Help choosing a Internet Service Provider

[lambo9998]

Our family has been using Singtel Fibre Broadband for the past 15-16 years and is now considering a change in ISP. The current issue is that because of our appliance's configuration, the current router is being placed in the room that is the furthest away from the kitchen. This resulted in a lot of connectivity issues in the past. (which we have gotten used to)

However, we were considering whether to switch ISP as we realized that Singtel actually charges a lot more compared to the others ISP. We are currently contracting with Singtel for their 1GBps fiber broadband using their free router. Therefore, we might consider switching to a mesh system so that Wi-Fi connectivity gets better throughout the entire house.

Comparing the options of ISP available for 1GBps, ViewQuest, MyRepublic, and WhizzComms seem to have a slight advantage in price. Does anyone have any advice/reviews on these ISPs? (I stay somewhere in the South) Also, are there any recommendations in terms of hardware? (Was thinking of TP-Link Deco AX3600)

Appreciate any tips and advices that you all may have, thank you!

​

 

[limck]

even if you change ISP but retain the same equipment you are going to face the same issues.
there are some people who managed to recontract with ST with 7 or 8 months free thrown in which brings down the monthly fees to just over $30 per month after factoring in the free months.

do note that jumping ship may incur activation fees, etc which you need to take into account.

 

[bert64]

Don't consider the "free" routers offered by ISPs, they are generally poor...
Consider the equipment and the provider to be two separate things, buy decent equipment which suits your property layout and needs. Most ISPs will let you use your own equipment with their service.

Your location shouldn't make any difference because the physical infrastructure is handled by NLT whichever ISP you choose.

The physical connection is also going to enter the property in the same place regardless of which ISP you use, if wireless service is poor due to where the router is located you're going to need to look at ways to improve that - the best option would be to have multiple access points connected via wired ethernet (and non portable devices also connected directly with wired), but this may not be possible/practical depending on your property conditions.

I would stick with M1 or Starhub currently because they offer a more modern service including IPv6 and do not use CGNAT (yet). There is also a service from Simba due to be launched soon, it's going to be cheaper than the others but other details are not known yet.
You may also want to consider a lower than 1gbps service, chances are if all your devices are on wireless (especially at the edges of signal range) you won't be able to make full use of 1gbps anyway so a 500mbps service would save you money while offering the same performance.

 

[lambo9998]

Don't consider the "free" routers offered by ISPs, they are generally poor...
Consider the equipment and the provider to be two separate things, buy decent equipment which suits your property layout and needs. Most ISPs will let you use your own equipment with their service.

Your location shouldn't make any difference because the physical infrastructure is handled by NLT whichever ISP you choose.

The physical connection is also going to enter the property in the same place regardless of which ISP you use, if wireless service is poor due to where the router is located you're going to need to look at ways to improve that - the best option would be to have multiple access points connected via wired ethernet (and non portable devices also connected directly with wired), but this may not be possible/practical depending on your property conditions.

I would stick with M1 or Starhub currently because they offer a more modern service including IPv6 and do not use CGNAT (yet). There is also a service from Simba due to be launched soon, it's going to be cheaper than the others but other details are not known yet.
You may also want to consider a lower than 1gbps service, chances are if all your devices are on wireless (especially at the edges of signal range) you won't be able to make full use of 1gbps anyway so a 500mbps service would save you money while offering the same performance.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry if I sound stupid, but can I know what's CGNAT and IPv6?

 

[lambo9998]

even if you change ISP but retain the same equipment you are going to face the same issues.
there are some people who managed to recontract with ST with 7 or 8 months free thrown in which brings down the monthly fees to just over $30 per month after factoring in the free months.

do note that jumping ship may incur activation fees, etc which you need to take into account.

My current set-up have a few computers connected via ethernet cables to the router in the "Study Room", thus considering Mesh option. Will it be viable?

 

[limck]

My current set-up have a few computers connected via ethernet cables to the router in the "Study Room", thus considering Mesh option. Will it be viable?

If your mesh nodes are not connected back via physical cable then may not solve the issue also esp if your mesh nodes do not have line of sight.
Imagine you are talking to a friend with a wall in between. You may not be able to hear each other properly due to the wall. Similarly WiFi signals will degrade when passing through walls so for mesh to work best is either have line of sight or connected by physical cables to transmit the data traffic.
mid you can share your house floor plan then can advise better

 

[xiaofan]

For ISP comparison, please refer to the thread here.
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/singapore-isp-comparisons.6665380/
1) For existing users of any ISPs: no switching of ISP unless if you got issues or you got very good offers from the other ISPs.

2) Recommendation for new sign-up: M1 or Starhub 500Mbps or 1Gbps plan; avoid Singtel 1Gbps/2Gbps plan becuase of ONR. Singtel no longer entertains bridging request for 1Gbps plan since March 2022. Singtel 2Gbps plan will not allow ONR bridging at all.

