Disclaimer: The prices and information presented on this page reflect a snapshot at the time of research and may change at any time without prior notice.
Aisha
04 March 2026
One thing giga gets right from the start: you do not need to think about roaming for a trip to Bali, Bangkok, or Seoul. Free Asia roaming to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and South Korea is included in every single giga plan, on day one, without any activation required. That is a genuinely useful default for Singapore travellers who move around the region regularly. But once your itinerary goes beyond those five countries, the picture changes quickly, and that is where most giga users start doing the maths.
Giga is a digital-only MVNO under StarHub, operating on StarHub's 4G and 5G network infrastructure. Like its sister brand Eight, giga uses StarHub's international partner agreements for roaming. Once you land at a supported destination, your device connects automatically to a local partner network. No manual activation is required for the included Asia destinations.
Giga splits roaming into two tiers. The Asia bundle covers Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and South Korea permanently across all plans. The international tier depends on your plan: 4G plans include a smaller international allocation, while 5G plans at SGD 18 and above include free roaming in 48 destinations covering Europe, North America, the Middle East, and more. Turkey is on the list for 5G plan holders, which is worth noting for travellers heading to Istanbul or the Aegean coast.
For destinations outside the included allocations, giga offers two gigaRoam add-on passes. The gigaRoam APAC pass covers 14 destinations including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, and Vietnam. The gigaRoam Global pass extends to all 48 international destinations. Both passes are one-time-use and valid from arrival. Outgoing calls and SMS are not supported while roaming on giga. Inbound SMS, including Singapore bank OTPs, work normally.
The table below summarises giga roaming inclusions per plan tier as of March 2026. Prices are standard monthly rates without annual discount.
gigaRoam add-on passes for users who need more or different coverage: APAC pass (14 destinations, SGD 5 for 1GB, 5-day validity) and Global pass (48 destinations, SGD 15 for 1GB, 15-day validity). Check the giga app for current pass rates before your trip as these are subject to change.
No manual activation needed for Asia roaming. Roaming to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and South Korea is included and active by default on all giga plans. Ensure Data Roaming is switched on in your device settings before landing and your phone will connect automatically.
Buy gigaRoam passes before you fly, not after landing. Giga allows pass purchases up to three months in advance. Buying from Singapore ensures you are connected the moment you arrive without scrambling for Wi-Fi to top up.
Enable Data Roaming in device settings. On iOS: Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Roaming. On Android: Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > Data Roaming. Giga handles activation at the account level, but the device toggle must be on.
Inbound SMS works, outbound does not. Bank OTPs and verification codes sent to your Singapore number arrive normally while roaming on giga. You cannot send outgoing SMS from abroad. Use WhatsApp, Telegram, or iMessage over data for messaging.
Check your Asia roaming balance in the giga app. Monthly Asia data resets with your plan cycle, not when you travel. A trip that starts mid-cycle may have less remaining Asia data than expected. Top up with a gigaRoam APAC pass if needed.
5G plans unlock the widest roaming access. If you travel internationally more than a few times a year, the jump from a 4G plan to a 5G plan at SGD 18 or above brings free roaming in 48 countries and may be more cost-effective than buying individual passes.
For short trips within giga's free Asia zone, the included roaming data is genuinely sufficient for most travellers. A weekend in KL or a few days in Bali on any giga plan requires zero additional spend. Even Japan and Australia are reachable cheaply with a gigaRoam APAC pass.
The limitations show up in three scenarios. First, data volume: even the 1TB plan's 12GB international allocation can run out mid-trip if you are navigating, streaming, or working remotely. The gigaRoam Global pass offers only 1GB per purchase at SGD 15, which adds up fast for heavy users. Second, destinations not on giga's 48-country list remain uncovered entirely. Third, if you are on a 4G plan, you have no included international roaming at all and depend entirely on purchased passes.
A dedicated travel eSIM gives you a fixed data package for your destination with predictable cost. Your giga SIM stays active in the physical slot for Singapore OTPs. Giga itself supports eSIM, so the dual-SIM setup works on any modern iPhone or Android without needing to swap anything physically.
Giga's free Asia roaming is a real advantage for regular regional travellers. It is one of the most generous included roaming bundles among Singapore's budget telcos, and the 5G plan's 48-country international coverage is broader than what most MVNOs offer at this price point. For a weekend trip or a short work trip, giga often handles everything without a single extra dollar spent.
Where giga users consistently look for a supplement is on longer trips and data-heavy itineraries. A ten-day holiday in Japan using navigation, social media, and video calls will push past giga's included APAC allocation and into pass territory. At SGD 15 per gigabyte on the Global pass, a week of normal data usage in Europe becomes expensive quickly. There is also the coverage ceiling: giga's 48 destinations cover the popular routes well, but gaps remain for travellers heading to parts of South America, Africa, or less-covered Asian countries.
The dual-SIM approach solves this cleanly. The giga SIM handles Singapore OTPs and home calls. A TurkSIM eSIM on local network partners, NTT Docomo or SoftBank in Japan, Turkcell or Vodafone in Turkey, provides the bulk trip data at a predictable flat rate. Because giga supports eSIM natively, there is no hardware change involved. Download the profile before departure and both connections are live from the moment you land.
Japan is not included in giga's free Asia roaming bundle, which covers Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and South Korea only. Japan is available via the gigaRoam APAC pass. On 5G plans at SGD 18 and above, Japan is covered under the free 48-destination international roaming allocation. Check your plan tier in the giga app to confirm what is included.
Open the giga app, navigate to gigaRoam, and select the APAC or Global pass for your destination. Passes can be purchased up to three months before your trip from Singapore. The pass activates automatically when you arrive at an eligible destination. No further steps are needed once you have data roaming enabled on your device.
Yes. Incoming SMS including Singapore bank OTPs and verification codes work normally while roaming on giga. Outgoing SMS is not supported while abroad. Use WhatsApp, iMessage over data, or Telegram for messaging during your trip.
Yes. All giga plans support eSIM, which you can select during online signup. This makes it easy to run a TurkSIM travel eSIM alongside your giga plan on any dual-SIM capable iPhone or Android device without swapping physical SIMs.
The gigaRoam APAC pass covers 14 destinations including Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, with a shorter validity period. The Global pass covers all 48 international destinations with a longer validity window. Check the giga app for current pricing on both passes as rates are subject to change.
Both run on StarHub's network so coverage quality is the same. Giga's 5G plans include broader free international roaming across 48 countries, which is more generous than Eight's Group A structure at comparable price points. Eight's plan naming and data inclusions are more varied. For frequent international travellers, giga's 5G plans typically offer better value on included roaming. For purely regional APAC trips, both perform similarly.
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