I dont understand Singtel's pricing

[wifi_18Z]

There is a difference la. Just that TS doesn’t know …

 

[neptunesea]

Those with rooted android phones can check the network slice and QCI.

But as I was told the plain Singtel plans, Hi, GOMO and the other MVNOs have the same prioritisation within themselves.

Only plans with the Enhanced or Priority label get a different network slice and QCI.

However this is on the cell tower and RAN level. Higher up there might be different routing rules and throttling on the core network or beyond.

 

[koohansen]

But no matter how i do the maths, its not worth paying for these super expensive contract plans when you can get a cheap $10 or below plan and buy a new phone with the difference...

This use case works for people with mobile phone benefits from their company, some go on a per month claim basis, not a flat amount credited to your salary. Eg your company pays up to $100/mth for your mobile. You sign up those 80-90+ plan and get your phone for a lower cost. They don't care about the monthly bill. Some people sign up and sell the phone for $$$

 

[poland_ball]

Take note Singtel has SIM Only Priority Plans with no contract.

As mentioned, everyone has different use cases and different preferences in terms of the budget

The SingTel 5G+ Priority plans have an important advantage for some users as they have the highest priority among SingTel Mobile plans. Nothing wrong if the users are willing to pay.

so-called priority. need someone to confirm if there is actually a difference

 

[xiaofan]

so-called priority. need someone to confirm if there is actually a difference

Indeed the users need to carry out tests by themselves to see whether 5G+ Enhanced or 5G+ Priority is useful or not, if they are having issues with SingTel MVNOs.

If you have no issues then no need to try.

But you may need to spend S$36 or S$40 to try as the normal lowest cost SingTel SIM Only plan is the S$36/S$40 per month 5G+ Core plan.
https://www.singtel.com/personal/mobile/plans/sim-only

The lower cost SingTel 5G+ Enhanced Lite plan (as low as S$19.25 for CIS or recontract offer) will have 12 months contract (other than special come back offer for ex SingTel customers).

Typical complains from the Zym thread for reference.

Hi! Zym user for over 6 months. I want to find out everyone's experience using their mobile networks in the MRT tunnels. I often travel on the East West and North South lines. Usually between Lavender and City Hall, and from City Hall to Novena. The network speed has been very slow recently. Sometimes I can't even load a page or watch videos.

Has anyone faced similar issues?

That’s been pretty standard since they shut down 5G NSA. If you lose connection, just switch your phone's network settings to LTE—that’s what worked for me. A few other threads have actually talked about this already.

If this bothers you, u might want to consider MNO 5G+ enhance package that is heavily discuss in ST threads

 

[xiaofan]

In the end it also depends on the budget and expectations.

There are still quite some users who are paying for the 24 month contract plans with device, as they may like to have Flagship iPhone or Samsung phones every two years.

Then some users do not mind paying higher priced SingTel SIM Only plans.

Personally I am not willing to pay anything above S$20 for a SIM Only plan, but I am willing to pay around S$15 per month. And I do not really care about roaming, so I choose to stay with SingTel S$15.28 plan with plain 5G+, not 5G+ Enhanced. For my tests it seems to be good for EWL but not good for NSL. Starhub seems to be a bit better for NSL based on my limited tests. YMMV.

For users who need more roaming bundles, SingTel S$15.28 and the S$19.25 5G+ Enhanced Lite plan are not really good. Zym/Zero1/VIVIFI/CMLink are much better choice for roaming. They often have good promotions which can get down to S$5 per month level for the 4G plan with 5G forever promotion at S$10ish usual price.

 

[xiaofan]

5. Personally I use SingTel S$15.28 5G plan as the main line and Starhub Prepaid S legacy 5G line (S$3 per month , Starhub Happy Prepaid Card special migration offer) as the backup line
The combination serves me very well for local usage. I seldom travel and use eight S$8 for roaming usage if needed (effective price at S$4 per month due to S$88 one for one top-up offer).

Personally I am not willing to pay anything above S$20 for a SIM Only plan, but I am willing to pay around S$15 per month. And I do not really care about roaming, so I choose to stay with SingTel S$15.28 plan with plain 5G+, not 5G+ Enhanced. For my tests it seems to be good for EWL but not good for NSL. Starhub seems to be a bit better for NSL based on my limited tests. YMMV.