5) DO NOT USE the FREE BUNDLED ROUTER as the base for choosing ISPs.

 

[lambo9998]

The above listing has the exact floorplan as my house. The router is located in bedroom 3. In that case, should I shift the router out to the living room instead?

If your mesh nodes are not connected back via physical cable then may not solve the issue also esp if your mesh nodes do not have line of sight.
Imagine you are talking to a friend with a wall in between. You may not be able to hear each other properly due to the wall. Similarly WiFi signals will degrade when passing through walls so for mesh to work best is either have line of sight or connected by physical cables to transmit the data traffic.
mid you can share your house floor plan then can advise better

 

[Trans-Am]

@ts ,

one point to take note if you decided to jump ship, make sure your new isp is up and running before you terminate your old one.



Sent from A universe Where pink PWNED everything

 

[limck]

The above listing has the exact floorplan as my house. The router is located in bedroom 3. In that case, should I shift the router out to the living room instead?

Your kitchen is furthest from bedroom 3 hence poor WiFi signal.
where is your ONT/ONR located? If it is in the living room then your WiFi router could be placed in the living room instead. For the computers inside bedroom 3 (I’m guessing on this) maybe you can buy a small data switch to connect them together with uplink to the WiFi router in the living room.
As a start, maybe just relocate the WiFi router to the living room first and test the WiFi coverage around the house and see if the problem is resolved.

 

[lambo9998]

Your kitchen is furthest from bedroom 3 hence poor WiFi signal.
where is your ONT/ONR located? If it is in the living room then your WiFi router could be placed in the living room instead. For the computers inside bedroom 3 (I’m guessing on this) maybe you can buy a small data switch to connect them together with uplink to the WiFi router in the living room.
As a start, maybe just relocate the WiFi router to the living room first and test the WiFi coverage around the house and see if the problem is resolved.

The ONT is placed in the living room actually. The signal around the house is fine as nobody uses the WiFi in the Kitchen. I was just wondering if it would be better to switch ISPs as I see a lot of promotions ongoing and was wondering if it would be better in the long run to switch ISPs and at the same time set up a mesh system to improve the connectivity.

 

[limck]

The ONT is placed in the living room actually. The signal around the house is fine as nobody uses the WiFi in the Kitchen. I was just wondering if it would be better to switch ISPs as I see a lot of promotions ongoing and was wondering if it would be better in the long run to switch ISPs and at the same time set up a mesh system to improve the connectivity.

define "improve the connectivity"

There's always many promos going on but you need to take into account all the various fees that goes into switching. Switching ISPs won't have much effect to your internet speed if the problem is with your own home WIFI network.

the main issue with your WIFI is that your WIFI router is located in your bedroom and all signals will have to pass through the wall if you are in the living room or bedroom 2. for master bedroom, the wifi signal will have to pass through 2 walls which result in more signal degradation. Even if you switch to mesh, you may not have much improvements unless your mesh nodes are connected by cable back to the main router.

as mentioned earlier, test out first by shifting your WIFI router out to where the ONT is and then see if this "improve the connectivity". If it solves the problem, then you just need to buy a small 5 port network switch to connect your computers in bedroom 3 back to the router and then case closed.

 

[bert64]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry if I sound stupid, but can I know what's CGNAT and IPv6?

IPv4 is the old version of the Internet Protocol, IPv6 is the current version. We are currently in a transition phase where it's generally advisable to use both (ie dual stack). Most major sites (google, netflix, youtube, microsoft etc) support both, some older sites only support IPv4 and some things only support IPv6. The number of IPv6-only sites/services is currently small but increasing as IPv4 is costly and a number of governments (US, China etc) are pushing for IPv6-only.
In general when a site supports both, IPv6 is preferred and will perform better if you have a proper native connection.

By design every device should have its own IP address, however IPv4 is inadequate for a global network (it was designed for the ARPANET - a US military experiment), so you have NAT (single IPv4 shared with your house) or CGNAT where a single IPv4 is shared with other customers of the ISP.

All mobile operators in SG use CGNAT, some wired providers (MR, VQ) use CGNAT too.

NAT breaks things and reduces performance, if the NAT is under your control then you can work around some of the problems, if the NAT is outside of your control (CGNAT is controlled by the ISP) then there will be more things that don't work, or fail over to a nat-compatible operating mode which may require a third party service or operate with reduced performance.
You won't be able to host any services, your participation in certain p2p protocols (bittorrent, some gaming, some chat apps etc) will be restricted and you may experience degraded performance.

IPv6 does not require NAT at all and is free of these problems providing the device and services you use support it.

With a dual stack connection you have the best of both - anything that supports IPv6 will benefit from it, anything that does not will continue to operate exactly the same with IPv4.

 

[bert64]

The above listing has the exact floorplan as my house. The router is located in bedroom 3. In that case, should I shift the router out to the living room instead?

Wireless signal will be strongest right next to the access point, and become weaker due to distance, obstacles and interference/congestion.

