M1 replaces 19 plans with just two base plans
Customers can customise plans to suit their needs
Local telco M1 has replaced its existing 19 mobile plans with one base plan each for SIM-only and handset bundles.
The SIM-only contract-free mobile plan starts at $25 for 30GB of data, while its plan with handsets starts at $30 a contract for 12GB of data.
The new move by Singapore's smallest telco comes as its larger rivals rolled out similar plans in recent months.
Singtel started offering a contract-free, all-digital mobile plan targeted at young users in March, while StarHub streamlined its mobile plans from 10 to three SIM-only and contract-free plans last December.
M1 chief executive Manjot Singh Mann said yesterday that while the telco may be the last to "create some noise" in the market, he did not think its rivals' moves were comparable.
FIRST OF ITS KIND
"This is the first time Singapore has actually seen a DIY (do-it-yourself) plan of this nature," he noted, adding that the plans are "completely digital".
The plans allow customers to build and personalise their own plans by adding data, talk time, SMS, roaming and other services, depending on their expected usage and needs.
After signing up for the plans online, they can then opt to have their SIM cards and phones delivered to their doorstep at no additional cost.
"We are also doing away with all our other plans... it's a complete overhaul," Mr Mann told The Straits Times in his first media interview since his appointment last December.
Customers who are under contract with M1 can call the telco or check their M1 app to see if they are eligible to switch to the new plans.
Mr Mann said the overhaul was the first step in M1's transformation after it was delisted last month, following a buyout by Konnectivity, a Keppel Corp-led joint venture with Singapore Press Holdings.
He believes there are huge opportunities in leveraging synergies with parent company Keppel in areas such as utilities, as well as smart homes and smart cities.
Cooperation with Keppel could also see M1 moving overseas to Vietnam and China, he added.
M1 will also be exploring newer areas of growth that are adjacent to the current business but not "connectivity-driven", said Mr Mann, who has led telecommunications and software firms in Singapore, Britain, Indonesia and India.
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