Singapore?

[DRNewcomb]

I'm thinking about a trip to Singapore and was reviewing some of the prepaid offerings available there. They seem to have a funny sort of semi-CPP system where you pay about 30cts extra per day to get free incoming calls. Looking at the carriers, it seems like M1 might have the best all-around prepaid offering but there are some confusing looking options. Anyone familiar with the prepaids in Singapore?

[Bossman]

I took a look at it. It's sure is a little confusing. The rates seem very reasonable though. UM and Yackie also list Singapore at $0.19 and $0.24 for incoming calls respectively.

[DRNewcomb]

I'll may actually have a Yackie SIM by the time this trip happens, if it ever does happen. Using a local prepaid with the "free incoming" option, forwarding calls from my VoiceStick number looks like it would be about $0.017/min or someting about the same price as air. I was just thinking about which, if any, of the Singapore SIMs might be worth keeping active after the trip. Like a Wind SIM, which can be handy even outside Italy. M1 seems to be tied fairly closely to Vodafone.

[achu]

My wife is actually in Singapore on a business trip right now. This is not exactly a first-hand review, but most of the time I am on the other end of the phone conversation. :P

We did a little research here first before she left. We decided that StarHub's Green prepaid card works best for us. She bought the SIM card in a random 7-11 store. Since she is not a Singapore citizen, she needed her passport before she can buy it (for registeration purpose). According to the clerk, this is a new requirement.

The card costs SG$18 to buy and comes with SG$18 worth of credit. The per minute cost is pretty much what is listed here at PPGSM. Like other choices, Green prepaid also has "unlimted" incoming minutes option if you enable it. It costs SG$0.59 (or 0.69) to activate it and another SG$0.59 a day to keep it activated. Also, they have a temporary deal right now that you can called several countries (including USA) for "free" (no long-distance charge, except the normal minute fees).

The sound quality is pretty good. I normally call her using the prepaid calling card "OneSuite" ($0.02/min from USA to Singapore). There are several instance where the phone can't/won't connect. We are not sure whether it is OneSuite or her SIM. She also has problem once in a while trying to make an out-going call.

Overall we are satisfied with the SIM.

[DRNewcomb]

What was it about StarHub that you liked? I was sort of leaning toward M1 (if I make that trip to Singapore in several months)

[achu]

Nothing in particular. More like we were a bit turned off with the daily usage fee M1 has. I guess that is a moot point since my wife does have the "free incoming" turned on with Green. That costs $0.59 a day with Green. The thing that wasn't clear was whether daily usage fee M1 charges is everyday or only on days with activity.

We really didn't have a huge preference with Green over other competition. The reason Green was our first preference is because her other co-worker has used that before and it works. Also, we found out that Green has "free" (no long distance charge, except normal minute fee) calls to USA until end of the year. This way she can use the cellphone to call back to the US without using the expensive hotel phone (or using somewhat complicated call-back mechanism). Other than that, she did find a close 7-11 to her hotel first. So, she bought the Green card versus the other.

Let me know if I can answer anymore questions.

[kiwisteve]

I used M1 prepaid on a trip to Singapore
It worked very well inward and outward to New Zealands Vodafone

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by kiwisteve

I used M1 prepaid on a trip to Singapore
It worked very well inward and outward to New Zealands Vodafone

Steve,
Since I was leaning toward M1, what would you say were their advantages & disadvantages?