Winning the mobile data price war

Singapore's deal-loving mobile users stand to gain the most from pricing competition

- Teo Kai Xiang

Remember when mobile data was rationed by the gigabyte? Those days are long gone in Singapore, where a fierce price war has changed the price of each gigabyte (GB) from dollars to cents since the mid-2010s – a drop so dramatic that some consumers now use mobile data instead of traditional home broadband.

"It's fantastic," says communications strategist Jon Phua, 35. He uses three SIM-only and contract-free phone lines for his mobile devices: one personal, one for work and a third as his home internet. "Consumers benefit from such competition."

For Mr Phua, paying $9.90 a month for 290GB from Maxx as his "home Wi-Fi" makes sense as he lives alone. His other mobile plans are from M1 and Simba.

Maxx is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) using M1's mobile network. MVNOs lease network capacity from established telcos rather than build their own infrastructure.

The cheapest no-contract SIM-only plans in 2017 typically cost over $4 for 1GB. Today, similar plans from Singapore's telcos offer gigabytes at under 10 cents each – a reduction of over 90 per cent, for those looking at the most budget-friendly end of the spectrum of a telco's services.

For instance, Singtel-owned MVNO Gomo sells 300GB for $18.33. In contrast, Singtel's cheapest SIM-only and contract-free mobile plan in 2017 offered just 5GB for $20.

The state of competition in Singapore means its residents enjoy some of the lowest rates for mobile data in the developed world, according to a 2023 analysis of 5,603 mobile data plans across 237 countries and territories by price comparison site cable.co.uk.

Singapore ranked 59th globally for mobile data affordability, with an average price of 63 US cents (85 Singapore cents) for 1GB.

While not matching the world's cheapest markets like Israel (two US cents) and Italy (nine US cents), the Republic's prices are far lower than that of Japan (US$3.48) and the United States (US$6).