Used Simba (previously known as TPG) 50GB SIM only plan for GrabFood, is it good?

I know I've written about TPG 50GB SIM only plan before (read it here), and I mentioned that I didn't really enjoy its unstable connectivity. But this time round, due to some unforeseen event, I signed up for their 50GB plan again.  

Well, it's 100GB for $10/month for the FIRST month only and subsequent month will be back to 50GB per month for the same price.

50GB is more than adequate for GrabFood delivery, at least for my case. I only used up less than 600MB/day for 6-7 orders with some YouTubes while waiting for orders. 

I've been using this plan for GrabFood over the past few days. And I've summed up what I feel about the TPG this time round.

"Service Shop" and Customer Service

I went down to their store in Orchard Central to sign up for the plan. I was pretty surprised by the service I received. The CSO at the counter was very friendly, patience and took initiative to help me get my phone setup.

Apparently, TPG only support VoLTE calls and you need to set it up before it could be use. If you don't, you can't make normal phone calls (Whatsapp call will still work though).

I'm using my POCO X3 Pro instead of my iPhone this time round and there is a whole string of code needed to be entered to activate VoLTE, which the staff offered to help me do it without me requesting. There are also a few times we couldn't hear each other speak because of the facial mask and glass divider and she was patience with me. 

I must say, I'm pretty pleased with the young lady who served me.

Affordable Price

I actually did some research (not an in-depth one though) and I believe that the TPG offers the cheapest data plan in town!

I mean this TPG SIM only plan is just $10/month for 50GB of 4G data, 1GB international roaming Data, 30 SMS and 300 minutes of talk time.

You probably couldn't find any plan cheaper than this for the same amount of 4G data! And they also have a senior plan that provides 20GB of 4G data, 1GB international roaming Data, 30 SMS and 300 minutes of talk time for just $5/month! (you need to be a senior to sing up though)

Connectivity and GPS Navigation

Disclaimer: I only tried out in the location where I deliver GrabFood, so I can't really say for other areas.

To be honest, connectivity hasn't been the best but is decent. 

I do face some lag when I was underground while I was walking the underpass in a TEL MRT station. So on the map, I may seems to have "teleported" few meters down the road! I hope Grab doesn't think I'm faking my location though.

While delivering GrabFood, I do notice a few times when the indicator on the map navigation (both in GrabFood in App map and Google Map) will tend to "fidget" or jump around a little. While this could  be a phone's problem, I can't rule out if it's the 4G being unstable.

Anyways, if you're on a bicycle (which I did for a few trips), you might face some problem, as the "jump" could occasionally reroute the route. As for me, since I'm mainly on foot, these little "jumps" doesn't affect me much.

And I must say, I haven't have much problem delivering with this TPG plan. There are little disruptions in connection and I do find that it worked much better than previously. At least I don't have problem with connectivity in lifts nor do I suddenly received messages like "Welcome back to Singapore!" like I did the other time round.

Problem with OTP

This problem have existed right from the start when TPG first entered Singapore. That some users reported they couldn't receive OTP from certain apps on their TPG number. 

I didn't try that out the previous time round but this time round I did. I remember having to setup a few apps on my phone and I can receive most of the OTPs. However, when I was trying to setup Telegram, I couldn't receive the OTP. I've tried it thrice, and all 3 times I didn't receive OTP.

I didn't try to setup my DigiBank on this phone so I didn't get to try if OTPs from banks could be received.

TPG SG App 

TPG has make an app to make it easier for users to check their data usage and bills. If you're not paying by credit card and have to manually top up cash for your plan, you can do it via the app too.

However, the App requires you to enter an OTP every single time you log into the app and these OTP (in fact all OTPs) will use up your SMS count. I think it's a rather silly way to exhaust the SMS limit.

Billing Issues and Flexibility 

I've mentioned in my previous post that TPG have issue with their billings (like double charging) and they're extremely slow in terminating lines.

However, they seems to have that problem fixed and the lady at the counter told me that cancellation have to be done 7 days prior to the next billing. Anything later will see your plan continuing for another month. 

While TPG have fixed their billing issues, they are rather inflexible in the porting of their lines, even if it's within their own company.

Well, when I was there, there is this man whose line was cut due to late payment and he wishes to reconnect his line but TPG can't do it for him. It seems like they just cancel his line and he have to sign up a new line and he couldn't use back his old mobile number. 

There are also complains online that TPG doesn't allow users to port from one plan to another. So a user wishes to port his current line to TPG's business plan since he has been using it for his business calls anyways. But TPG couldn't do that and asked him to sign up for the Business plan and he will get a new number with that new sign up. That obviously defeats the purpose as he'll then have to change the contacts for his business. 

I feel TPG could work on allowing users to switch from plan to plan or upgrade without having to re-signup or get a new number. 

Overall, I must say I'm pretty happy with TPG SIM only plan this time round. I can see that they've improved their connectivity and customer service.

It's much more stable now and I feel it's comparable with my StarHub 3G and 4G line. Yes, of course comparing 3G to 4G is pretty unfair, but Starhub has been around for ages... so I do expect a little more from them...

For $10/month with 50GB data is quite a steal! Although 30 SMS and 300 minutes Talk Time may not be enough for some.