M1 has the best 4G connection in SG, according to IDA

• FireIce

  3 Jun 15, 23:44

  It’s a classic case of David versus Goliath - M1, against its larger counterparts Singtel and StarHub, emerged victorious as the telco with the best 4G connectivity in Singapore.

  The report, which comes from the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), gathered data from about 4000 users and 50 million data points from October 2014 to Mach 2015. The study was part of a pilot initiated by IDA to provide a report card of sorts for consumers.

  And this isn’t the end of it - according to Today, there’ll be updates from IDA every six months, all of which are gathered from data collected on IDA’s My Connection SG app that’s expected to be launched later this year.

  With M1 crowned as the top telco for 4G connectivity, the bigger question is - where do the bigger companies, Singtel and StarHub, place in the standings? The former got some consolation by being the top dog in the area of 3G data download speed. StarHub, however, didn’t fare so well on both 4G and 3G connectivity. In comparison, Singtel and StarHub took 50.9 milliseconds and 53.5 milliseconds respectively to establish a local connection via a 4G network. M1, which took an average of 35.4 milliseconds, was the clear winner.

  The IDA report also highlighted the advantage of 4G download speeds compared to its 3G predecessor - at five times faster when it’s used for social networking sites, video streaming and even online gaming. This is based on average typical download speeds between 5.1Mbps and 42.4Mbps, with a peak speed of 87.7Mbps on a 4G network. In contrast, 3G networks score an average typical data download speed between 0.8Mbps and 9.2Mbps, with a peak speed of 31.3Mbps.

  That said, the three telcos have one concern to address - that being the low data bundle. This point is now contested by MyRepublic, which is pursuing an agenda to revive unlimited mobile data. That, and the fact that if MyRepublic successfully becomes the fourth telco in Singapore, could change the results reported by IDA in the months to come.

  So for now, if your contract is up and with the PC Show happening from 4 to 7 June, the choice is quite clear.

  If not, monitor IDA’s next report closely and decide where your loyalties lie next when the time is right.

  [Source: TODAY]