This article was first published on 4 April 2019 and updated to reflect latest prices and service offerings.
Overseas data used to be an expensive luxury that most of us think wistfully about as we bounce from one public wifi hotspot to another, struggling to stay connected for long enough to respond to the flurry of WhatsApp messages that flood our phones.
But because of the proliferation of high-speed 4G networks around the world and comprehensive network sharing agreements, we can now remain connected and reachable by our loved ones – and our bosses – with prices that are relatively affordable.
For those wondering, here is a cost comparison of the mobile data roaming services of three of Singapore’s largest telcos, and the wifi hotspot service provided by Changi Recommends.
Prices and information are accurate at the time of writing, subject to promotions and changes by the respective service providers.
Singtel ReadyRoam
Activating Singtel ReadyRoam allows customers to use data in your overseas country of choice.
Here are the packages available.
| Country | Cost |
| 3 Destinations Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. |
$5/GB (up to 7 days) |
| 9 Destinations Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines and Thailand. |
$12/GB (up to 30 days) |
| 18 Destinations Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. |
$20/ 2GB (up to 30 days) |
| 81 Destinations Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. |
$40/ 3GB (up to 30 days) |
Existing Singtel post-paid customers can subscribe to ReadyRoam by via the My Singtel app.
For those who need unlimited overseas data, DataRoam Unlimited Daily plans are also available from the app. The price ranges across 3 tiers –– $19, $25, and $29 a day depending on which region you’re travelling to.
| Singtel ReadyRoam Unlimited Daily | Cost |
| Australia, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Gabon, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uganda | $19/day |
| Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Cayman Islands, China, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovenia, St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Turks and Caicos, Uzbekistan | $25/day |
| Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Congo DRC, Costa Rica, Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Guatemala Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, UK, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Zambia | $29/day |
Read Also: Complete Guide To Buying Travel Insurance In Singapore
M1 Data Passport
With Data Passport, M1 users can tap on their local data quota for 30 days while they are overseas. You can choose between buying a Data Passport for a single country or region.
| Single Country | Cost |
| Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates. | $10 |
| Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, USA (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands). | $25 |
| Multiple Countries | Cost |
| Use across 9 ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam | $25 |
| Use across 25 Asian destinations: Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam | $50 |
| Use across 43 European countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom | $50 |
If you exceed your local data quota overseas, you will be charged $10.70 per GB, with a monthly data bill cap of $188.32. M1 Data Passport has a one-time activation charge of $5 every time you activate a Data Passport.
To sign up, M1 customers can use the My M1 app, or call *123#.
For those who need unlimited data, M1 also offers Unlimited Data Roaming for a smaller number of countries.
| M1 Unlimited Data Roaming | Cost |
| United Arab Emirates | $10/day |
| Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA | $15/day* |
| Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Aircraft Satellite | $25/day* |
* There is an additional 20% charge applied on all roaming rates for Pay Per Use Roaming customers.
StarHub DataTravel
StarHub’s data roaming service is known as DataTravel, which allows customers to remain connected with 4G data while they are overseas.
To use StarHub DataTravel, you first need to be subscribed to International Roaming (IR) or Pay-As-You-Roam (PAYR) service.
If you’re already on the Starhub post-paid plan, then you can activate DataTravel through the My Starhub mobile app or SMS DT1 to 6818 (for Asia Pacific destinations) or SMS DTG2 to 6818 (for global destinations).
Next, you can dial *100*54830# to activate Data Roam service. DataTravel will be valid from date and time of activation.
| StarHub DataTravel Regions | Cost |
| Asia Pacific: Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Macau, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam | 1GB for $5 over 3 days; 2GB for $15 over 30 days; 3GB for $20 over 30 days |
| Global: All countries in Asia Pacific region, plus Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Uruguay, Canada, United Arab Emirates, United States of America | 2GB for $40 over 30 days; 3GB for $50 over 30 days |
StarHub also offers unlimited data roaming service via DataTravel Unlimited.
| StarHub DataTravel Unlimited Regions | Cost |
| Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Gabon, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Seychelles, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda | $19/day* |
| Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guernsey, Jamaica, Haiti, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Turks and Caicos, Vietnam, Uruguay | $25/day* |
| Albania, Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bonaire, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Croatia, Curacao, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia (former Yugoslav), Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, U.A.E, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia | $30/day* |
* For Pay-As-You-Roam customers, there is a 20% surcharge. To use DataTravel Unlimited, no sign-up or activation is required. You can just turn on data roaming in your phone’s settings and be connected automatically.
Read Also: Did You Know You Can Make These 5 Instant Travel Insurance Claims At Changi Airport With HyfeAssure
Changi Recommends
ChangiWiFi from Changi Recommends is a personal wireless modem, which means there is an additional step of connecting your phone to it via wifi. And while collecting and returning the wifi device at the airport is not inconvenient, it is still an additional step you need to do.
| Single Country | Cost |
| Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam | $2.25/day |
| Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, China (no VPN), Macau, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka | $3.75/day |
| China (VPN), India | $4.75/day |
| Australia, Europe & UK, USA, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Israel, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE | $5.75/day |
This list is not exhaustive. If you are travelling across different continents and countries, there are other competitively-priced packages that might suit you better.
Overseas Mobile SIM Card Alternatives
In most countries, you can purchase prepaid SIM cards for data use locally. If you are concerned about locating a trustworthy shop in a foreign country after your arrival, you can consider travel sites like Klook that allow you to pre-purchase local SIM cards. Once ordered, these SIM cards can be picked up at the airport of your destination.
The pricing and data bundled with these SIM cards vary, so do your research online before flying off. Additionally, for Apple iPhone users and those using phones without dual-SIM card support, you will have to deal with the added inconvenience of switching SIM cards and not be contactable via phone/SMS when you’re using the new SIM for mobile data.
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