If you draw lines out from the access point to the location of your client devices - the longer the line or the more obstacles in the way, the worse it will perform.

Putting the access point in the living room would be the optimal location if you only have a single access point, as this is the most central room. The other alternative would be to add additional access points in other rooms as required, if it's practical to connect them together with ethernet cable.
Another option is wireless repeaters so you effectively break the line (above) in half, although this won't be as good as using wires.

 

[Fronsac]

Please skip mesh, it is really not as magical as what all ISP try to sell you. Mesh basically uses 2.4 GHZ as backbone and try to connect to another unit so that you might have a decent connection on 5ghz. For older house try to reburbish the telephone network into a 100mbps OR coaxial which get you 250 mbps. For newer house they have cat 5e that you can tap.
Even the most expensive mesh system get you next to nothing.
If everything fails, try the ethernet over powerline, if you get lucky, you might have a power line that run straight to the destination and achieve max speed but anything is just still better than mesh.

I used this work around when I was staying in rental room, the wifi sucks and I cannot change it so I get the ethernet over powerline, that get me something like 200 to 300 mbps.

Basically Ethernet > telephone > coaxial > ethernet over power > mesh > existing

 

[Fronsac]

The above listing has the exact floorplan as my house. The router is located in bedroom 3. In that case, should I shift the router out to the living room instead?

Wall mount at this location is the best
Just take note bomb shelter cannot pierce, those wall that is black, cannot pierce well, other than piercing signal can bounce. Normal HDB door is hollow so it should be fine unless you use those solid door then you might have signal issue.
Do not put it beside the black wall between room 3 and living room. It will basically make room 3 suffer from signal problem.
General rule of thumb 2 thin wall/door is the max, anything is reachable through bouncing off the wall might work.

 

[aloe111]

Hi people, I need some advice. My parent's house is currently paying 50+/mth for Singtel 1gpbs, which is unnecessary. In fact wifi is unnecessary because mobile data is more than sufficient, except I want to retain the digital phone line (old family number).

I'm trying to downgrade to 500mpbs from Starhub or M1. The current Singtel is using ONR.

Which provider/options is the net lowest cost inclusive of new router (as I assume Singtel ONR, Mesh Router all need to be replaced). I prefer all in package from new provider and not to have to buy and configure my own router etc.

Thanks

 

[Imsai37]

Hi people, I need some advice. My parent's house is currently paying 50+/mth for Singtel 1gpbs, which is unnecessary. In fact wifi is unnecessary because mobile data is more than sufficient, except I want to retain the digital phone line (old family number).

I'm trying to downgrade to 500mpbs from Starhub or M1. The current Singtel is using ONR.

Which provider/options is the net lowest cost inclusive of new router (as I assume Singtel ONR, Mesh Router all need to be replaced). I prefer all in package from new provider and not to have to buy and configure my own router etc.

Thanks

For 500 mbps neither M1/Starhub provide free router.
M1 offers 500 mbps for 30.18 and additional $5.04 per month for AX72 router. Alternatively you can by the same router from Carousel for $80.00 (can negotiate for even cheaper price).
https://www.m1.com.sg/home-broadband/plans/500mbps
Starhub

500Mbps Broadband​

$30.18 per month​

• FREE Service installation worth $90.84
• Choose the router that best suits your needs:
  Smart WiFi (Nokia, WiFi 6) at $5.05/mth
  Smart WiFi (Linksys, WiFi 6) at $8.07/mth
  Smart WiFi Pro (Linksys, WiFi 6) at $12.11/mth

 

[aloe111]

For 500 mbps neither M1/Starhub provide free router.
M1 offers 500 mbps for 30.18 and additional $5.04 per month for AX72 router. Alternatively you can by the same router from Carousel for $80.00 (can negotiate for even cheaper price).
https://www.m1.com.sg/home-broadband/plans/500mbps
Starhub

500Mbps Broadband​

$30.18 per month​

• FREE Service installation worth $90.84
• Choose the router that best suits your needs:
  Smart WiFi (Nokia, WiFi 6) at $5.05/mth
  Smart WiFi (Linksys, WiFi 6) at $8.07/mth
  Smart WiFi Pro (Linksys, WiFi 6) at $12.11/mth

Thanks. Do you know which is the cheapest router model compatible with M1? Is Nokia Beacon 1 compatible?

 

[xiaofan]

Thanks. Do you know which is the cheapest router model compatible with M1? Is Nokia Beacon 1 compatible?

Nokia Beacon 1 is compatible but super lousy. Better to go with TP-Link Archer AX72 from Carousell, BNIB at around S$80.

Nokia Beacon 1 is among one of the worst free wireless routers given out by any Singapore ISPs within the past 5 years, probably only a bit better than Singtel AC Plus.

If your budget is super low, then get the S$10 to S$20 old Linksys EA7500 or EA8100 from Carousell. They are still better than the Nokia Beacon 1.