StarHub not charging existing customers with contracts for 4G services

Starhub have decided not to charge for 4G services for existing customers with minimum term contracts.

This is after Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) conducted an investigation into StarHub's recent announcement that it will start charging for 4G value-added services from 1 June for SmartSurf plans at $2.14 a month. It is mention that all three telcos have offered 4G services as part of their mobile data bundle promotion and positioned them as value-added services (VAS) in their promotional materials and service terms and conditions. However to customers this might not have been made know at the point of sale hence this is one area which needs to be tighten to ensure that customers are fully aware of the 4G VAS and when it will be chargeable.

StarHub decided to extend the free promotion to existing customers of its SmartSurf Lite/Value/Premium/Elite price plans till the end of their contract. SingTel mention that any price change would only affect new or renewing customers and even so they ensure that customers are informed early. M1 responsed that charges for its 4G value-added services (VAS) are clearly highlighted in its original 4G media release in 2012, on its website and in its marketing collateral. Same as SingTel, only new and renewing customers M1 will be impacted.

More info here.

Starhub 3-Day Online Exclusive: Lowest Fibre Broadband Price

Starhub launches a 3-Day Online exclusive deal where you can signup 100Mbps Fibre at $29.90 a month on a 24 months contract.

Sound good right at first glance but it is really the lowest price in town? Lets do a quick comparison.

SingTel 200Mbps    24 Months        SGD 49.90
M1 200Mbps    24 Months        SGD 39.00
StarHub 100Mbps    24 Months        SGD 39.90

From the table only Starhub offer 100Mbps plan so lets do some simple maths although it may not be accurate but at least it will form a base for comparison. For M1 and SingTel from 200Mpbs to 300Mbps the price increases by $10 hence lets use this as a guideline.

For SingTel a 100Mbps should be about $39.90 while M1 will be at around $29.00. SingTel is still more expensive but M1 is actually cheaper... In fact Starhub original price for its 100Mbps is already at $39.90 which is more expensive than M1.

So is Starhub 3-Days Online Exclusive deal really the lowest price in town? Well for you to decide.

More info here.

Starhub To Charge 4G Service Starting 1st June 2014

Wow a board move from Starhub to be the first to actually charge its users for 4G services starting 1st June 2014!

Starhub will be charging charging its 4G users $2.14 a month for the service which is a promotional rate instead of the usual full monthly charge of $10.70 a month. M1 currently state that 4G VAS will be free till 31st Dec while SingTel state that it has no plans as yet to charge its users for  4G but will charge $10.70 per month at "a date SingTel determines."

For those who are wondering why Telco can charge for its 4G but not 3G well that is because 4G is actually a value-added service  (VAS) that had been offered free by all 3 Telcos when it was first introduced a few years back.

More info here.

Mazda is recalling Mazda 6 cars because of spiders

Yellow sac spider is attracted to the smell of petrol, and will weave its web in engines, causing a blockage and build-up of pressure. Once the pressure become excessively negative when the emission control system works to purge the vapours from the canister. the stress on the fuel tank may eventually result in a crack, potentially leading to fuel leakage and an increased risk of fire.

The affect cars are those made at a plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, at which Mazda once produced cars jointly with Ford Motor Co. until mid-2012. It involves around 42,000 cars in the US. A software update will be applied to recalled cars to monitor the pressure level and warn drivers of any danger.

Line hits two new highs

Have been using Line for quite a while, firstly being introduce to it by my wife as a messaging app to replace WhatsApp but soon it became our main stream messaging and social gaming platform. Together we played quite a number of Line games like PokoPang, I Love Coffee and many others...

Really happy that Line hit the two new highs - 400 million registered users & 10 billion messages sent per day. Hopefully one day Line will replace FaceBook as the main social networking and social gaming platform.

Prepaid SIM cards allowed per subscriber reduce to 3

It used to be 10 per subscriber but now Singapore is cutting down on the numbers of prepaid cards allowed per subscriber in order to enhance security.

With effect from 1st April 2014 (no it is not an April Fool's joke), the maximum number of prepaid SIM cards per subscribers will be reduced from 10 to 3. This new regulation mean that a subscriber can only register 3 prepaid SIM cards in total, regardless of which Telco they are purchased from. This is done to reduce the security risks due to anonymous usage of prepaid SIM cards.

Prepaid SIM cards can be used for criminal activities such as loansharks activities, cheating, scams and even extortion. Hence with this new limitation it would make it harder for Prepaid SIM cards to be used for such illegal activities.
 
Prepaid SIM card quota cut from 10 to 3 per person

 

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