Showing posts with label Starhub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starhub. Show all posts

Friday, January 29, 2016

article About Best Postpaid Plan in Singapore (Without Contract) - (all-vga-corner)

Best Postpaid Plan in Singapore (Without Contract)

The Era of No-Contract Mobile Postpaid Plan

The initial sunk cost (or investment) of setting up telecom infrastructure is high.  In the early days, to promote mass market of mobile phone, telecom operators adopted free phone for a 2-year contract.  In today's context, the strategy of giving free phone is no longer practiced.  Instead, telecom operators twisted to "subsidise" the phone for your 2-year contract.  If you are silly enough to sign up for a free phone, then you are one of those good customers who are "stupid" to pay more for an inferior phone (or $0 phone) at a premium price.

You may challenge: What inferior phone?  My answer is simply you are paying extra (minimum $10/month) for 24 months.  Telecom company has collected $240 over 2 years for the lowest plan.  They have successfully lock you in for 24 months else you will be penalised for breaking the contract.  As long as manufacturers are willing to sell the mobile phone for less than $200, they can sell the phone at cost but their objective to tie you down for 2 years is achieved.  To make higher margins, some phones cost only $50 so they can make high margin if you select an outdated smartphone.  Well, with such high margin, they can afford to throw you some free gifts to sweeten the deal.

If you have a high-end or reasonably solid smartphone, it can last you for 4 to 5 years and there is no need to change a new one after 2 years.  Why should you be paying for another 2 years contract and the penalty of $240?  So telecom companies will give you voucher as high as $500 because you have already paid them $1000 in the last 2 years.  By sacrificing some profits, they are able to secure and lock you in for another 2 years. More good years!

When M1 started offering postpaid plan without contract, others follow reluctantly as many abandoned the postpaid contract after maturity.  It is a wise thing to do because you can choose what you need.  For example, if you only wish to call out, just pay $36.05 for unlimited minutes instead of over $200.  Imagine how much you can save or how much telecom company was earning!  The best part is you have the freedom to jump ship anytime since there is no contract to bind you for 24 months.  Besides choosing a phone which you like that can last for more than 2 years, you must decide which plan is suitable for you?

Look no further, just participate in the survey below and we will send you the best plan to suit your lifestyle with the minimum cost.  Do not trap yourself with the current mindset of 2 years contract and get a new phone.  You should free yourself from the standard S$36 for a 100-min/mth plan and look beyond the free phone and contract.  Communication should be bond free to be enjoyable.

Friday, December 11, 2009

article About Best iPhone plans for 8GB and 16GB - (all-vga-corner)

Features of 3 iPhone models

Yesterday, I have written the best plans for iPhone 3GS 32GB (3rd generation iPhone). This phone is the latest Apple phone with a faster processor, slightly superior battery life equipped with a 3.2MP camera compared to the 2nd generation iPhone 3G. The 16GB version has half the flash memory as compared to the 32GB version so it is cheaper in value. If you have few applications, songs and data to be stored on the iPhone, a 16GB is sufficed for your daily use. 32GB version is an overkill as flash memory is always dropped as the production reaches economic of scales powered by the increasing demand of flash memory in storage arena.

In contrast, iPhone 3G with a modest 8GB is the 2nd generation iPhone with 2MP camera but with 3G support, it works well with any of the minimum 12GB data plans. So is iPhone 3G 8GB having a slower download speed as compared to the latest 3GS iPhone 16GB or 32GB? The answer is no. The download speed for both iPhone 3G and 3GS are at a maximum speed of 7.2Mbps (HSDPA). Since all 3 telcos are matching with 7.2Mbps for all iPhone plans, the only speed bottlenecks lie in the network coverage and the environment where you are in. You may refer to the earlier blog on how to measure the data speed with your mobile phone. On the side note, you may wish to consider the upload speed which is not mentioned in the websites of all the 3 telcos. For example, Starhub offers a upload speed of 1.9Mbps for all its iPhone plans.

