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Aisha
14 March 2026
Anyone who has landed in Bangkok, Tokyo, or Bali with a Singapore redONE SIM will recognise the moment of uncertainty: is roaming actually on, and what is this going to cost me? redONE is an MVNO operating across Malaysia and Singapore, running on the CelcomDigi backbone in Malaysia and offering postpaid subscribers a genuinely competitive bundle for ASEAN travel. For short regional hops, it can be surprisingly capable. But once your itinerary takes you beyond the bundled countries, or once you exhaust your monthly allocation, the conversation changes quickly. This guide explains exactly how redONE roaming works, what the current plans cover, and where the edges of that coverage get expensive enough to warrant a dedicated travel eSIM instead.
redONE is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator with operations in Singapore and Malaysia. It does not own tower infrastructure but leases network capacity, running on CelcomDigi in Malaysia and relying on partner agreements in other markets. What sets redONE apart from purely domestic MVNOs is its positioning around borderless ASEAN connectivity: the flagship BEST plans include bundled roaming data across Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia as a core feature, not an add-on you have to remember to buy.
For Singapore-based subscribers, the current BEST10 and BEST20 plans (updated most recently in late 2025) include a significant pool of shared data across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, plus an additional allocation covering sixteen countries spanning the wider Asia-Pacific region including Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, and others. Once you activate your phone in an eligible country, roaming engages automatically via redONE's preferred partner network list. Selecting the correct preferred network is important: connecting to a non-preferred operator in the same country can trigger pay-per-use rates significantly higher than the bundled rate.
For Malaysia-based subscribers, the picture is similar, with the BEST Plans and the newer redplanROAM and redplanPLUS lines providing ASEAN roaming data in monthly cycles. A separate Daily Data Roaming option exists for postpaid customers at a flat daily rate covering a range of countries, and Prepaid Data Roaming Passes became available from November 2025 for customers on ULTRAplus25 or ULTRAplus35 plans. The passes are time-limited and activate from the purchase date, not the day of first use abroad, so timing matters.
Coverage broadly falls into three tiers. The bundled zone covers Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia for BEST plan subscribers. An extended zone covers a further set of Asia-Pacific destinations (Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka) with a separate data allocation. Beyond that, a pay-per-use rate applies. Data rates at pay-per-use can vary from around SGD 0.60 per MB in well-connected markets to dramatically higher in others.
Myanmar is currently unavailable for data roaming regardless of plan. Additional roaming packages are available as 30-day add-ons covering specific destination bundles and can be purchased via the redONE 1App before travel. For Malaysia redONE customers, the redROAM10 add-on provides 10GB for use across Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand within a billing cycle, available to postpaid subscribers with a monthly commitment of RM38 or above.
Pre-register in the app before you fly. For destinations outside the bundled ASEAN zone, roaming add-ons need to be purchased via the redONE 1App ahead of travel. The app also gives you visibility of your remaining allocations per zone.
Select the preferred network manually if needed. redONE publishes a preferred partner network list by country. In Japan, for example, connecting to a non-preferred operator rather than the designated partner can mean standard PPU billing instead of your bundled rate. Check the list before departure and save the network name.
Roaming packages activate from date of purchase, not first use. For Malaysia redONE customers, the billing clock on add-ons starts immediately, not when you land. Buy add-ons close to your departure date, not weeks in advance.
Monitor usage via the app, not your phone's built-in counter. Network-level data tracking in the redONE 1App is more accurate than your device's own counter and will alert you before you hit PPU territory.
Turn off data roaming in countries outside your covered zones. If your itinerary includes a stopover in a country not covered by your add-on, switching off data roaming prevents automatic PPU charges from accumulating in the background.
New Malaysia customers face a deposit requirement. Customers who have been with redONE Malaysia for less than six months may need to provide an RM300 refundable deposit to activate international roaming at all. This is worth checking before booking travel.
For a weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur or a few days in Bali, redONE's bundled coverage is genuinely hard to beat. The data comes out of your existing monthly allocation with no additional action required, and the rates are built into a plan most subscribers are already paying for. The maths shifts as soon as you move outside that core ASEAN zone.
Japan is a good illustration. The extended APAC allocation covers it, but if you are spending two weeks there and need consistent LTE for Google Maps, transit apps, and hotel bookings, twelve gigabytes may run short. Once exhausted, the PPU rate kicks in with no warning other than a usage notification, and data costs can accumulate quickly. A dedicated eSIM for Japan, pre-loaded with a sufficient data bundle, eliminates that risk entirely. You keep your redONE SIM active for your Singapore number (useful for banking OTPs and local calls), while routing all mobile data through the travel eSIM.
Multi-destination trips are where the case for a separate eSIM becomes clearest. If your itinerary combines a Tokyo leg with a stop in Istanbul or Paris, your redONE plan will cover Japan but not Europe, and a patchwork of individual add-ons for each country adds both cost and complexity. A regional eSIM covering your full route handles it in one purchase.
The travellers most likely to reach for a TurkSIM eSIM are redONE subscribers heading somewhere their BEST plan simply does not cover at a reasonable rate. A Singaporean flying to Istanbul for a conference, or a Malaysian heading to Lisbon for a holiday, is immediately outside the bundled zone. There is no meaningful redONE add-on for these destinations, which means pay-per-use is the only alternative on the existing SIM.
The dual-SIM advantage is particularly relevant here. Keeping the redONE SIM active maintains the Singapore or Malaysian phone number for WhatsApp calls, banking OTPs, and any back-home admin. The TurkSIM eSIM, installed as a secondary profile before departure, handles all local data once landed. No SIM swaps, no hunting for a local shop, no deposit at the airport counter. TurkSIM's coverage in Turkey runs on Turkcell, Vodafone TR, and Turk Telekom, meaning your data routes through the same infrastructure local subscribers use. For a country with real 4G density across Istanbul, Ankara, and coastal resort areas, that local network access matters.
For frequent travellers who mix ASEAN and long-haul destinations in the same calendar, a TurkSIM eSIM for the non-ASEAN legs removes the PPU risk entirely without touching the redONE plan that handles the regional travel well.
redONE does not include Europe in any bundled roaming zone. If you travel to European countries, standard pay-per-use rates apply on the current BEST plans. These can be very high and vary by country. A dedicated travel eSIM is generally a more cost-effective option for European trips.
For Singapore customers, add-ons are purchased and managed via the redONE 1App. For Malaysia customers, international roaming must first be activated by calling 1909. New Malaysia customers with less than six months tenure may need to place a refundable RM300 deposit before roaming can be enabled at all.
Once the bundled data allocation is exhausted, roaming automatically switches to pay-per-use rates on redONE. Rates vary significantly by country and operator. The redONE 1App will notify you of usage approaching limits, but it is advisable to monitor manually and purchase an additional add-on before exhaustion rather than after.
Yes, Japan is included in the extended APAC zone for Singapore BEST plan subscribers. The updated BEST10 includes 12GB of roaming data for this zone. You must connect to the correct preferred partner network - check the redONE preferred networks list for Japan before travelling, as connecting to a non-preferred operator triggers PPU billing.
Yes. Many modern smartphones support dual-SIM functionality, allowing you to run a redONE profile and a separate travel eSIM simultaneously. This lets you retain your redONE number for calls, OTPs, and messages while using the travel eSIM for local data access abroad.
No. Myanmar is currently listed as unavailable for data roaming across all redONE plans and add-ons, regardless of subscription tier. This applies to both Singapore and Malaysia subscribers. The restriction has been in place since at least 2025 and there is no announced timeline for restoration. Plan accordingly if Myanmar is part of your itinerary.
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