SIMBA Telecom discussion thread

[xiaofan]

Roaming now in Japan with KDDI. Not bad.

So you have Zero1 and SIMBA roaming in Japan, which one is better?

Any other lines?

 

[Jurong640]

So you have Zero1 and SIMBA roaming in Japan, which one is better?

Any other lines?

Yes. Both Zero1, Simba and a esim from shopee.

Zero1 quite slow to load websites. Simba still faster

 

[Habrosus]

When will Simba ever have eSIM for Apple Watch?

Or does it still enjoy being compared to MVNOs since only the traffic lights have such eSIM?

Asking for a friend.

 

[xiaofan]

When will Simba ever have eSIM for Apple Watch?

Or does it still enjoy being compared to MVNOs since only the traffic lights have such eSIM?

Asking for a friend.

I think we need to wait for the SIMBA/M1 merger approval results.

If the merger goes through, the combined entity will revamp the plans from M1/SIMBA and you will get eSIM for Apple Watch since M1 has it.

If the merger does not go through, we may need to worry about the long term viability of SIMBA itself. No need to worry about Apple Watch eSIM in that case.

Initially I always thought IMDA would approve the merger. But when it came close to the original deadline, I started to have doubts. Now the deadline got extended, I think eventually the merger will go through. The extension gives some time to negotiate the terms and conditions of the merger.

 

[BBCWatcher]

If the merger does not go through, we may need to worry about the long term viability of SIMBA itself..

SIMBA (Tuas Ltd.) reported very strong financial results in their most recent earnings update. Revenue surged, net profit was way up, they had strong positive cash flow, their cash on hand grew even without counting M1 preparations, and even their broadband adds were impressive (albeit atop a low base). They had 1.412 million subscribers on January 31, 2026 — a significant market share gain. What’s not to like?

 

[xiaofan]

SIMBA (Tuas Ltd.) reported very strong financial results in their most recent earnings update. Revenue surged, net profit was way up, they had strong positive cash flow, their cash on hand grew even without counting M1 preparations, and even their broadband adds were impressive (albeit atop a low base). What’s not to like?

That is just a short term.

They still have negligible Fibre Broadband market share.

They will need to invest in 5G RAN and 5G core network. Later 6G...

I do not see how they can survive in the long run.

Anyway, just my personal opinion...

 

[xiaofan]

Even the following Straits Times Article mentions the following. That "some" must be some "experts", right?

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...pproval-for-simba-m1s-merger-down-to-the-wire
...
...
Expect some horse-trading in the final furlong as Simba races against the clock to finalise the deal, which some said is existential for the telco.

Simba, being the most poorly resourced where 5G spectrum is concerned, will go all out to complete the takeover mission it started. Its rivals will also actively engage in advocacy to hinder the approval process, which could go down to the wire.

 

[BBCWatcher]

That is just a short term.

[Long post follows. You've been warned.]

Their most recent half year financial report looks terrific to me. They also reported they're way ahead of their build out commitments, and those are at least medium-term.

They still have negligible Fibre Broadband market share.

Of course. They only recently entered that market, and it has less churn than mobile since most households and small businesses are on 24 month broadband contracts. Even so, they went from 26,000 to 46,000 subscribers in the 6 months ending January 31, 2026. Nothing wrong with that!

Unlike WhizComms and ViewQwest, fibre broadband service isn't a "pure play" for SIMBA. They already use the NGBN to support their mobile network, and they already have customer service, distribution channels, billing, legal, and other core competencies from their mobile business. There are some synergies they're enjoying. (In fairness WhizComms leans on Singtel for core networking, so they too can be both viable and small.)

They will need to invest in 5G RAN and 5G core network. Later 6G...

Yes, SIMBA's management knows this. They've built up cash reserves, and they continue to add to them with strong positive cash flow. However, I would caution that mobile consumers are often looking for value. SIMBA isn't famous for having the fastest network in Singapore. Nonetheless, they grew their subscriber base by 13% in just 6 months (January 31, 2025, versus July 31, 2025, if I'm reading their report correctly). They need to continue delivering great value. That's not the same thing as having Singapore's first or biggest 6G network, for example.

SIMBA essentially invented the "roam like home" mobile plan, and that's working well for them. They have a little advantage over StarHub and M1 because they have a larger Australian sister company and presumably jointly share roaming agreements (and rates), leveraging that higher volume. (Singtel may also be able to do this.) The other 3 carriers made a lot of money on roaming, but SIMBA and eSIMs have helped reduce roaming costs for consumers — and significantly reduce that source of carrier profit.

