Eight Telecom discussion thread

[hereiam7788]

Indeed not in the near future, as the response could be too overwhelming that users accumulate too much balance, and this sparks the concerns what when the users die and balance forfeited. What is supposedly a great offer becomes its curse. We brought this to ourselves that such promo cannot be often.

actually the promo is too 'good' for this age.

the amount per user spent on a mobile plan on average is 1/3 of the price 20 years ago. not to mention with the 1 for 1 promo, it become 1/6. i seriously wonder how can the telcos/MVNOs survive. haha.

 

[JAYSCS]

actually the promo is too 'good' for this age.

the amount per user spent on a mobile plan on average is 1/3 of the price 20 years ago. not to mention with the 1 for 1 promo, it become 1/6. i seriously wonder how can the telcos/MVNOs survive. haha.

I definitely am not complaining though, especially who knows what will be the change in the industry when the Simba buy over M1 is approved.

 

[Mancunian2]

actually the promo is too 'good' for this age.

the amount per user spent on a mobile plan on average is 1/3 of the price 20 years ago. not to mention with the 1 for 1 promo, it become 1/6. i seriously wonder how can the telcos/MVNOs survive. haha.

I remember in 2010 I was paying singtel $19.90 for 1 Gb monthly, not including cis voice plan which was another $15

at least they have the decency to throw in additional 1 Gb for free for 12 months

 

[JAYSCS]

I remember in 2010 I was paying singtel $19.90 for 1 Gb monthly, not including cis voice plan which was another $15

at least they have the decency to throw in additional 1 Gb for free for 12 months

The dark age...

 

[xiaofan]

I doubt the one-for-one top-up offer will come back any time soon.

eight's focus in FY2026 will be --> 5G Scaling and ARPU growth.

So they will push users to go for the 5G plan. They will also grow eight home internet through the bundle deal with eight 5G plan.

I am actually suprised that Starhub Mobile ARPU is still at pretty decent S$22. But then the cheapest SIM Only plan from Starhub is at S$22 per month for the 5G Lite plan, even thought there is a Passion Card offer to lower the price to S$17.6.

giga sub-brand is not even mentioned. I think giga will die a slow death...

Reference:
Starhub FY2025 full year results
https://ir.starhub.com/newsroom/20260212_072316_CC3_6WSP5L91T8493ZIH.3.pdf

 

[Mancunian2]

I doubt the one-for-one top-up offer will come back any time soon.

eight's focus in FY2026 will be --> 5G Scaling and ARPU growth.

So they will push users to go for the 5G plan. They will also grow eight home internet through the bundle deal with eight 5G plan.

Referenc:
Starhub FY2025 full year results
https://ir.starhub.com/newsroom/20260212_072316_CC3_6WSP5L91T8493ZIH.3.pdf

problem is at $14.80, Eight's 5G plan is more expensive than the competition

maxx, circles, zym, z1 all have 5G plans around $10 or lower
(I don't rate Simba as proper 5G, so not included)

 

[xiaofan]

problem is at $14.80, Eight's 5G plan is more expensive than the competition

maxx, circles, zym, z1 all have 5G plans around $10 or lower
(I don't rate Simba as proper 5G, so not included)

Zym/Z1/VIVIFI/CMLink have no pure 5G plans at around S$10. Their 5G plan is at around S$15 per month. But they do have 4G plan with 180 days or half year 5G trial at around S$10 (Zero1 at S$12).

M1 Maxx --> S$12 per month. They used to offer 5G for the S$10 plan but they have since removed 5G from new M1 Maxx S$10 plan users. Only existing M1 Maxx S$10 5G users will get 5G.

CL --> this one is interesting, they have so many promotion codes and indeed some of the promotion codes are very good.

Indeed I will not count SIMBA as having proper 5G now.

Main benefits for eight compared to ST MVNOs and M1 M1 Maxx may be the roaming benefits, especially the free roaming voice. ST MVNOs are catching up in terms of roaming data bundle but tough to offer free roaming voice because of Singtel. Still Zym Roam Guard (10 minutes free) is the right direction.

Down the road, eight will have more promotions for the S$14.8 and S$18 5G plans, much less on eight S$8 and S$11.8 4G plans.

