5 Factors To Consider When Choosing A SIM-Only Mobile Plan During Work-From-Home

The COVID-19 global pandemic is different the planet in a fashion that no one could have anticipated. Global travel originates to a standstill with many countries introducing strict border restrictions. Many of our holiday plans are cancelled. For better or worse, even going to the office daily is not something which a lot of us do anymore once we adjust to work-from-home.

In the brand new normal that we live in today, a number of our consumption habits have evolved. Netflix subscriptions may have replaced movie outings, while online food orders have gained significant traction and getting groceries delivered may have be a weekly affair.

With all these changes, we might also find ourselves using our cell phones differently in the past.

If we are mainly working-from-home nowadays, we're likely to see our mobile consumption habits changing. For those seeking to renew their cell phone plans soon and are considering a SIM-Only plan, listed here are 5 factors that we should consider in this work-from-home period.

#1 Just how much Data Will we Need Every month?

Even if you are living as a hermit like Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, the chances are that you'll still go out occasionally to purchase groceries, meet a friend or perform a quick workout. Which means you'll need some mobile data to remain connected with the rest of the world – not just on WhatsApp in order to navigate yourself so you don't get lost.

As such, you should figure out how much mobile data you need each month in the new normal.

For some, data requirements is going to be kept minimal since most people already have a home broadband plan and can tap onto it if we are working from home. We can choose a Lite Plan, like the one offered by MyRepublic, which gives us 6 GB of information and 300 minutes of talktime just for $10/month.

For others, we may still need a sizable quantity of data. This is particularly true when we have weekly or bi-weekly work-from-home schedules, and for those who still have to encounter clients and colleagues regularly. As constantly on the go every day, insufficient information is not a problem you want to have. For these working professionals, the Core Plan provided by MyRepublic, which gives us 50 GB of data and 500 minutes of talktime every month would be perfect. This would cost just $20/month.

If unconditionally, working-from-home has increased your appetite for data – you may work at a café that does not provide free Wi-fi, there is also a limitless Data Plan, which gives (as you may already guess) unlimited data and 1000 minutes of talktime just for $39/month.

#2 Flexibility To Upgrade Or Downgrade Your Plan Anytime

Even though many of us are currently working-from-home, we should be mindful that our work-from-home arrangements may be temporary. Once the situation improves, we may be required to visit the office more often. As a result, our mobile data consumption may vary later on.

Ideally, we want to sign up for a SIM-only plan that enables us to alter or perhaps cancel our plan at no additional charge anytime. This way, we have the flexibleness to alter our mobile plan if our consumption changes, rather than being locked right into a plan that people can't downgrade/upgrade from.

All of MyRepublic SIM-only mobile plans give customers the flexibility to upgrade, downgrade or cancel their plan anytime free of charge.

#3 Free Incoming Calls

If we are working-from-home, we will likely find ourselves receiving more calls on our mobile phone from people we work with. This is because we no more have a direct office line for people to us and it is unlikely many of us could be prepared to share the house number. Our colleagues may also give us a call more often on the phone to go over work since they no longer see us at work.

While most mobile plans nowadays give free incoming calls, this isn't something that we should ignore. There are still some plans that do not provide for free incoming calls and the last thing we would like is to realise we've subscribed to a plan that will charge us for work-related calls that we're accepting from your colleagues, clients and boss.

All of MyRepublic mobile plans come with free incoming calls that don't count from the talktime customers get each month.

#4 Free SMS

With messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram getting increasingly popular in Singapore, one might wonder how relevant Short Message Service, better known as SMS, is still today.

While not many people, a minimum of in Singapore, still use it regularly, we might want to make sure that our SIM-only mobile plan still gives us a respectable quantity of free SMS every month. This is important within the off-chance we have older relatives/friends who don't use the same messaging apps as us, or do not have a data plan that allows these to keep in touch with these apps when they're from their home.

In an emergency such as a blackout or maybe mobile traffic usage is extremely high, an SMS is also another way to communicate quickly with the people we have to, especially if voice calls cannot go through.

#5 Value-Added Services

Value-added services are something that we might overlook when searching for an appropriate SIM-only mobile plan. However, it is something we shouldn't ignore because the very last thing we would like is to religiously attempt to save money on our SIM-only mobile plan, only to wind up incurring added charges on services that we need.

For a start, Caller identification is one thing that we all need therefore we should ensure that our SIM-only plan already includes free Caller ID as part of the package.

Also, browse the prices for data add-ons even when we do not intend to rely on them. This will indicate what we might have to pay if we need some more data in the future. For example, MyRepublic charges an acceptable $2.99 for a 3 GB data add-on and $5.99 for any 10 GB data add-on.

Currently, the majority of us won't be travelling overseas, but it's also worth noting what we might have to pay for roaming add-ons whenever we do travel again in the future when the pandemic has ended.

Monitor Your Usage Regularly To Avoid Incurring Additional Charges

In 2021, we might find our mobile data consumption changing quickly on the month-to-month basis, based on which stage of the reopening of the economy we are in.

During the 2-month circuit breaker period from April to June, it's likely that our mobile data usage was kept low because we were spending most of our time at home. When Phase 2 commenced, we started going out a little more and this might have increased our mobile data usage slightly. Once Phase 3 arrives, our usage may further increase.

To avoid being trapped suddenly by a rise in mobile usage, it's useful to have an app that can help us monitor our monthly data usage.

For example, MyRepublic mobile plan users can download the MyRepublic app from Google Play (for Android users) or the App Store (for iOS users). This can let us track our mobile data, call time and SMS usage easily. In addition, we are able to also employ the app to alter our plan, get add-ons or update our account details. The app also doubles as a way to contact MyRepublic for those who have questions or need help.

Ultimately, our mobile plan needs to serve our lifestyle, rather than for the lifestyle to become dictated or restricted to what our plan is able to offer. We shouldn't have to proactively limit our mobile usage when we need to use it – especially for work purposes.

At the same time, it also will not make any financial sense to become paying more for our mobile plan when we have no need for so much mobile data. So choose what you need, rather than to be using additional mobile data as you have already purchased it for.

Check out this infographic for a quick recap on which to consider when selecting a SIM-Only mobile plan during work-from-home: