It has been an eventful week for Singapore’s Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO). Two of them — Circle.Life and MyRepublic — made 5G announcements while Gorilla Mobile is making a temporary exit.
Circles.Life has launched its 5G SA (Standalone) services that should enhance the mobile internet experiences of subscribers with 30 percent faster uploads compared to its 5G NSA (Non-Standalone) iteration, reinforced authentication and encryption capabilities.
“Fostering a culture of creativity and innovation is at the core of what we do best here at Circles.Life, and we are proud to step up and spearhead this charge with 5G SA as the catalyst of our sustained push towards greater digital transformation in 2023,” said Siddarth Chaturvedi, Country Head (Singapore & Taiwan) of Circles.Life.
Fellow MVNO MyRepublic has rolled out its flagship 5G mobile plan targeted at the tech-savvy. Available in an eSIM and physical SIM, the S$19.95 mobile plan will provide a speed bump that makes it suitable for mobile gamers, professionals who work and take calls on the go, and streaming live events or downloading videos in 4K, Augmented/Virtual Reality, and 360-degree videos.
The non-contract plan comes with 100GB of data, 1,200 minutes of talktime, 1,200 SMS, plus free 1GB of data roaming per month for the first six months in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, on top of free caller ID, incoming calls and SMS in addition to unlimited data beyond plan quota.
“MyRepublic’s goal is to redefine mobile connectivity for our consumers, and for them to benefit from the true modern connectivity experience. Our 5G mobile plans are a step in that direction, and our answer to consumer demand for faster, reliable, and affordable internet connectivity,” said Lawrence Chan, Managing Director of MyRepublic Singapore.
Gorilla Mobile pauses mobile service
Meanwhile, Gorilla Mobile has advised on its Facebook page that customers should “migrate to another provider to maintain uninterrupted service.”
This is because it is undergoing technical improvements to its platform and plans to introduce a new E-SIM service at the end of Q1 2023.
“We sympathize with this inconvenience, and believe that enhanced product experience and better service will only benefit Gorilla.Global users in the future,” noted the post.
In a highly competitive landscape where telcos are aggressively reaching out to potential subscribers, this could be a disastrous move. Those who switch may not return.
Photo: Edward Lim
Entelechy Asia 