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Home  >>  Publications  >>  A Guide to Residential Broadband in Singapore
 
 

A Guide To Residential Broadband in Singapore
(Next Update: August 2008)

Choosing The Right Broadband Plan

A basic 512kbps line works fine for regular e-mail and Web browsing but tech-savvy households with multiple members engaging in huge file downloads, online games, video streaming and more will need a lot more bandwidth. With over a dozen broadband Internet plans offering a wide spectrum of prices and speeds, consumers may find it a challenge to choose the right plan.

To help consumers make an informed choice, IDA monitors and publishes the performance of broadband plans here. There are three main indicators to look for – price, throughput and latency.

It is important to understand that the advertised speed only show the speed of your “last mile” connection. If the networks are roads and the data your car, then your advertised speed only show your speed from the side road at your home to the main road. This may be fast but if the rest of your journey is congested, your overall traveling time is still slowed down. A better measurement of how well your line performs is therefore to look at its throughput, which resembles the car’s speed for the entire journey. A higher throughput is better.

Latency is important for online games, Net telephony and other applications which will suffer quality degradation if the data packets take too long to return. The smaller the latency, the better is your experience.

Notes:

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Pricing of Residential Broadband Service Plans in Singapore
Snapshot on 30 June 2008

Total Monthly Cost
Advertised Speed Broadband
Service Provider
Residential Broadband
Service Plan*
Monthly Subscription**
(with GST)

512 kbps

PacNet

Broadband Unlimited 512K

SGD$24.56

1,000 kbps

SingNet

1000 kbps Unlimited Plan

SGD$22.90

3,000 kbps

SingNet

3000 kbps Unlimited Plan

SGD$32.90

8,000 kbps PacNet Cable Unlimited 8000 SGD$59.92
SingNet 8000 kbps Unlimited Plan SGD$45.00
StarHub MaxOnline Express (8Mbps) SGD$44.94

10,000 kbps

SingNet

10Mbps Unlimited Plan

SGD$58.00

12,000 kbps

PacNet

Cable Unlimited 12,000

SGD$69.55

StarHub

MaxOnline Premium (12Mbps)

SGD$81.32

30,000 kbps

PacNet

Cable Unlimited 30,000

SGD$124.12

100,000 kbps StarHub MaxOnline Ultimate (100Mbps) SGD$124.12

Notes:

* Only residential broadband service plans with unlimited usage have been listed. The service providers may also offer other residential broadband service plans, which may be even lower-priced, with limited usage regarding the amount of data (volume-based) or number of hours (time-based).

** Prices listed are the lowest available monthly subscription fees as indicated on the respective service providers' websites. These are correct as at the snapshot date indicated above. The service plans may be bundled with other benefits, such as waiver of installation fees and/or promotional items like wireless routers or modems, for a contractual subscription period. These additional benefits increase the overall worth of the broadband subscription to consumers.The monthly subscription fees should thus not be taken to represent the entire value of the broadband service plans. For more information, please check the respective service provider's website.

Monthly Cost per 100 kbps
PacNet Broadband Services Plans SingNet Broadband Services Plans StarHub Broadband Services Plans

Notes:

Price figures are derived from the monthly subscription fees and advertised speeds indicated on the respective broadband service provider's websites. These figures are computed by dividing the monthly subscription fees by the advertised speeds and normalised to 100 kbps.

Measured Performance of Residential Broadband Service Plans in Singapore

Throughput for Internet Connectivity
Maximum Available Throughput for Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Max Throughput
Maximum Available Throughput PacNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Maximum Available Throughput SingNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Maximum Available Throughput StarHub (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Maximum Available Throughput for Internet Connectivity to US
Max Throughput
Maximum Available Throughput PacNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Maximum Available Throughput SingNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Maximum Available Throughput StarHub (to US)
View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Throughput for Single TCP Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Single TCP Throughput
Throughput for Single TCP Session PacNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session SingNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan

3000kbps
Unlimited Plan

1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session StarHub (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Throughput for Single TCP Internet Connectivity to US
Single TCP Throughput
Throughput for Single TCP Session PacNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session SingNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session StarHub (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Maximum Available Throughput for Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Max Throughput
Maximum Available Throughput PacNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Maximum Available Throughput SingNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Maximum Available Throughput StarHub (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Throughput for Single TCP Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Single TCP Throughput
Throughput for Single TCP Session PacNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session SingNet (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session StarHub (in SG) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Maximum Available Throughput for Internet Connectivity to US
Max Throughput
Maximum Available Throughput PacNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Maximum Available Throughput SingNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Maximum Available Throughput StarHub (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Throughput for Single TCP Internet Connectivity to US
Single TCP Throughput
Throughput for Single TCP Session PacNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  Cable Unlimited
30,000
Cable Unlimited
12,000
Cable Unlimited
8,000
Broadband Unlimited
512K
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session SingNet (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  10Mbps
Unlimited Plan
8000kbps
Unlimited Plan
3000kbps
Unlimited Plan
1000kbps
Unlimited Plan
 
Throughput for Single TCP Session StarHub (to US) View Bi-Hourly performance data:
  MaxOnline Ultimate
(30Mbps)
MaxOnline Premium
(12Mbps)
MaxOnline Express
(8Mbps)
 

Notes:

1. IDA is testing with non-DOCSIS 3.0 modems for the Starhub MaxOnline Ultimate (30 Mbps) plan.

2. Plans that have higher throughput are better.

Latency for Internet Connectivity
Latency for Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Latency for Internet Connectivity within Singapore

Notes:

Plans that have lower latency are better.

Latency for Internet Connectivity out of Singapore (to US)
Latency for Internet Connectivity out of Singapore (to US)

Notes:

Plans that have lower latency are better.

Latency for Internet Connectivity within Singapore
Latency for Internet Connectivity within Singapore

Notes:

Plans that have lower latency are better.

Latency for Internet Connectivity out of Singapore (to US)
Latency for Internet Connectivity out of Singapore (to US)

Notes:

Plans that have lower latency are better.

Back to top
 
Related content
Quick Links:
 
Compare Broadband Prices
 
Compare Broadband Performances
 
bullet

More About Throughput
bullet
More About Latency
bullet

How We Measured the Numbers
bullet

Benefits of Higher Bandwidth
bullet


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Last Updated on 10 July 2008
 
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