Best fibre broadband in Singapore 2023: Singtel vs StarHub vs M1 vs others

It used to be that unless you were a hardcore gamer, there was no reason to get a fibre broadband plan.

However, considering that most of our lives are conducted online now, a high-speed internet arguably improves our nasty, short and brutish lives.

Also, gone are the days when a 1 Gbps broadband plan would set you back by $399 a month. Since 2015, thanks to price wars, these ridiculously fast internet speeds have remained inexpensive, with the cheapest plan at $34.90 a month then. In 2023, there are even more freebies.

Look no further—we compare all the available plans in Singapore for you here.

Best fibre broadband plans in Singapore 2023 (24-month contract)

Here's how much a 24-month contract would cost you:

(updated Sept 8, 2023)

*Fibre Termination Point (FTP) installation is only for homes that are not reached by fibre broadband yet. You can do a quick search to check if your house is covered at netlinktrust.com.

Installing an FTP costs $162 for HDB and condominiums, or $291.60 for landed houses. This is imposed by the NetLink Trust (NLT), an initiative led by the Singapore government that manages the infrastructure of Singapore's Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN). A few telcos waive the FTP installation fee, such as MyRepublic.

The total includes FTP installation. It includes a service activation fee from NLT of $57.24 (inclusive of GST), which is separate from ONT/Router activation. 

Take note that price is not the only concern when you are choosing a high-speed internet plan. Let's go into detail below.

1. WhizComms 1 Gbps fibre broadband plan

Cheap has always been WhizComms selling point. Whatever the competition charges, they will come up with a plan that is just slightly cheaper.

Its 12-month plan currently costs $41.04 per month, but the 24-month plan costs $29.90 (U.P. $35.64) per month—the cheapest in the market. You get free weekday activation and installation (9am to 5.30pm).

It's basically marketed as a no-frills plan, so there's nothing much to shout about unless you just want your fibre broadband dirt cheap.

If you need a broadband plan with a wireless router, WhizComms offers a 24-month plan with a TP-Link Archer AX55 AX3000 for $33.90/month (U.P. $42.12).

Do note that the WhizComms promotional rates are valid till Sept 10, 2023.

Good for: People who prefer the most no-frills, cheapest option.

2. M1 1 Gbps Fibre Broadband bundle

At $40.27 per month, the 24-month 1GBps fibre broadband plan from M1 is affordable, especially considering the other goodies M1 throws in. Aside from the attractive price, new sign-ups get:

• Free wireless router: TP-Link Archer AX72 (AX5400) or Asus RT0AX3000P (AX3000)
• 24 months 4G Mobile Broadband
• Home fixed line
• Free modem to termination point activation, also known as Optical Network Terminal (ONT) activation (worth up to $90.84) only for weekdays 9am to 6pm

Normally, M1 imposes the following charges for their fibre broadband services:

But when their broadband subscriptions are under promotion, M1 may waive these fees. Under the current M1 promotion for 24-month broadband (which is ongoing till Dec 31), M1 is waiving both the registration charge and activation charge, the latter waiver with some conditions:

• The one-time registration charge of $59.40 is waived for "eligible new customers without a current service contract who sign-up for any new 24-month M1 Fibre Broadband plan during the Promotion Period via M1 website", as per M1's fibre broadband T&Cs, under the "24-month Fibre Broadband Promotions" section.
• The ONT Activation Charge of $90.84 is:
  • Waived in full for weekdays from 9am to 6pm.
  • Discounted up to $59.40 for weekdays after 6pm, weekends and public holidays. During these timings, you have to pay the balance of $31.44.

Good for: Business users who will benefit from the mobile broadband usage.

3. StarHub 1 Gbps Fibre Broadband

StarHub's 1Gbps fibre broadband plan is one of the most value for money plans out there. Pay $37.89 per month and get:

• Free one WiFi 5 router with one LAN port
• Three months of Amazon Prime
• Free service installation worth $90.84

However, there's an activation fee of $57.24 chargeable.

Note that the price of $37.89 is the effective price when you sign up online with the promo code FREE3MTH. This gives you three months of free subscription.

Good for: Shoppers who would benefit from access to Amazon Prime.

4. ViewQwest 1 Gbps Bundle Plan

ViewQwest doesn't really have the brand name of the big telcos, but their fibre broadband’s selling point is three months' worth of free Freedom DNS.

