MyRepublic's flagship retail store at Vivocity in May 2019. The Singapore-based fibre broadband company, which is also a mobile virtual network operator, has ramped up the data allowances on all three of its mobile plans.

AUSTRALIA-LISTED TPG Telecom is no longer accepting new sign-ups for its free trial services in Singapore, as it announced details of a SIM-only commercial plan on Tuesday.

TPG, which is Singapore’s fourth mobile network operator, will phase out the no-cost mobile services that it piloted in end-2018, while offering a new no-contract, SIM-only product.

Separately, MyRepublic has ramped up the data allowances on all three of its mobile plans, while unveiling two other “limited-time” plans, which are also SIM-only and contract-free.

MyRepublic, a Singapore-based fibre broadband company, is also a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and has been hosted on StarHub’s network since May 2018.

TPG’s long-anticipated debut commercial plan in Singapore offers 50GB of data for S$10, with 300 local call minutes and 30 SMS messages thrown in. Country general manager and acting chief executive Richard Tan also said that a “similarly attractive” pre-paid plan is in the pipeline.

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The telco, which posted start-up losses of A$1.8 million (S$1.6 million) in Singapore for the six months to Jan 31 against A$68.9 million of capex for mobile network build, has some 400,000 free-trial subscribers.

When asked how many users are expected to jump ship rather than fork out for the new commercial offering, Mr Tan said that “we are quite hopeful of minimising attrition, if any”.

Even with the heavy saturation in the local market, where mobile penetration stood at 159.1 per cent as at end-2019, Mr Tan told the press that second or third mobile devices are a possible growth area to tap: “There will be more and more devices that will require always-on connectivity and this is where we see the opportunity for Singapore customers.”

But he added that the company is not targeting any particular market segment, as “we hope that this is a plan that is so generous that it covers the needs of anyone”.

Over at MyRepublic, data allowances on its regular mobile plans have been bumped up to between 7GB for S$18 a month and 4GB a day for S$48 a month.

Meanwhile, the MVNO’s two promotional plans, which are available until April 14, target both ends of the market: 6GB for S$10 for “data-light users”, and 40GB for S$29 for the guzzlers.

Lawrence Chan, managing director of MyRepublic Singapore, noted that there has been “a huge jump in the number of people” using e-commerce services, entertainment streaming and cloud-based telecommuting and learning tools in recent months.

“Consumers’ shift towards digital has been accelerated, and our latest mobile offering upgrades are designed to provide them a worry-free experience,” he said in a statement.

Both telcos’ cheapest offerings come in at a smaller price tag compared with the incumbent telcos’ SIM-only plans, which all start at S$25 a month for between 15GB and 30GB of data.