200/250 off promo.

Plan	CIS Monthly	Phone Price (after promo)	Total Paid (24m)	Service Cost After Phone	Net Plan / Month
Enhanced XS	$46.50	$1,120	$2,236	$337	$14.04
Enhanced S	$58.50	$980	$2,384	$485	$20.21
Enhanced M	$73.50	$600	$2,364	$465	$19.38
Priority L	$96.00	$280	$2,584	$685	$28.54
Priority Pro	$133.50	$0	$3,204	$1,305	$54.38
Priority Fam	$216.00	$0	$5,184	$3,285	$136.88

FYI the pro and fam plans provide 1/3 supplementary phone lines.

Overall definitely not as worth as MVNOs like eight, especially when you compare roaming benefits, but in totality not so bad of a deal especially when you don't have to fork out as much upfront to purchase the phone and you get higher data priority than MVNOs.

We have different idea of value computation. Simply getting a hefty price fruit phone is already absurd. Moreover, telcos are earning big profits too from selling them with plan package. But to each his own.

 

[Sorvos]

I won't bother those top up promotion, it locks you in.
Can have a wonderful promo, then 2 - 3 months the network/services goes ****, you LLST

It depends on individual use case. If eight is just a secondary spare line to fall back on, or switch around, might be worth it. If it is your main line that you expect to have good data speeds, of course not in case you want to port around.