The premium plans will not be discussed because these 2 models belong to the lower end and premium plans do not change much. If you wish to get 3G 8GB or 3GS 16GB, you may wish to refer to the earlier blog. The differences are minor as the monthly subscriptions form the majority of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

iPhone 3G 8GB

With no worry on its speed, the next concern is choosing the right plan. This model is ideal for value proposition since it has the lowest top-up value. The following table is derived.

Mins/month

M-Value

M-Lite

ST-Lite

ST-Value

SH-100

SH-300

50

$ 1,262.00

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,274.00

$ 1,391.76

$ 1,300.00

$ 1,510.00

100

$ 1,262.00

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,274.00

$ 1,391.76

$ 1,300.00

$ 1,510.00

134

$ 1,392.97

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,404.97

$ 1,391.76

$ 1,430.97

$ 1,510.00

150

$ 1,454.60

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,466.60

$ 1,391.76

$ 1,492.60

$ 1,510.00

200

$ 1,647.20

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,659.20

$ 1,391.76

$ 1,685.20

$ 1,510.00

212

$ 1,693.42

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,705.42

$ 1,437.98

$ 1,731.42

$ 1,510.00

250

$ 1,839.80

$ 1,442.00

$ 1,851.80

$ 1,584.36

$ 1,877.80

$ 1,510.00

300

$ 2,032.40

$ 1,442.00

$ 2,044.40

$ 1,776.96

$ 2,070.40

$ 1,510.00


From the graph, we observe that M1's plans beat Starhub's plans flat. If you are having an average call out of 134 to 212 minutes/month, it is wise to choose Singtel M-Value Plan. Else M1 M-Value and M-Lite plans provide the lowest TCO for the rest.

iPhone 3GS 16GB

The plans for this mid end phone are presented below.

Mins/month

M-Value

M-Lite

ST-Lite

ST-Value

SH-100

SH-300

50

$ 1,382.00

$ 1,592.00

$ 1,454.00

$ 1,591.76

$ 1,450.00

$ 1,660.00

100

$ 1,382.00

$ 1,592.00

$ 1,454.00

$ 1,591.76

$ 1,450.00

$ 1,660.00

150

$ 1,574.60

$ 1,592.00

$ 1,646.60

$ 1,591.76

$ 1,642.60

$ 1,660.00

200

$ 1,767.20

$ 1,592.00

$ 1,839.20

$ 1,591.76

$ 1,835.20

$ 1,660.00

250

$ 1,959.80

$ 1,592.00

$ 2,031.80

$ 1,784.36

$ 2,027.80

$ 1,660.00

300

$ 2,152.40

$ 1,592.00

$ 2,224.40

$ 1,976.96

$ 2,220.40

$ 1,660.00


The graph depicts that both M1 plans are the clear winners in the value market except for 200mins/month, Singtel Value wins a marginal S$0.24. Now, you can tell any blind man to get M1 plan if he wants a iPhone 3G 16GB. However, Starhub SH-300 is a close competitor with M1 M-Lite with a small S$68 margin.

Conclusions

For easy reference, the TCO table for all phones and plans is shown below.

