More Local Telcos Offering 'Borderless' Mobile Plans

More local telcos are offering "borderless" mobile plans at record low prices to woo an increasing number of globetrotting consumers.

- Joyce Lee WX

Such plans allow consumers to use a generous bundle of mobile data across borders without paying more, or activating a travel e-SIM or roaming feature.

The latest to jump on this trend is M1, whose Maxx plan offers 290GB of data for use in Singapore and Malaysia for a record low of $7.90 a month. The plan also includes 10GB of mobile data for use in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.

This follows the January launch of Simba Telecom's $10 monthly SuperRoam 10 plan that provides 300GB of 5G data that can be used in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. A separate 12GB of roaming mobile data for seven other Asian destinations is included in the same plan.

Singapore's virtual telco Circles.Life started the borderless trend here in September 2023, when it let customers use 100GB across eight Asian destinations (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). The monthly plan costs $30 for the first three months, and $37 thereafter.

Mr Fabian Sossa, vice-president of corporate and global marketing at Circles.Life, said: "The plan is designed for mobile professionals, digital nomads, students, tourists and families with cross-border ties...essentially anyone who needs connectivity across multiple countries without friction."