Reference:
1. Low cost SIM Only plans
⚡️ README First! How to Select Low Cost SIM Only Plans in Singapore?
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...low-cost-sim-only-plans-in-singapore.7167328/

2. Zym roam guard
https://zym.sg/faq/roaming-calls-sms/

7. I am seeing a "Roam Guard 10 Mins" in my mobile app or bill invoice. What is this?
W.E.F Feb 2026, Roam Guard, a new feature, automatically absorbs the cost of your first 10 minutes of incoming roaming calls each month while you’re overseas to help prevent bill shock; any incoming time beyond 10 minutes and all outgoing roaming calls are charged at standard pay‑per‑use roaming rates.

 

[JAYSCS]

problem is at $14.80, Eight's 5G plan is more expensive than the competition

maxx, circles, zym, z1 all have 5G plans around $10 or lower
(I don't rate Simba as proper 5G, so not included)

Eight may bring down the 5G plan price or provide free 5G network to its cheaper 4G plan. What strategy or non-strategy it adopts will depend how the future industry competes I think.

 

[cloudystar]

Starhub's CEO has already expressed concern and said the ultra low prices (<$10) is unsustainable.

So yeah, expect the ultra good deals to slowly wean off and things to normalize.

 

[ZhuTou!]

actually the promo is too 'good' for this age.

the amount per user spent on a mobile plan on average is 1/3 of the price 20 years ago. not to mention with the 1 for 1 promo, it become 1/6. i seriously wonder how can the telcos/MVNOs survive. haha.

Same thought lol. The moment i saw under $10 no contract plan, first thing came to my mind is not abt signing up. It was how they gonna survive haha.

 

[xiaofan]

i seriously wonder how can the telcos/MVNOs survive. haha.

Indeed quite some MVNOs already ceased operation because of the fierce competition, including two on M1 network recently (Changi Mobile and Geenet Mobile).

Let's see which MVNOs be next one to go.

I tend to think RedOne may well be the next one.

giga may be gone as well in the future, or maybe only selling travel eSIMs.

I also think one of Zym/Zero1/VIVIFI will go since the offerings from the three are very much similar.

Reference
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_Singapore

• MVNOs:
  • Circles.Life (on M1's network)
  • CMLink SG (on Singtel's network)
  • CUniq SG (on StarHub's network)
  • eight Telecom (sub-brand of StarHub)
  • giga! (Sub-brand of StarHub)
  • GOMO (Sub-brand of Singtel)
  • Maxx (Sub-brand of M1)
  • MyRepublic Mobile (on StarHub's network for 5G plans; on M1's network for 4G plans)
  • redONE Mobile SG (on StarHub's network)
  • Singtel hi! (Sub-brand of Singtel; formerly known as heya by Singtel)
  • VIVIFI (on Singtel's network)
  • Zero1 (on Singtel's network)
  • ZYM Mobile (on Singtel's network)
• Former operators:
  • MVNOs:
    • Changi Mobile (July 2021 - February 2026)
    • Geenet mobile (March 2020 - December 2025)
    • ZΩH (August 2022 - December 2023)
    • Gorilla Mobile (June 2021 - January 2023)
    • Grid Mobile (June 2019 - 6 December 2021)
    • Zero Mobile (December 2017 - March 2020)
    • Virgin Mobile Singapore (on Singtel's network, ceased operations in 2002)

 

[Laguna123]

Anyone here using their 5g plan? How’s the speed and connectivity compare to 4g?
Currently there is this 1 year 5g plan for $128, quite tempting.

 

[xiaofan]

Anyone here using their 5g plan? How’s the speed and connectivity compare to 4g?
Currently there is this 1 year 5g plan for $128, quite tempting.

It will be very much depending on the location, use cases and expectations.

My colleague and his wife are using eight 5G and he told me eight 5G is pretty good.

They were using giga 5G before and SingTel last time.

Now he wants to try eight 4G next billing cycle. Let's see what will happen to him.

I do not have eight 5G but I have StarHub Prepaid S 5G plan (80 GB data, S$3 per month Happy Prepaid Card migration offer) and eight S$8 4G (S$4 effective price for 22 months). The speed of StarHub Prepaid 5G is often 5 to 20 times faster than eight 4G, using Poco X7 Pro phone.