SIMBA also invented the S$5 "senior gab line." Talk as long as you want with your SIMBA senior friend. Seniors tend to use much less data, and VoLTE is light, so you can fill your lower cost network up and still make money. And take market share. And seniors can still call the grandkids from Johor and Batam. Smart, very smart. The S in SIMBA means seniors.

Let's applaud SIMBA's management for their progress so far, OK? They've made a lot of good decisions, and Singapore's mobile consumers have been the primary beneficiaries. And here they are making a serious play for M1. Good for them.

This is also a bit rich if it's coming from StarHub. SIMBA built out a 5G network at least. M1 and StarHub didn't even do that much, not on their own. They share a single 5G network through their Antina joint venture. And let's not forget that StarHub lost their lucrative pipes a few years ago (the coaxial cable TV network) and is now well along their loss of traditional linear TV distribution ("cable TV") as the streaming services continue to gain market share. SIMBA doesn't have those headwinds to worry about. (It'd be hilarious if they offer a bargain TV package, wouldn't it? Free/bundled Premier League with a 24 month SIMBA broadband contract?)

And here's another interesting factor: the 3GPP knows that mobile carriers struggled (and are struggling) with their 5G business cases. Quite simply, consumers haven't been throwing as many subscription dollars at the carriers for 5G as industry forecasts expected, and 5G wasn't/isn't as big a real-world improvement as forecast. So the 3GPP is trying hard to make upcoming 6G business cases much stronger, meaning that 6G will be a much smaller investment lift than 5G SA was/is. Assuming that's all true, that'll help SIMBA. Or it might even help StarHub assuming the SIMBA-M1 merger completes. Funny how that works.

Even the following Straits Times Article mentions the following. That "some" must be some "experts", right?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...pproval-for-simba-m1s-merger-down-to-the-wire
Expect some horse-trading in the final furlong as Simba races against the clock to finalise the deal, which some said is existential for the telco.

"Some said" is not great journalism. Many editors would've questioned that part.

Simba, being the most poorly resourced where 5G spectrum is concerned, will go all out to complete the takeover mission it started.

Yes, SIMBA is obviously trying to gain spectrum through acquisition. That'd be the best way. There's also a second best way.

Its rivals will also actively engage in advocacy to hinder the approval process, which could go down to the wire.

Of course rivals would argue against the merger. Especially StarHub. "Some say" StarHub would feel the most competitive pressure with a SIMBA-M1 combination. (See what I did there?) I could make an argument why Singtel might want this merger to go through with conditions, or at least why Singtel would be neutral about it.

Keppel is obviously arguing in favor of the merger, and Keppel is an important company in Singapore.

With respect to Huawei infrastructure, I think there's some all around risk mitigation merit in having one (and only one) mobile network on Huawei equipment. Especially if at least "SOS mode" is mandated so that any cellular tower operated by any carrier is available for 995/999 calling to any phone that can reach it. And maybe that's one of the few deal closing conditions, that SIMBA-M1 (S1MBA?) must support "SOS mode" by Date X — work that they must do in the course of integrating their networks. (And Singtel and StarHub must also support "SOS mode" by Date X+12 months.)

[The Huawei argument is also a bit rich when Singtel is hosting CMLink and StarHub is hosting CUniq. And handing out lots of TP-Link routers. If there's a problem with Huawei, there's probably a bigger problem with CMLink, CUniq, and TP-Link.]

Beyond "SOS mode," I think it'd also be reasonable to mandate VoLTE/VoNR backup on other carriers when a network collapses. (Data backup we can quibble about.) VoLTE/VoNR would allow traditional voice calls, SMS, RCS (probably), and support the upcoming Cell Broadcast System for emergency alerts. These "any operating tower" backup modes would improve national security and resilience.

 

[xiaofan]

[Long post follows. You've been warned.]

Good write-up.

But you are not able to convince me in this case.

Basically SIMBA is doing a good job now. But lots of challenges down the road.

On the Fibre Broadband side
They will not be able to move forward much due to the strong competion from Starhub/eight/M1/WC.

On the mobile side.
1) Competition from eight with free voice roaming and low cost
2) Competition from ST MVNOs which have significantly improve the roaming bundle. Only issus is no free roaming voice.
3) Strong competition on the senior plan side from eight (S$5 4G plan) and Singtel (S$6 5G plan and S$5 4G plan).