Mins/month

Lowest TCO

3G 8GB

Lowest TCO

3GS 16GB

Lowest TCO

3GS 32GB

50

$ 1,262.00

M-Value

$ 1,382.00

M-Value

$ 1,522.00

M-Value

100

$ 1,262.00

M-Value

$ 1,382.00

M-Value

$ 1,522.00

M-Value

150

$ 1,391.76

ST-Value

$ 1,574.60

M-Value

$ 1,714.60

M-Value

200

$ 1,391.76

ST-Value

$ 1,591.76

ST-Value

$ 1,741.76

ST-Value

250

$ 1,442.00

M-Lite

$ 1,592.00

M-Lite

$ 1,742.00

M-Lite

300

$ 1,442.00

M-Lite

$ 1,592.00

M-Lite

$ 1,742.00

M-Lite

450

$ 2,019.80

M-Lite

$ 2,169.80

M-Lite

$ 2,319.80

M-Lite

500

$ 2,212.40

M-Lite

$ 2,280.00

ST-Plus

$ 2,378.00

ST-Plus

700

$ 2,352.00

M-Extreme

$ 2,352.00

M-Extreme

$ 2,450.00

M-Extreme

1000

$ 3,507.60

M-Extreme

$ 3,507.60

M-Extreme

$ 3,605.60

M-Extreme

1500

$ 4,752.00

M-Unlimited

$ 4,752.00

M-Unlimited

$ 4,752.00

M-Unlimited


For the lowest TCO, your wallet will suffer a damage of S$1,262. This is the lowest price for owning a iPhone. You must refrain from abusing the data bandwidth and exceed the limit of monthly data usage for value plans.

By far, M1 plans win in nearly every category. Singtel has a few winners but Starhub has none. This clearly explains why M1 shops are crowded with human queues while Starhub shops are crowded with flies. As a smart consumer, be prepared to choose the best plan from the chart below before you join in the queue. Remember to consider M1's Take-3 plan, Free Calls to 3 M1 numbers, Unlimited SMS and MMS plus Free Campus/Army Camp calls (students and NSFs) and 35% discount on Multi-Line Saver to enjoy greater discounts.

TRUE WINNER

With the above, do you think you are the winner in this war? Unfortunately, the answer is NO. M1 laughs all the way to the bank if everyone signs up their M-value plan. Why?

From M1 perspective, they wish to regain market share as they do not complete package like Singtel's MIO and Starhub's Hubber as they do not own the infrastructure.

From consumer end, you are the "biggest" loser by choosing M-Value because it has the lowest value amongst the plans. If we only consider voice calls and SMSs, below are the perceived values of the plans based on simple calculations.


M-Value

M-Lite

M-Extreme

Explanation & Formula

Monthly Fee (w/GST)

$ 36.00

$ 56.00

$ 98.00

A

Free voice call (mins)

100.00

300.00

700.00

B=$0.1605/min

Free SMS/MMS

500.00

500.00

500.00

C=$0.05/SMS






Bundled value

$ 985.20

$ 1,755.60

$ 3,296.40

D=(free call x B)+(free SMS x C)

2 years contract

$ 864.00

$ 1,344.00

$ 2,352.00

E=24 mths x A

Cost of phone

$ 398.00

$ 98.00

$ -

F

Perceived Values (PV)

$ (276.80)

$ 313.60

$ 944.40

PV=D-E-F


So signing up the M-Extreme plan gives you a gain of S$944 as compared to M-Value plan of �$276.80. You may argue the costs of operation for calls and SMSs are much lower on the operator side. Yes, you are right and this precisely iterates the fact that you must stick to your plan and should not exceed the allocated time or data usage. So I hope these tables will assist you in selecting a good iPhone as well as a good plan to complement it.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

article About Select your best iPhone 3GS 32GB plan� - (all-vga-corner)

Telco war

Peace is disrupted yesterday when all 3 telcos are selling iPhone. OCWORKBENCH is the first in Singapore to report live on the iPhone war with a nice chart breaking down the various plans offered by the 3 telcos. If you follow their twitter, you can be updated on last minute surprises offered by M1 and Starhub to sweeten their offerings. Many Singaporeans are queuing up to get their iPhone because monkeys see, monkeys do (as they said in the army). If you are one of them, do you know what plan is suitable for yourself? Or you just sign the cheapest plan to get your dream iPhone?

