When you’re stuck at home for weeks on end, there are only so many things you can do before you go insane.
That dusty book that’s been laying on your shelf for years has continued to remain dusty because you’re too busy binge-watching shows on Netflix.
And with all the social isolation that’s been forced upon you, you’ve probably been Skyping your friends a lot more.
Thankfully, Singtel has stepped up to the plate to give us what we all want: inter- oh, wait, it’s free Cable TV channels.
Singtel to Offer Free ‘Cable TV’ Channels for 3 Months
As a show of support for consumers during the coronavirus outbreak, Singtel said it is offering three months’ free access to some of its television channels for all Singapore residents.
Customers will enjoy free access to 30 channels in total, such as AXN, CNBC, Discovery Asia, Asian Food Network, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon.
According to The Straits Times, it is also helping small- and medium-sized enterprises who have implemented telecommuting or split team arrangements by giving them six month’s free usage of productivity, collaboration, and security tools.
Now, I know that “productivity, collaboration, and security tools” sounds like a generic business-related sentence you’d hear in a movie by a rich entrepreneur trying to sound as cryptic and technical as possible.
But a quick google search shows that these tools are basically things like Skype, Dropbox, and Google Hangouts.
This is nice and all but…
I hate to be that guy and bite the hand that’s feeding me free television, but do people even watch TV anymore?
The only reason I even have Singtel’s cable box in my house is that they snatched the rights to show football matches away from Starhub, but with the postponement of all the top leagues in football, I don’t really have any use for it.
What would have been more useful would be free internet for 3 months, or even 3 years, if you really wanted to be there for us. That way we could slowly melt our brains with hours of Netflix and YouTube shows.
Singtel: You little ungrateful piece of sh-
To be fair to Singtel, they are offering network users free WhatsApp data to stay in touch with their friends and family, though it’s unclear how long this promotion will last.
Fee cut and extension of insurance coverage
Singtel’s board of directors will also take a 10 per cent fee cut for the upcoming financial year in “a show of solidarity”.
And they raised S$2 million from its staff – the management committee donated half of their monthly salary – to help vulnerable groups and healthcare workers.
This sum will be channelled to 18 charities and social enterprises, including Community Chest.
In addition, their free 30-day Covid-19 insurance coverage by Income will also be extended to new and existing prepaid customers.
Yes, it’s not exactly what we wanted, but at least it’s something, right?