Jump on the (broad)bandwagon with MyRepublic

IT SHOW 2017 SPECIAL

It wasn’t that long ago when tweeting was something that only the birds did, and sharing holiday snaps meant feigning mild fascination whenever Aunt Bessie brought out her holiday photo albums — and accompanying travel diary.

Thankfully, for the album-phobic among us, the advent of affordable fibre broadband plans and social media sites and apps means you no longer have to look at every single holiday photograph Aunt Bessie took. Just tell her that you’ve already seen the shots on her social media feed.

With the raft of value-for-money fibre broadband plans rolled out by Internet service providers like MyRepublic, it’s now easier for us to live, laugh and learn in our own virtual space.

So how else can fibre broadband change our lives? Let us count the ways.

IT MAKES WORK A BREEZE

What’s one of the key prerequisites of thriving in an interconnected world? Flexibility.

This may mean, for instance, working with partners who live in different time zones. In the bad old days before affordable fibre broadband networks became the norm, downloading large files from an overseas client might have meant staying late in the office because your dial-up modem at home simply didn’t have the bandwidth.

Or worse still, you might have to wait for a CD to be couriered to you “between noon and 5pm”.

But with a modestly-priced fibre broadband plan at home, you can download huge files in the time it takes you to read this story. It also opens up other possibilities from the comfort of home, like video-conferencing.

IT MAKES YOU SMARTER

Having a fibre broadband plan alone might not bump up your IQ significantly. But if you’re planning to further your studies, it could be an invaluable investment.

Many schools broadcast lectures online, or record lecture videos in case students miss a session or want to revise their work. Plenty of coursework and materials are also available online, and you’d be able to download the resources you need in a flash.

File-sharing apps like Google Docs also make it easier for students to collaborate on multimedia projects. Skimp on broadband and you might have problems with choppy playback or waste valuable time waiting for materials to load. Even primary school children have days set aside for e-learning, so Junior will also benefit.

IT HELPS YOU UNWIND

And when you’re done with that long assignment, you’ll probably turn online for some R&R. Remember when “multiplayer gaming” meant meeting your neighbourhood friends at the playground for an epic game of Police and Thief?

Those days may be long gone, but gamers who want to relive their carefree days of youth may appreciate MyRepublic’s Free Playstation 4 Pro Bundle, which the ISP will be offering at the IT Show 2017.

You’d be able to take advantage of the Playstation 4’s ability to stream 4K content to watch movies or play games.

A host of online streaming services, such as Mediacorp’s Toggle, also lets you catch up on some of your favourite shows, any time.

IT MAKES YOU MORE EFFICIENT

Once upon an analogue time, “the cheque is in the mail” used to be an oft-heard but valid excuse.

Thankfully, fibre broadband has opened up a slew of services that you can access from the comfort of home so you may never have to wait for or send a cheque again.

Queue up at your nearest bank branch with the lunch-time crowd to transfer funds?

Perish the thought and do it online in your pyjamas instead.

MYREPUBLIC’S FREE PLAYSTATION 4 PRO BUNDLE

The new Free Playstation 4 Pro Bundle, which will also be offered at IT Show 2017, includes MyRepublic’s 1Gbps fibre broadband, which the company says has been optimised for better streaming and faster downloads. That’s just as well, as the bundle includes a spiffy Sony PlayStation 4 Pro, which can run games and video streams in 4K (3,840x2,160) resolution.

Price: S$74.99 per month (usual price: S$84.99)

Bundle: PS4 Pro 1TB, 1 DualShock 4 controller, S$70 new router discount

Contract duration: 24 months

Other details: Pre-payment of 3 months’ subscription on the first month

MYREPUBLIC’S COMPLETE 1GBPS BUNDLE

On offer at the IT Show 2017 is the Complete 1GBPS Bundle, which offers savings of up to S$685 and includes discounts on hardware like routers.

And because fibre is good for you, customers who do not already have a fibre termination point (TP) also get a free TP installation.

Price: S$49.99 per month

Bundle: Free 4 months’ subscription (on the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th month), S$250 new router discount, free TP installation (worth S$235.40)

Contract duration: 24 months