But there is a new development recently.

SingTel seems to change the policy of the S$15.28 plan and rejected my recontract order for the second S$15.28 line used by my wife. Now I am considering the following options.
1) SingTel hi! S$15 5G plan
2) Starhub Prepaid S$15 plan
3) M1 Maxx S$12 5G plan

She has the Starhub Prepaid S line for backup and we share the same eight S$8 lime for roaming. So probably I will choose SingTel hi! S$15 plan as she has good experience with that one for China roaming.

For myself, I may also switch out of the SingTel S$15.28 line next year since the recontract outcome is unpredictable.

 

[xiaofan]

For users who need more roaming bundles, SingTel S$15.28 and the S$19.25 5G+ Enhanced Lite plan are not really good. Zym/Zero1/VIVIFI/CMLink are much better choice for roaming. They often have good promotions which can get down to S$5 per month level for the 4G plan with 5G forever promotion at S$10ish usual price.

Zym offering for reference.

Changes of Zym plans from early this year (Feb 2026) to now (Sept 2026).

Feb 2026

Sept 2026

 

[xiaofan]

BTW, Speed is different from priority, both Singtel and Singel MVNO (eg: Zym) can reach very fast speed.

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/threads/show-your-best-and-worst-5g-and-4g-speed.7168117/

Singtel 5G SA
Google Pixel 9
ZYM Roam Smart $15.10/month
Temasek Poly

New 5G SA record, download may even be getting capped by ZYM's 2000/100 DL/UL AMBR.

Huawei Pura 90s Pro Max

Singtel 5G+ Priority SA n78+n1

 

[droidlover5000]

Yes, but singtel hi! Have no vowifi. You pay $10 more to get free vowifi and maybe better customer support.

 

[Jirachi]

so-called priority. need someone to confirm if there is actually a difference

Day-to-day: No
Very crowded areas like events: Yes

 

[xiaofan]

Day-to-day: No
Very crowded areas like events: Yes

Many users are not that concerned about occasional events, but more concerned about peak hour MRT ride for underground MRT Stations.

Reference from Zym thread.

Hi! Zym user for over 6 months. I want to find out everyone's experience using their mobile networks in the MRT tunnels. I often travel on the East West and North South lines. Usually between Lavender and City Hall, and from City Hall to Novena. The network speed has been very slow recently. Sometimes I can't even load a page or watch videos.

Has anyone faced similar issues?

That’s been pretty standard since they shut down 5G NSA. If you lose connection, just switch your phone's network settings to LTE—that’s what worked for me. A few other threads have actually talked about this already.

If this bothers you, u might want to consider MNO 5G+ enhance package that is heavily discuss in ST threads

 

[Jirachi]

Many users are not that concerned about occasional events, but more concerned about peak hour MRT ride for underground MRT Stations.

Reference from Zym thread.

Then priority is not going to be a difference since coverage is the main issue than network slicing

 

[xiaofan]

Then priority is not going to be a difference since coverage is the main issue than network slicing

Yes, it is true if got no signal coverage then priority does not help.

But then you can see the issues are more obvious during peak time, so congestion is still often the main issue.

For certain areas, the issues are already there during off peak hours, then yes coverage is the main issue.

 

[Kiwi8]

As an example, this is their cheapest SIM only plan: https://www.singtel.com/personal/products-services/mobile/eform/simonlyplanlite/ekyc which has the normal price of $35/month but is discounted to $24.50 per month currently.

Meanwhile, this is their plan under the "hi!" brand: https://hi.singtel.com/plan-detail/46 for $15/month

Obviously, the hi! plan is much better at a fraction of the cost and is still under Singtel.

So why would any sane person buy the expensive Singtel plan when they can buy a better plan for less under the hi! brand? You don't usually see companies do this because it makes no sense, it's called cannibalising their own product.

Also, i dont understand why Singtel's plans are so expensive? These prices do not even include a free/discounted mobile phone. Even at the promotional pricing, $24.50 for 300gb of data is a joke. It doesn't even have unlimited calls or SMS. Am i missing something here?

They can do this because they utilize network prioritization lor.

HI plans are lower priority than main Singtel plans.