One of the first things you will want to have after arriving in Singapore is a local phone number. You probably have a mobile along from the ‘old’ country but the cost of using that ads-up off course. Your company may be providing you with a mobile but that only solves ‘half’ your problem if you’re here with your spouse (and much less then half if you have grown-up kids) so what to do.
Singapore has 3 providers for phone services, SingTel, M1 and Starhub with Singtel being the biggest and a former state company. Which one is better or worse then the other is not something we will go into here, they all have many shops and an internet presence so you can try and figure out the best deal.
The quickest way to start calling locally is to get a pre-paid SIM card. That will let you call immediately and you’ll also be able to call IDD, travel with it and send SMS’s etc. To top-up the card you can use many methods inside Singapore or the net outside (provided you have an account with the right bank).
You may find the ‘topping-up’ impractical and you don’t get a specified bill or the chance of discounted phone upgrades etc. but it works. Note that you won't be able to keep your pre-paid number when you want to switch to a subscription line.
For a subscription line you’ll have to wait for your Employment or dependant pass to come through and you’ll need a billing address. If you don’t have a permanent address yet you could see if you can use your company’s. The line subscriptions let you get a new phone at a heavy discount depending on the package and duration of the contract. There are always a lot of offers on so if you like gadgets take a good look first.
SMS
If you have access to a computer with Internet you will immediately be able to SMS people through the internet. All 3 providers offer the opportunity to send an SMS to a customer of their network (so you will need to know which one they are on):
For a fixed line connection you will need your EP or other pass and a tenancy agreement if you want it installed in a rented house. Many agents will be more than happy to help out. Nothing much to say about it really.
Voice over IP, or 'calling' through the internet is a very convenient and cheap option once you have a broadband connection. There are no guaranties and you will probably not be able to do without a more traditional line but VoIP systems such as Skype work very well and at no cost for computer to computer communications.
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