Factors to consider

I have earlier blogged on some concerns before you upgrade your phone or plan. Perhaps it is good for you to read it before you run down to queue up. It is important that you are sure that you NEED a iPhone before you read further on the plans offered. Many claimed that marketing department in Apple is doing a great job in pushing you a product that you don't need. So don't jump on it if you only make voice calls and send SMSs. It is trendy to carry the latest model 3GS but you look stupid if you have no applications using the data plan. Yes, all iPhone plans come with minimum 12 GB of data plan which is great if you use GPS, MSN, Email, Surf web, Twitter, Internet radio, YouTube, Facebook and watch internet TV. 12GB is a lot of data and most users are unlikely to exceed this quota in a month. Thus, we will not be considering data transfer in our tabulation.

I would like to introduce a term known as the total cost of ownership (TCO) in our evaluation. TCO includes the monthly subscription (voice and data) you are paying and the cost of the phone. It is only fair to compare different plans as there is an amount to pay for the price of the phone for different plans. Below is an example of the Singtel iPhone plan for 3GS 32GB.

iPhone 3GS 32GB

Lite

Value

Plus

Premium

Monthly Fees (S$)

39.00

55.99

95.00

204.99

Extra cost for phone (S$)

658.00

398.00

98.00

0.00

TCO for 2 yrs contract (S$)

1,594.00

1,741.76

2,378.00

4,919.76

After you confirm iPhone is suitable for you, you should consider how many calls you make a month because this is one of the determining factor in various plans. If you are a light user, a 100 minute/month plan may be suitable for you. If you are a heavy user, you should consider the unlimited plan. It may be a good time to take out your mobile bills for the past year and calculate how many minutes you use per month. With this, let's begin to search the best plan for iPhone 3GS 32GB.

Value Plans (<300 minutes/month)

As the name suggests, this plan is suitable for consumer with a budget or makes only few calls. If you choose this plan and use more than 300 minutes, you will be paying a dear premium. So if you use 350 min/month, it is strong advised to select the next higher plan. Based on TCO on the plans offered by telco, the table is derived.

TCO

M-Value

M-Lite

ST-Lite

ST-Value

SH-100

SH-300

50

$ 1,522.00

$ 1,742.00

$ 1,594.00

$ 1,741.76

$ 1,580.00

$ 1,810.00

100

$ 1,522.00

$ 1,742.00

$ 1,594.00

$ 1,741.76

$ 1,580.00

$ 1,810.00

150

$ 1,714.60

$ 1,742.00

$ 1,786.60

$ 1,741.76

$ 1,772.60

$ 1,810.00

200

$ 1,907.20

$ 1,742.00

$ 1,979.20

$ 1,741.76

$ 1,965.20

$ 1,810.00

250

$ 2,099.80

$ 1,742.00

$ 2,171.80

$ 1,934.36

$ 2,157.80

$ 1,810.00

300

$ 2,292.40

$ 1,742.00

$ 2,364.40

$ 2,126.96

$ 2,350.40

$ 1,810.00


This above picture shows the TCO of the value plans. The lower the TCO, you pay lower. So with the min/mth value in the x-axis, move vertically up and the first line you touch is the best plan you should get.

From the graph, you should get M-Lite plan if you using an average of 250 minutes/month. Note that the TCO increases drastically if you exceed the voice minutes in your plan.

Premium Plans (>300 minutes/mth)

Next, we shall consider the premium plans which range from 450 to unlimited minutes/month. The following table is derived.


M-Extreme

M-Unlimited

ST-Plus

ST-Premium

SH-700

SH-Unlimited

450

$ 2,450.00

$ 4,752.00

$ 2,378.00

$ 4,919.76

$ 2,460.00

$ 4,920.00

500

$ 2,450.00

$ 4,752.00

$ 2,378.00

$ 4,919.76

$ 2,460.00

$ 4,920.00

700

$ 2,450.00

$ 4,752.00

$ 3,148.40

$ 4,919.76

$ 2,460.00

$ 4,920.00

800

$ 2,835.20

$ 4,752.00

$ 3,533.60

$ 4,919.76

$ 2,845.20

$ 4,920.00

900

$ 3,220.40

$ 4,752.00

$ 3,918.80

$ 4,919.76

$ 3,230.40

$ 4,920.00

1000

$ 3,605.60

$ 4,752.00

$ 4,304.00

$ 4,919.76

$ 3,615.60

$ 4,920.00

1500

$ 5,531.60

$ 4,752.00

$ 6,230.00

$ 4,919.76

$ 5,541.60

$ 4,920.00


With the graph, we can see the TCO for such plan has a minimum of S$2,378. So you should be signing for either M-Extreme or SH-700 if you are using 800 minutes/month.

Limitations

There are limitations in this method which should be factored in. Different telcos offer different candies to sweeten the products. M1 has Take-3 plan, Starhub has free TV channels while Singtel has other plans with MIO bundling. This analysis only consider iPhone 3GS 32GB and not 3G 8GB and 3GS 16GB.

Conclusions

To assist you in selecting the plan, the table below will help you in selecting your plan. You will also be able to know your damage in owning a iPhone 3GS 32GB.

mins/mth

Lowest TCO

Plan

50

$ 1,522.00

M-Value

100

$ 1,522.00

M-Value

150

$ 1,714.60

M-Value

200

$ 1,741.76

ST-Value

250

$ 1,742.00

M-Lite

300

$ 1,742.00

M-Lite

450

$ 2,319.80

M-Lite

500

$ 2,378.00

ST-Plus

700

$ 2,450.00

M-Extreme

800

$ 2,835.20

M-Extreme

900

$ 3,220.40

M-Extreme

1000

$ 3,605.60

M-Extreme

1500

$ 4,752.00

M-Unlimited

Looking forward, I predict that with iPhone setting the precedence, data plan will be more affordable to the masses and Singaporeans will be able to try and apply applications in their daily life. After all, Singapore is a small island and well connected wirelessly. We should be able to surf internet while on the move. Having said that, prices will only get lower so I see that there is no need to rush and get a iPhone. Spend some time in reading this blog and understand your needs is better than getting a white elephant which will eventually pass down to your children or your parents when you are sick of this "hi-tech" toy. If election deserves one cooling off day, so do you.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

article About Singapore�s BEST 3.5G broadband for mobile phone Plan (Jul 09) - (all-vga-corner)

Time flies and prices just got cheaper and we are talking about 3.5G plan with more 3.5G phones readily available in the market.

Again, the conditions for comparison must be stated before we proceed further:

  1. We aim to identify the BEST VALUE plan - broadband for mobile phone (not mobile device or notebook).
  2. Monthly data transfer is UNLIMITED. Those plan not included in this review are purely rip off plans to slaughter so-called causal or low-end users.
  3. Typical broadband mobile access speed of 3G and 3.5G phone are limited to 384 kbps and 3 Mbps (max) respectively.
  4. The minimum download speed is fixed at 2Mbps to optimize the capability of 3.5G mobile phone.
  5. Plan must support data and voice in the SAME sim card.
  6. We are focusing on ONE (1) SIM card for voice and data to explore the full functionalities of 3G/3.5G mobile phone.

Someone mentioned that my table is too complicated to compare. So I have broken them into stages for your easy viewing.


STAGE 1 - 100 minutes free incoming plans

Let's look at what is available for mobile broadband + voice (both data and voice) for 100min free incoming plan. This target segment consists of low-end voice users.

Telco

Singtel

Starhub

M1

Singtel

100min plan

iOne Plus

Powervalue 100

Sun Saver

3G Flexilite

Free minutes

100

100

100

100

Basic charge

25.68

25.68

25.68

39.00

Unlimited data plan

37.00#

38.72

27.10

500MB^

100 min

62.68

64.40

52.78

39.00

150 min

70.46*

72.43

60.81

46.78

200 min

78.23*

80.45

68.83

54.55


*Singtel charges excess minute at S$0.204 (peak) and S$0.107 (off peak). For simplicity, we take the average at S$0.1555.

#Singtel offers 50GB limit for mobile bb plan. We presume there will not be any excess usage above the limit.

