Suntalk-Saver-Callback-Plan

Source: http://www.waynekoh.com/2008/09/suntalk-saver-callback-plan.html
Posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 | In Market Commentary

Contributed by: Wayne Koh (http://waynekoh.com) -

Recently, a good buddy of mine introduced me to a callback service which he has been using for a while.
I took the “plunge” and downgraded my mobile phone service plan with MobileOne (M1) and picked up one of the callback cards at a mom-and-pop shop. The voice quality is actually not bad, to my surprise. But my main objective is the savings that accompanies the change:-

As you can see, the savings of 58.8% is significant. Not only that, the unused talk-time on the callback card can be “rolled over” for 6 months (i.e 424 minutes of talk-time must be consumed within next 6 months, which is not an issue). And the best part is, I still get to send 500 SMSes, same as before, through the lower, cheaper MobileOne plan.

To conclude, here are some good and bad sides of the change:-

Good (tangible benefits):-
a) savings of 58.8% !
b) same SMSes to send : 500
c) I actually get a “value-added service” (Caller Number Non-Display) along the way; People receiving my call on the other end sees my number as a “private number”. This service would have cost me $5.35 per month with MobileOne (M1).
d) Free UNLIMITED calls to 3 M1 Friends that I choose; (p.s: but soon I realized there are not many friends with M1 numbers).

Good (intangible benefits):-
a) need my “RAM memory” to work harder, therefore improving my brainpower (hopefully); I also hope to be able to memorize the phone numbers of my friends through this as I need to physically key in the numbers in the callback service.

Bad:-
a) A bit inconvenient when trying to key in the numbers while doing something else, such as driving.
b) Worrying about the sustainability and stability of such small-scale companies; But my liability is limited to the $9.00 that I paid for the card.

Many thanks to my buddy for this!