Mobile internet in Singapore
Singapore has one of the fastest mobile internet speeds in the region, thanks to its well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, and has become the first country in the world to achieve nationwide 5G coverage. The total number of 4G subscriptions in Singapore reached 7.97 million as of 2021, with an average monthly mobile data use of 71.39 petabytes. Singaporeans are now accessing the internet mostly via their mobile phones, with a 63.04 percent share of web traffic.Circles.Life, MyRepublic, and Gorilla Mobile are among the recent mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that have joined the four licensed telecom companies Singtel, StarHub, M1, and TPG. More individuals are now looking for new SIM-only and off-contract plans from various carriers due to the emergence of more affordable plans provided by established providers and incumbent sub-brands, such as Singtel's Gomo and StarHub's Giga.
Leading apps in Singapore
Android is the most popular mobile operating system in Singapore, with over 74 percent of the mobile web traffic share, followed by iOS with roughly 24 percent of the traffic. Singaporean Android users spend the most time on social and communication apps, with about 785 million hours spent in the fourth quarter of 2021. Meta's apps remain among the most widely used in Singapore in 2021, with only TikTok surpassing Instagram in terms of average monthly hours spent. Indeed, the Chinese video-sharing app has quickly established itself as a major player in the local social networking scene. The app has seen the highest increase in usage in the country among social apps between 2020 and 2021, as well as one of the highest growths in user engagement globally.Furthermore, the e-commerce industry has benefited from Singaporeans' increased app usage in recent years, with shopping applications like Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon receiving most of the user activity. Grab and Foodpanda have gained from the significant increase in food and drinks mobile app usage at the end of 2021.