^This new plan is included for comparison but 500MB can easily be exceeded in view of the heavy traffic that the current applications are running.

On first look, there seems to be a conspiracy between the 3 telcos offering similar plan at the magic number of S$25.68. However, due to the cheaper mobile broadband (bb) rate offered, M1 becomes the best plan in our first stage selection for unlimited data use.


STAGE 2 � 300 minutes free incoming plans

For the mid-end users for voice, we compare more plans offered by the telcos.

Telco

Singtel

Starhub

M1

300min plan

iTwo Plus

Powervalue 300

Sun Saver Plus

Basic charge

48.15

48.15

48.15

Unlimited data plan

37.00#

38.72

27.10

300 min

85.15

86.87

75.25

500 min

116.25*

118.97

107.35

700 min

147.35*

151.07

139.45


#Singtel offers 50GB limit for mobile bb plan. We presume there will not be any excess usage above the limit.

Again, M1 offers the BEST value plan for Stage 2. For high-end users, you can see that it is also M1 who offered the best since it has the lowest mobile bb charges.

STAGE 3 � Other mobile broadband plans

Singtel has introduced new new plans to capture bb market. But are they worth the money? Definitely not, the plans launched are not competitive with M1 V2Mbps plan.

Telco

Singtel

Singtel

Singtel

M1

Plans

3G Flexi

3G Flexi Plus

Plus

V2Mbps

Free minutes

200

500

300

0

Basic charge

48.15

95.00

48.15

27.10

Data limit

50 GB

50 GB

1GB

Unlimited

100 min

35.10

200 min

56

43.10

300 min

70.10

62.08

51.10

500 min

101.20*

95.00*

93.18*

67.10

700 min

132.30*

188.30*

124.28*

83.10


STAGE 4 � Evaluation

In this evaluation stage, we take the best plans from the above and combine them into this table. They are all benchmarked against only 1 plan (M1 V2Mbps).

Free minutes

Telco

Plan

Data (GB)

Charges (S$)

Saving over the 2nd best plan

100

M1

Sun Saver

Unlimited

52.78

Singtel

3G FlexiLite

0.5

39.00

M1

V2Mbps

Unlimited

35.10

50.37%

200

Singtel

3G Flexi

50

56

M1

V2Mbps

Unlimited

43.10

29.93%

300

M1

Sun Saver Plus

Unlimited

75.25

M1

V2Mbps

Unlimited

51.10

47.26%

500

Singtel

3G Flexi Plus

50

95.00

M1

V2Mbps

Unlimited

67.10

41.58%

700

Singtel

iTwo Plus

1

96.86

M1

V2Mbps

Unlimited

83.10

16.56%


It is no surprise that M1 V2Mbps stands out as the clear winner in all categories from 100 to 700 min free incoming calls. Where is STARHUB in the final comparisons? No idea. They are totally not in the bb league.

STAGE 4 � Conclusions

Since M1 V2 plan beats all categories, is there any catch? Yes, there are. We list them below for your reference and consideration:

  1. Why we are not including V4Mbps or V7.2Mbps? The answer is obvious. Most of the 3.5G mobile phones have a maximum download speed of only 3.6Mbps. So V2Mbps is the optimal plan in this selection.
  2. SMS uses are not factored into our discussion. My question to you is - Why use SMS when you have MSN?
  3. M1 V2 plan is a per minute billing and not per second billing.
  4. There is no discount on 3.5G mobile phone as compared to regular sign-up for new mobile plan. A brand new 3.5G mobile phone may cost S$450 - S$1300. Do not get a 3G phone for mobile bb plan because the maximum download speed is limited to 0.384Mbps (for example Nokia E63).

Despite its shortcomings, we still consider M1 V2Mbps plan to be the BEST valued 3.5G mobile bb plan for a 3.5G mobile phone. So after selecting the plan, what 3.5G phone should be purchased and what are the applications to tap the full capabilities of the bb plan? We shall discuss next time.

References