Why StarHub's 5Gbps plan is an excellent deal
StarHub's new 5Gbps plan lets you break the 1Gbps home Internet barrier without breaking the bank.
![Why StarHub's 5Gbps plan is an excellent deal](/content/images/size/w1200/2024/04/StarHub.jpg)
StarHub's new 5Gbps plan lets you break the 1Gbps home Internet barrier without breaking the bank.
This news came in via email when I was at the airport yesterday and I thought it was a great deal.
Here's the quick lowdown:
- 5Gbps download speeds.
- Symmetric, so 5Gbps uploading.
- Priced at SG$45 "for a limited time".
- Free Nokia Optical Network WiFi 6 wireless router.
Let's be real
But first, let's cut out the marketing fluff and get to the point.
- The service uses same backbone that delivers you your 500Mbps, 1Gbps, 10Gbps and now 5Gbps Internet.
- Yes, 5Gbps is much faster, but unless you upload a lot, 99% of your daily tasks will probably feel the same.
- Extra effort/equipment is required to leverage the full 5Gbps bandwidth. (My 10Gbps setup: https://lnkd.in/gX8sCy3D)
In my view, household with multiple heavy users will benefit the most. And if you just want ultrafast Internet but balked at the cost of 10Gbps, then this will appeal.
Why I like it
Still, here's why I like the new 5Gbps plan.
- Small premium for big improvement
When I set up dual WAN Internet connectivity for my home office, I scoured for the most value-for-money plans. The cheapest 1Gbps plan is ~$37 if you stacked the promos correctly - and it hasn't changed much since.
Read: https://lnkd.in/g5QNsBrS
For just a few dollars more, it's now possible to sign up for a symmetric 5Gbps plan, how means you can upload at 5Gbps speeds too! That's a fantastic offer in my book.
- It works better than older '2Gbps' plans
Remember those 2Gbps plans? They are really a bundle of 1Gbps x2 plans for a slight discount.
The thing is, most users won't see as much benefit from 2x smaller pipes than a single larger pipe. This is because the latter makes it far easier to share the bandwidth.
- Achievable benefits
Finally, it takes effort, planning, and (very likely) new equipment to maximise a 10Gbps plan. While this is true of a 5Gbps plan as well, the bar is lower.
And even if all you simply swap out an existing 1Gbps optical model for a 5Gbps unit, I estimate that most users will benefit from the bigger pipe during periods of heavy usage*.
*Dependant on your exact network setup.
By the way, the final part of my 3-part series recently came out on HardwareZone, where I explain how to set up a home network to support 10Gbps.
👉 Are you planning to upgrade your home Internet and/or Wi-Fi soon?