An MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) is a phone company that does not own any towers. It rents wholesale capacity from one of Singapore's big network owners (Singtel, StarHub or M1) and resells it under its own brand, usually with no contract and a much lower price. That is why a no-frills SIM-only line in 2026 starts from around S$7 a month with 200GB of data, while the same Singtel-owned network sold under the Singtel brand costs several times more. The trade-off is small but real: when a cell tower is congested, the MVNO's traffic is served after the network owner's own customers. For most people that difference never shows up. This guide names every active MVNO, the network each one rides on, current prices, and how to switch without losing your number.
Building a mobile network is brutally expensive. You need spectrum bought at auction, thousands of base stations, fibre backhaul and a 24/7 operations team. In Singapore only four companies own that physical kit: Singtel, StarHub, M1 and Simba. Everyone else who sells you a mobile line is an MVNO, renting airtime and data from one of those four at wholesale rates and reselling it.
Because an MVNO carries almost no infrastructure cost, it competes on price and packaging instead. No two-year lock-in, no salesperson, no shopfront rent. You sign up online, the SIM or eSIM arrives, and you can leave next month. The signal you get is the host network's signal, which is the same signal the host's own premium customers use.
The model is not new, but it got cheaper to enter after the regulator pushed for it. The Infocomm Media Development Authority reviewed wholesale access in 2023 to make it easier for new MVNOs to strike deals with the network owners, which is part of why Singapore now has well over a dozen brands fighting on price. If you are weighing a switch purely on cost, run the monthly difference through a personal budget calculator before you commit, because the savings compound quietly over a two-year horizon.
This is the single most useful thing to know, because an MVNO's coverage and speed are inherited from its host. A brand on Singtel's network gets Singtel's towers; a brand on M1's network gets M1's. The table below maps the active brands as of June 2026.
Two things changed recently. Simba (formerly TPG) is the fourth network owner, not an MVNO, so its plans run on its own towers rather than rented ones. And giga, once on M1, now sits on StarHub's network as StarHub's in-house budget brand. Always confirm the host before you sign up, because a few brands have quietly switched hosts over the years.
| Host network owner | Brands running on it |
|---|---|
| Singtel | GOMO, Heya, Zero1, CMLink, VIVIFI, ZYM Mobile |
| StarHub | giga, eight telecom, redONE, MyRepublic (5G) |
| M1 | Maxx, Circles.Life, MyRepublic (4G) |
| Simba (own network) | Simba is a full network owner, not an MVNO |
Prices move every few weeks as brands chase sign-ups, so treat these as a snapshot dated June 2026 and check the provider's own page before you commit. The pattern holds even as the exact numbers drift: SIM-only MVNO lines cluster between roughly S$7 and S$15 a month for data allowances most people cannot finish.
The cheap end is dominated by Zero1's Starter plan at around S$7 a month for 200GB of local data, 300 call minutes and 100 SMS, bundled with 100GB of Malaysia roaming valid for a full year. GOMO's entry plan sits near S$10 to S$12 for 100GB to 200GB with a few GB of regional roaming. giga runs from about S$10.90 with data rollover and a referral scheme. Circles.Life's headline plan lands near S$10.80 for 350GB with unlimited local calls.
If you genuinely chew through a lot of data, our breakdown of the best unlimited data plans in Singapore shows when 'unlimited' is worth paying for, and our GOMO vs Circles.Life vs giga comparison pits the popular brands head to head on price per GB.
| Brand | Host network | From (per month) | Local data | Notable inclusion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero1 | Singtel | ~S$7 | 200GB | 100GB Malaysia roaming, 365 days |
| giga | StarHub | ~S$10.90 | 100GB | Data rollover + referral credit |
| Circles.Life | M1 | ~S$10.80 | 350GB | Unlimited local calls |
| GOMO | Singtel | ~S$10-12 | 100-200GB | Data banking + regional roaming |
Here is the honest downside nobody in the marketing copy mentions. When a cell tower is busy, say a packed MRT platform at 6pm or a stadium during a concert, the network owner serves its own premium customers first. An MVNO renting that same tower gets whatever capacity is left, so its users can see slower speeds in those exact moments. Engineers call this deprioritisation.
In day-to-day use across most of Singapore this is invisible. You are watching the same video at the same speed as a full-price subscriber. It only bites at the rare pinch points, and even then it is a slowdown, not a cut-off. If your phone is a work-critical tool that must stay fast in a crowd, that risk may justify paying the network owner directly. For everyone else, the saving wins.
The other practical caveat is feature stripping. Some MVNOs drop perks the big telcos keep, such as VoLTE on every device, 5G standalone, free caller ID, or 24/7 phone support. Check the fine print for what you actually use.
The choice is rarely about coverage, because the signal is shared. It is about price, contract flexibility and the handful of premium features the network owners reserve for their own brand. The bullets below sort out who each option suits.
Switching is faster than most people expect and almost always done online. The steps are the same across brands.
Before you pull the trigger, check whether your current line is still inside a contract. Leaving a postpaid plan early usually triggers an early-termination charge, so wait out the lock-in if you are still inside it.
If you are on an M1-hosted brand such as Circles.Life or Maxx, you may have seen headlines about Simba buying M1's consumer business. Keppel agreed in August 2025 to sell its M1 stake to Simba, which would fold two of the four networks together. IMDA must approve any such deal, and in May 2026 the regulator suspended its assessment after flagging a potential regulatory breach, so nothing is settled.
For now your plan and number are unaffected. Practically, fewer network owners can mean less price competition over time, which is exactly why locking in a cheap no-contract MVNO line now and staying flexible is the sensible play. If anything material changes for M1-hosted brands, your MVNO must give notice before altering your terms.
No, the signal and coverage are identical because the MVNO uses the host network's towers. The only difference is that during heavy congestion the network owner's own customers are served first, so an MVNO line can briefly slow down at busy pinch points like a packed MRT platform. In normal daily use you will not notice a difference.
As of June 2026, GOMO and Zero1 run on Singtel's network, giga runs on StarHub's network, and Circles.Life runs on M1's network. Simba is not an MVNO at all; it is the fourth network owner with its own towers. Always confirm the host on the provider's page, since a few brands have changed hosts before.
Yes. Singapore requires mobile number portability, so you keep your existing number when you move between any local providers. Choose port-in during sign-up rather than a new number, have your NRIC or FIN ready, and the switch usually completes within a day. Just clear any contract lock-in first to avoid an early-termination fee.
Yes. MVNOs operate under IMDA's framework, and the regulator reviewed wholesale network access in 2023 to make it easier for new MVNOs to enter and compete. Consumer protections such as number portability and notice-of-change rules apply to MVNO plans the same way they apply to the big telcos.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.