 

[BBCWatcher]

On the Fibre Broadband side
They will not be able to move forward much due to the strong competion from Starhub/eight/M1/WC.

I think WhizComms is pretty terrific, but I don’t think they’re much competition. Of course SIMBA is trying to acquire M1. One possible outcome is that they acquire M1’s broadband business.

On the mobile side.
1) Competition from eight with free voice roaming and low cost

Sure, but we can see some SIMBA-side results from this competition: it’s going well for SIMBA so far.

2) Competition from ST MVNOs which have significantly improve the roaming bundle. Only issus is no free roaming voice.

Not the only issue, and that’s a fairly big one. They aren’t trying to offer a S$5 senior plan as a notable example. And they aren’t offering 5G at SIMBA price points. (Yes, I know, SIMBA’s 5G isn’t as fabulous as other 5G networks. Although the MVNOs are lower 5G QCIs anyway — SIMBA doesn’t do that — and more than a few consumers just want the “feel good” 5 on their screens.) And we’ve seen some MVNOs simply disappear.

3) Strong competition on the senior plan side from eight (S$5 4G plan) and Singtel (S$6 5G plan and S$5 4G plan).

Not as strong as you might think. Eight is at 4G only, and it only includes 388 outgoing voice minutes to all local numbers. SIMBA includes unlimited calls to local numbers on their S$5 senior plan plus 400 minutes to fixed lines. A lot of seniors love to talk on old fashioned voice calls. SIMBA lets them do that as much as they want to the 8 and 9 prefix numbers (mobile lines, any carrier).

Singtel hikes their S$6 price after 12 months, and don’t they require a 12 month contract? Looks like it. No help roaming except in Malaysia, so too bad if you merely take the ferry to Batam or Bintan. Singtel’s S$5 (actually S$5.09) Mobile Access plan requires eligibility (not available to many seniors), includes only 5GB of data (versus 400GB for SIMBA), has limited talk time again (350 minutes to all lines), and no roaming anywhere. Also, the price doubles after 24 months.

Sure, some seniors are going with Eight and Singtel. But many of them were paying StarHub and Singtel S$20+ per month recently. Is that winning?

On edit: StarHub’s mobile revenues declined 7.7% for the full year 2025 versus 2024. And the decline accelerated into the second half (-10.1%). Management explained why: declines in roaming, IDD, subscriptions, and VAS revenues. The profitable stuff. Mobile subscribers were basically flat, entertainment revenues were down 7.1% for the year (but falling less quickly into the second half), and broadband revenues were down marginally. Profit was basically halved, free cash flow went negative.

I just think a little corporate humility is in order. StarHub did not post good financial results. SIMBA did. That counts for something surely.

 

[xiaofan]

Singtel hikes their S$6 price after 12 months, and don’t they require a 12 month contract?

Yes it is with 12 months contract. But no more price hike after 12 months as per the new terms and conditions. Not the same as the previous SG60 offer.

Main catch: only for new line or port-in.

https://www.singtel.com/personal/pr...monly-seniors?utm_campaign=sop-marketing-page

Terms and conditions.
https://cdn1.singteldigital.com/con.../12mar26-seniors-6-dollars-340gb-atl-tncs.pdf

 

[CPTMiller]

Is Simba still running on 5G NSA network.?

 

[twosix]

Is Simba still running on 5G NSA network.?

It has both.

 

[xiaofan]

Is Simba still running on 5G NSA network.?

Mostly NSA.

There may be pocket of 5G SA deployment in some locations.

 

[CPTMiller]

Mostly NSA.

There may be pocket of 5G SA deployment in some locations.

Does the shut down of nation 5G NSA affect them

 

[xiaofan]

Does the shut down of nation 5G NSA affect them

No. SIMBA is exempted.

 

[CPTMiller]

No. SIMBA is exempted.

Thanks for the info

 

[CPTMiller]

It has both.

Thanks

 

[ST9611]

My wallet just got deducted for excess usage and all data gone. Although I still have a few hundred gb of data. anyone got this problem too? Don't dare to load my wallet in future.

 

[Habrosus]

My wallet just got deducted for excess usage and all data gone. Although I still have a few hundred gb of data. anyone got this problem too? Don't dare to load my wallet in future.

My wallet with $130 still intact. I keep track of deductions separately so confirmed no unexpected deduction done.