But take note I do not usually take MRT during weekdays. I commute using Bus Service daily to work. And I stay and work in the west area (to the west of Jurong East).

 

[Laguna123]

My colleague and his wife are using eight 5G and he told me eight 5G is pretty good.

They were using giga 5G before and SingTel last time.

Now he wants to try eight 4G next billing cycle. Let's see what will happen to him.

I do not have eight 5G but I have StarHub Prepaid S 5G plan (80 GB data, S$3 per month Happy Prepaid Card migration offer) and eight S$8 4G (S$4 effective price for 22 months). The speed of StarHub Prepaid 5G is often 5 to 20 times faster than eight 4G, using Poco X7 Pro phone.

But take note I do not usually take MRT during weekdays. I commute using Bus Service daily to work.

Thanks for the review, think I will upgrade to 5g, seem quite worth at $128 for 1 year plan.

 

[xiaofan]

Thanks for the review, think I will upgrade to 5g, seem quite worth at $128 for 1 year plan.

I think that is a good move especially if you have not got the one for one top-up offer before.

Whether eight 5G is good for you or not will depend on the location you frequent, the use cases and expectations.

Some users have negative reviews of eight 5G here. So you may want to mention the locations you frequent.

I stay and work in the west area (to the west of Jurong East).

 

[Laguna123]

I think that is a good move especially if you have not got the one for one top-up offer before.

Whether eight 5G is good for you or not will depend on the location you frequent, the use cases and expectations.

Some users have negative reviews of eight 5G here. So you may want to mention the locations you frequent.

I stay and work in the west area (to the west of Jurong East).

I stay Tampines area and work around cbd. So our 5g user experience might be different?

 

[BBCWatcher]

Eight may bring down the 5G plan price or provide free 5G network to its cheaper 4G plan. What strategy or non-strategy it adopts will depend how the future industry competes I think.

I think a MVNO ought to try a split allocation offer to see if that works competitively — for example, 288GB total data per month but with up to 8GB at 5G speeds, thereafter at 4G speeds. Price that split allocation somewhere in between the current 4G and 5G price offers. (Those who don't want to use their 5G allocations right away can simply disable 5G on their phones until they're ready.) This approach might be a way to persuade some price sensitive customers to pay a little more.

Maybe redONE or Circles.Life could try this?

 

[xiaofan]

I stay Tampines area and work around cbd. So our 5g user experience might be different?

Yes, it can be pretty different.

For example, many users have issues with underground MRT stations of NSL and EWL near to CBD area during peak hours.

 

[hereiam7788]

I think a MVNO ought to try a split allocation offer to see if that works competitively — for example, 288GB total data per month but with up to 8GB at 5G speeds, thereafter at 4G speeds. Price that split allocation somewhere in between the current 4G and 5G price offers. (Those who don't want to use their 5G allocations right away can simply disable 5G on their phones until they're ready.) This approach might be a way to persuade some price sensitive customers to pay a little more.

Maybe redONE or Circles.Life could try this?

unless 4G is gone and 5G is taking over as the only network to use, else 4G plan will likely to exist, and so far MVNOs has not been increasing price for existing plans, but in fact they lower down price to current 4G price so far.

else, impossible for existing 4G users to move to 5G plan no matter how they plan with the plan.
and obviously, ppl do not go to 5G is becos 4G is more than sufficient so they dun bother to get 5G by paying extra which does not give much use and NOT becos of the bundled data is not enough. with the current quota given by either 4G or 5G, there is no way one can 'finish' the quota in any case.

 

[BBCWatcher]

....else, impossible for existing 4G users to move to 5G plan no matter how they plan with the plan....

My supposition (only that) is that there are some current 4G mobile plan customers who'd be willing to pay a little more to get a small allocation of 5G data for "special occasions." Much like how some people get practically all their medical care from public medical providers, but they're willing to pay somewhat more for occasional visits to private hospitals. (Raffles Shield covers this exact segment of the insurance market, actually.) I could be wrong, but I think it makes sense for an MVNO to test whether this market segment exists. RedONE could try since they currently don't offer any 5G plans at all. Assuming they want to stay in business. Maybe at $10/month with a few gigabytes of 5G data (and a much larger allotment of 4G data) they'd have a competitive offer?