16 month stay - which ISP?

[ckx2]

Dears,

I'll be staying in SG for 16 months and would like to have broadband/fibre internet connection at my condo. However, most of the provider seem to apply a general 24 month or 12 month contract only. What kind of options do I have with my 16 month stay?

Is it best to go for 24 month and try to make a one-time payment for the remaining 6 months where I'll be not in SG anymore? Any other suggestions?

/chris

[bro75]

get the 12 months . this means you must be subscribed for a minimum of 12 months (it does not mean you are subscribed for just exactly 12 months).

[sundaymorningstaple]

^^ This.

[bgd]

The ISPs like to lock you in hence the minimum periods. Once the contract is up you can carry on but you will get offers to recontract at favourable terms.

I'm usually out of contract. I prefer not to be locked in. I put it down to the Irish Gypsy that a cousin reckons lies in the family past. But saying that, sometimes the deals can be too good to turn down and I think I'm on contract now. I think this because I no longer get those annoying calls to re-contract.

[curiousgeorge]

If your place has a fibre point already, you can save the $260+ installation fee.

In any case, you can go with MyRepublic or Viewqwest who both do non-contract deals month-by-month, for a few dollars more than a contract. Both offer excellent speeds & service.

Source: Me, an ex-MyRepublic user and current ViewQwest user getting >890Mbps download speeds

[zzm9980]

Source: Me, an ex-MyRepublic user and current ViewQwest user getting >890Mbps download speeds

Curious why you switched?

Also do the math since the no-contract rate may be more expensive than just buying out the full 2 years for the amount of time you're planning to be here anyway. When I had no-contract my republic, it was ~50% more per month ($59 vs $39) than the two-year commitment rate. That, along with the incentives they give you (free router which isn't too crappy, or top-end router heavily subsidized, both of which you can then re-sell) it may be worth it to just get the contract.

Either way, it's still way cheaper per month than the big 3 Singtel/Starhub/M1, and most other countries.

[NicBlais]

Dears,

I'll be staying in SG for 16 months and would like to have broadband/fibre internet connection at my condo. However, most of the provider seem to apply a general 24 month or 12 month contract only. What kind of options do I have with my 16 month stay?

Is it best to go for 24 month and try to make a one-time payment for the remaining 6 months where I'll be not in SG anymore? Any other suggestions?

/chris

12 month contract plans tend to be more expensive than the 24 month ones. With 16 months it may be cheaper for you to go with a 24 month and break contract and pay the remaining 8 months.

As far as i know M1, Starhub and MR offer 12 month contracts - VQ offers no-contract (terminate whenever).

One more caveat that you should look out for - ISPs like advertise a "promotional" price for x number of months. Once the contract is up your will go up to the "usual" price unless you re-contract or terminate.

[ckx2]

Thank you guys.

After evaluating the costs it's more profitable to go for a 24 month contract and eventually pay the missing amount where I won't be staying in SG anymore.