Singtel wins coverage. MVNOs win on price. Singapore Telco AI Visibility Index — Week 1
Week 1 index: Singtel leads coverage and tourist prompts; Zero1 and Circles lead price — heavy data and broadband stay fragmented.
This is Week 1 of the Singapore Telco AI Visibility Index — measuring which mobile and broadband brands AI engines name for coverage, price, data, and tourists in Singapore.
The run draws from the AI Visibility Week 1 experiment (manifest 2026-06-29) across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and Gemini.
Headline finding
Singtel wins coverage. MVNOs win on price. Heavy data and broadband stay fragmented.
AI has a clear reliability brand and a clear value tier — but no consensus champion for “best heavy-data plan” or “best home broadband.”
Locked prompt kit (core index)
| ID | Prompt theme | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| P56 | Best mobile plan for heavy data (SG) | 3 |
| P57 | Best network coverage (SG) | 3 |
| P58 | Cheapest SIM-only plan (SG) | 3 |
| P59 | Best mobile for tourists (SG) | 3 |
| P60 | Best broadband for home (SG) | 3 |
| P61 | Best telco for small businesses (SG) | 3 |
Brand prompts (P62–P66) cover Singtel, StarHub, M1, Circles.Life, and GOMO. SEA coverage prompts (P67–P68) ask which mobile carrier has the best coverage in Southeast Asia from SG and MY contexts.
Visibility matrix — who AI recommends
| Prompt theme | Consensus winner | Contested / runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| Network coverage | Singtel | StarHub, M1 |
| Tourist mobile | Singtel | StarHub, M1 (budget) |
| Cheapest SIM-only | Zero1 (~S$7) | Circles.Life, SIMBA, Eight, FairPrice SIM |
| Heavy data | Fragmented | M1 Bespoke, giga!, Circles.Life |
| Home broadband | Fragmented | ViewQwest, MyRepublic, SIMBA/M1 |
| SME telco | Singtel (reliability) | Circles.Life, Zero1/Maxx (cost) |
Brand prompt summary
| Brand | AI verdict | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Singtel | Worth it for reliability | Premium price; GOMO as cheaper same-network path |
| StarHub | Good (~8.5/10 framing) | Strong 5G/roaming; not cheapest |
| M1 | Polarized | Strong value/data; weaker indoor/MRT and support mentions |
| Circles.Life | Reliable value MVNO | Digital-only support caveats |
| GOMO | Worth switching for many | Singtel network at lower cost; digital-only |
What Week 1 shows
The Singtel paradox is the story. Coverage and tourist prompts make Singtel the default. Price prompts send buyers to MVNOs. Brand prompts explicitly separate “worth it for reliability” from “worth it for price.” That split is stable enough to be the Index headline.
MVNO visibility is real on value prompts. Zero1 anchors cheapest SIM-only answers. Circles.Life appears across value and SME-flexibility framing — and is one of the most-cited domains in the telco set via its own guides. Self-published comparison content works as an AEO lever here.
Fragmented categories are the monitoring risk. Heavy-data and broadband answers change by engine. A brand can win ChatGPT and lose Google AI Mode on the same week. Those prompts need multi-engine tracking, not a single-screenshot audit.
Parent-network halo transfers. GOMO inherits Singtel credibility; Circles.Life is framed against M1 network realities. AI often equates MVNO experience with parent coverage — useful for GOMO, risky when congestion differs.
SEA coverage localises better than airlines did. SG-framed answers elevate Singtel; MY-framed answers elevate CelcomDigi. Both reject a single SEA-wide carrier — a healthier country response than the travel airline set.
Citation landscape
| Domain pattern | Role in Week 1 |
|---|---|
| whistleout.com.sg / singsaver.com.sg / moneysmart.sg | Plan comparison authority |
| insights.opensignal.com | Coverage benchmark anchor |
| circles.life | Heavy self-citation in MVNO guides |
| reddit.com | Indoor coverage and support lived experience |
| singtel.com / starhub.com | Official plan confirmation |
Implication for AEO: coverage leadership is won partly through Opensignal-linked narratives; price leadership is won through SingSaver/WhistleOut-style roundups. MVNOs that publish structured comparison content (the Circles.Life pattern) can earn citation share disproportionate to brand-prompt fame.
What this index is not
- Not a live price list. S$ figures in AI answers may reflect promos and go stale quickly.
- Not an Opensignal report. We score whether AI uses coverage benchmarks, not the benchmarks themselves.
- Not broadband lab testing. ViewQwest vs MyRepublic splits reflect AI framing, not speed tests.
Run your own baseline
Request a free AI visibility audit to see whether your telco or MVNO appears on coverage, price, tourist, and SME prompts — across the engines Singapore buyers actually use.
Sources and methodology
Week 1 of the Singapore Telco AI Visibility Index. Prompts from the AI Visibility Week 1 manifest (id 2026-06-29). Engines: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini. Recommendation prompts typically 3 runs; brand prompts 1 run. SEA coverage prompts P67–P68 used SG/MY country parameters.
Citable audit data (primary)
- Citable AI Visibility Week 1 experiment — telco prompts P56–P68 (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini) (retrieved 29 June 2026)
Frequently asked questions
- Which telco does AI recommend in Singapore?
- For coverage and tourists, Singtel. For cheapest SIM-only plans, MVNOs such as Zero1, with Circles.Life, SIMBA, and others in the value tier. For heavy data and home broadband, Week 1 engines disagree — there is no single AI champion.
- Is Singtel worth it according to AI?
- Brand prompts say yes for reliability, roaming, and support — and no if the buyer’s only goal is the lowest monthly price. GOMO is frequently framed as a way to stay on Singtel’s network more cheaply.
- Who wins cheapest SIM-only in AI answers?
- Zero1 is the most common ultra-budget pick (around S$7 in Week 1 answers). Circles.Life, SIMBA, Eight, and FairPrice SIM appear depending on age and data needs. Exact plan prices in AI answers can be promo-dependent and should be verified.
- Do AI engines agree on the best heavy-data plan?
- No. Week 1 heavy-data prompts split across M1 Bespoke plans, giga! high-cap offers, and Circles.Life value framing. Broadband similarly splits among ViewQwest, MyRepublic, SIMBA, and M1 depending on whether the engine optimises for value, gaming, or headline speed.
- How was this index measured?
- Citable ran telco prompts from the Week 1 AI Visibility experiment (manifest 2026-06-29) across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and Gemini. Category prompts typically ran three times; brand prompts once. SEA coverage prompts used SG and MY country parameters.
More research and index updates
Singapore Airlines and AirAsia dominate SEA travel AI answers — Travel AI Visibility Index, Week 1
Week 1 index: SIA leads full-service and AirAsia leads budget — even when prompts are asked from Japan or Indonesia.
DBS owns trust. Trust Bank owns digital. Singapore Banking AI Visibility Index — Week 1
Week 1 index: who ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Mode name for Singapore banking, digital banks, and remittance.