What's Freedom DNS? It's basically like a VPN that gets around all geo restricted videos by rerouting your connection to streaming sites as if you are really connecting from the designated country.

This means you can access previously geo-restricted content, like YouTube, Hulu, or even Netflix US. Freedom DNS is more convenient than traditional VPNs because it is automatically enabled and doesn't require you to manually change your VPN's region when necessary. After three months worth of Freedom DNS, you will pay $10.70 per month to continue it if you want to.

For $28.99 (U.P. $39.99) a month, you get:

• Free three months SecureNet (worth $23.97)
• Free three months FDNS (worth $32.97)
• Waived admin fee (Worth $54.00)
• Included modem rental (worth $267.50)
• Free delivery or onsite installation (+$100.93)

Good for: People who value privacy and/or want to watch region-locked dramas.

5. MyRepublic Ultra 1 Gbps Fibre Broadband

MyRepublic Ultra 1 Gbps Fibre Broadband is definitely not the cheapest on the list, but they bundle more freebies and if you are their mobile customer, you stand to benefit more.

At $39.99 per month, the MyRepublic 1Gbps with TP-Link EX510 WiFi-6 Router Bundle gets you:

• TP-Link EX510 WiFi-6 router worth $269
• Free home phone line with unlimited local calls
• Free Termination Point installation (worth up to $162 for New Customers with No Prior TP)

If you are living in a property that's not home-reached yet, you can take advantage of the free FTP installation service, which other providers may charge for.

Do take note that there is a service installation fee of $54 on top of the NLT Service Activation Fee of $57.24.

Good for: Those who would benefit from a free router and a local phone line thrown in.

6. Singtel 1 Gbps Fibre Home Bundle

The most affordable Singtel fibre broadband bundles is currently their 1Gbps Fibre plan (Dual pack), priced at $39.15/month.

Do note that this is a limited-time promotion, and the usual price is $54.15/month.

The plan comes with two complimentary quality mesh routers: one unit of Dual-Band AC access Point (WiFi 5) and one unit of Singtel Mesh Extender (WiFi 5). On top of that, Singtel throws in these goodies for their fibre plans:

• Home line
• Weekday/weekend router installation waiver worth up to $146.35 (Online exclusive)
• Registration waiver (worth $54)
• 1-month Security Suite Triple Protect & Parental Control Pass (worth $16.04/month)
• 1-month Broadband Protect (worth $2.97/month)
• 3-month Microsoft 365 Family subscription (worth $14.80/month)
• 12-month Amazon Prime subscription (worth $2.99/month)

Good for: People who want lots of other benefits with their broadband plan, such as mobile broadband and Amazon Prime. If you want benefits, Singtel maxes them out.

Want even faster internet? Swap out the Wi-Fi 5 routers for a Wi-Fi 6 one with the the Singtel 1Gbps Enhanced plan:

7. Home fibre broadband set-up and hidden costs

Fibre broadband is the latest network that delivers high-speed internet. Several years ago the government set to deploy fibre broadband infrastructure to residential homes.

1. Set up Fibre Terminal Point (FTP)

The majority of homes in Singapore would have fibre broadband capabilities by now, following aggressive efforts by NetLink Trust to install the Fibre Terminal Point (FTP) for free, but if you missed that boat, now you have to pay.

After securing an appointment with NLT, usually through your internet service provider (ISP), NLT contractors will place FTP at a place of your choosing in your home. The cost is $162 for HDB and condominiums, or $291.60 for landed property. Some ISPs dangle free FTP installations as a carrot, such as MyRepublic.

NetLink Trust also charges an NLT service activation fee of $57.24, regardless of ISP.

Hidden costs: $162 or $291.60 for FTP installation (depending on property) and $57.24 for NLT service activation fee.

2. Set up modem and router with ISP

This process is also known as ONT activation, which most providers simply call service activation. Your ISP will connect the modem to termination point, and your router shares this connection to the entire house, so multiple devices can be connect to the fibre broadband network.

Before deciding on your ISP, look out for hidden fees such as registration fees and service activation fees. If you want the flexibility to change plans, you definitely want to also check that your ISP doesn't impose high termination fees in a bid to lock you down beyond the contract.

Hidden costs: Registration fee, service activation fee (or ONT activation fee), termination fees.

ALSO READ: StarHub offers 10Gbps broadband for less than $100 per month

This article was first published in MoneySmart.