[Editor’s note: A previous version of this article indicates that Singtel Wifi will be phased out completely by 1 Apr 2020. Singtel has reached out to clarify that the service will only be phased out for Singtel Broadband customers and they have updated their website to make things clearer.]
When every telco in Singapore decided to take away our 12GB data bundle and replace it with 2GB, Singaporeans cried. Some even held on and refused to renew their contracts, choosing to buy a phone by itself instead.
Meanwhile, Singtel users didn’t suffer that badly because they were told that around Singapore, there are over 2,000 hotspots with free Wifi for them.
They will be able to enjoy the complimentary Singtel Wifi service.
Unfortunately, The Free Wifi Thingy Is Going To Be Gone Soon For Singtel Broadband Subscribers
How soon?
On 17 Feb 2020, Singtel announced that they are going to completely phase out the Singtel Wifi service for Singtel Broadband customers by 1 Apr 2020.
They have already begun phasing out the service since 31 Jan 2020.
On their announcement page, they added that they can continue streaming content via Singtel’s 4G network (which is expensive) or [email protected] (which is slower).
Service Unavailable To New & Recontracting Singtel Broadband Customers
For one, new and existing Singtel broadband customers can no longer get access to the service from 31 Jan 2020.
And two, they’ve added an extra 1GB to their mid-tier data combo plans.
Singtel also offers a different series of plans, XO, for data-heavy users. These XO plans come with free weekend data.
But Is Losing Singtel Wifi A Great Loss?
As mentioned in a previous article, the great Telcos’ cold war over data bundles has long become irrelevant.
We have long been accustomed to using our data within limits.
And apps have improved to the extent where it doesn’t consume much data.
Remember, overly-excess data consumption will affect the app’s ratings and reviews on App stores so developers will make it as cheap as possible to use their apps.
And even normally-data-intensive services like video streaming apps (think Netflix) gives you the option of downloading your content before leaving the house.
Plus, there are plenty of digital telcos operating in Singapore which gives you a higher data bundle at a lower cost.
So at the end of the day, Singtel broadband customers will be angsty.
Not because they truly need the service, but because they feel like they’ve “lost out”.
All in all, here’s what we think of losing Singtel Wifi: Thank you, next.