Circles.Life Kicks Off Free One-Month 5G Start NSA Trial in Singapore

Circles.Life is entering the 5G arena with Circles.Life 5G Start, offering a free one-month trial that lets Circles.Life members access 5G NSA (Non-Standalone) on compatible devices. The program is designed as an introductory trial, after which 5G Start will transition into a paid add-on service. This rollout marks Circles.Life as the first digital telco in Singapore to bring 5G NSA to customers with a straightforward, no-cost path into the new network capabilities. The initiative is framed around flexibility, transparency, and customer empowerment, allowing users to experience early 5G benefits before the broader market shifts to 5G SA. The launch underscores Circles.Life’s ongoing mission to redefine Singapore’s telco experience by placing control and simplicity in the hands of consumers. The free trial is structured to maximize accessibility, with no contractual obligations or sign-up hurdles, and an emphasis on direct access to 5G without lock-ins. This is supported by a commitment to rapid, app-based customer support and a rapid sign-up window that aligns with Circles.Life’s digital-first approach.

Overview of Circles.Life 5G Start and NSA

Circles.Life 5G Start operates on a Non-Standalone Architecture (NSA) and is currently offered as a trial to all new and existing customers whose devices are compatible with the technology. The program is designed to be inclusive, allowing a broad base of users to explore 5G capabilities without immediate financial commitments. After the one-month free trial, Circles.Life 5G Start will move into a paid add-on service, providing a clear pathway from experiment to ongoing access for users who choose to continue with 5G. The NSA configuration leverages Circles.Life’s existing 4G infrastructure to deliver markedly faster mobile internet speeds, enabling more rapid downloads and uploads while maintaining compatibility with current devices and networks. This approach delivers tangible early 5G benefits without requiring customers to undergo a full network migration or invest in new hardware immediately. In terms of geographic reach, Circles.Life 5G NSA coverage is targeted at key population centers in Singapore, which allows a broad audience to experience improved 5G performance as a precursor to the broader 5G rollout. The aim is to give users a taste of what 5G can offer over 4G, with immediate improvements in speed and responsiveness that enhance everyday activities like streaming, gaming, and large-file transfers. For existing Circles.Life customers, the opportunity to begin accessing 5G during the week starting 17th August demonstrates Circles.Life’s commitment to a swift and user-friendly transition into 5G.

Significantly, the 5G Start trial is time-bound, with the free period running until 16th September 2021. Beyond that date, the trial is set to end by 31st December 2021, as Circles.Life continues to develop its 5G roadmap toward a standalone (SA) service that promises even greater network performance and capabilities for 5G users. The push toward SA reflects the industry-wide trajectory from initial NSA deployments to full 5G deployments that operate with a separate 5G core. The press materials emphasize that 5G Start is designed to be simple and transparent, allowing customers to experience a 5G network directly, without costs or commitments, and without restrictions on sign-ups. This approach aligns with Circles.Life’s broader strategy to empower customers to customize their plans quickly and easily through its digital ecosystem, including immediate plan changes via the Circles.Life mobile app. The program is positioned as a seamless gateway to the 5G era, letting users evaluate how early 5G enhancements can improve their digital lifestyle.

From a product positioning perspective, Circles.Life 5G Start is presented as an “unlimited flexibility, unlimited enjoyment” proposition during the trial period. The messaging emphasizes the absence of contracts, no obligations, and the ability to explore the network freely. The trial’s structure invites new and existing customers to sign up for 5G Start through the Circles.Life app during a defined window (9–15 August), after which the 5G Start add-on becomes a paid option following the end of the free trial. This arrangement is designed to maximize accessibility and trial participation, removing barriers to entry and providing a direct, frictionless path to experiencing the benefits of 5G. The press release positioning also highlights Circles.Life’s status as a pioneer in Singapore’s digital telco space, delivering a 5G experience directly and transparently, with no hidden conditions or commitments. As the first digital telco to offer 5G NSA in Singapore, Circles.Life frames 5G Start as a transformative step that could reshape consumer expectations about how 5G should be delivered and perceived, particularly in a market accustomed to traditional telcos.

How the NSA Trial Works

The NSA trial leverages the existing 4G core network to provide enhanced 5G access, allowing customers to benefit from faster download and upload speeds without needing a standalone 5G core. This setup enables a smoother, lower-risk introduction to 5G for users who may still be using devices that are compatible with the NSA configuration. The trial’s no-cost nature is designed to eliminate barriers, encouraging a broad range of users to experience high-speed connectivity, media streaming, and new application use cases that the 5G era enables. The one-month duration ensures customers can assess performance, coverage, and overall user experience across typical daily activities, including video streaming, real-time gaming, cloud-based applications, and large-file transfers. During the trial period, users can expect the benefits of faster response times, improved streaming quality, and more reliable connections in supported areas, all without altering their current billing arrangements or entering into long-term commitments. The broader industry context is that NSA deployments are often a transitional phase that helps operators gauge demand, optimize network performance, and refine customer support processes before moving to a full SA deployment. Circles.Life’s approach aligns with this industry pattern, offering a tangible preview of 5G’s potential while maintaining the flexibility that digital lifestyle customers value.

Eligibility, Availability, and Sign-Up

Eligibility for Circles.Life 5G Start is designed to be inclusive for both new and existing Circles.Life customers whose devices are compatible with 5G NSA technology. The sign-up window is a concise, time-bound event that runs from 9 to 15 August, with the expectation that eligible customers can enable 5G Start quickly through the Circles.Life app. The free trial’s administrative simplicity is a core feature, minimizing friction and enabling broad participation across the Circles.Life user base. Following the end of the one-month free trial, Circles.Life 5G Start transitions into a paid add-on service, allowing customers to continue their 5G experience if they choose to. This transition is framed in a way that preserves user choice and minimizes disruption to existing service arrangements, ensuring a smooth handoff from trial to paid subscription. The commitment to “no conditions, no commitments, and no limit” during the trial period is repeatedly emphasized as a key differentiator for Circles.Life, reflecting the company’s customer-centric philosophy and its readiness to challenge traditional telco norms. The availability across key population centers ensures that a substantial portion of Singapore’s smartphone-using population can access the early 5G benefits, supporting Circles.Life’s aim to accelerate 5G adoption and drive broader consumer engagement with 5G-enabled services.

The Path to 5G Standalone (SA)

The early 5G Start initiative is positioned as an initial step on Circles.Life’s longer-term 5G journey. While NSA delivers faster speeds by leveraging existing 4G infrastructure, Circles.Life is actively working toward a 5G Standalone (SA) service, which is expected to deliver greater network performance and more advanced capabilities for 5G users once launched. The transition to SA typically involves a dedicated 5G core network, enabling features such as network slicing, ultra-low latency, and enhanced edge computing, which can support a wider array of applications and services. By publicly signaling its commitment to SA, Circles.Life communicates its ambition to provide a more comprehensive 5G experience in the near future, while still delivering immediate benefits through NSA during the trial period. This dual-path approach—NSA for quick, tangible improvements and SA for deeper network capabilities—reflects a balanced strategy to meet consumer expectations and to keep pace with the rapid evolution of 5G technology in Singapore.

Timeline and Milestones of Circles.Life 5G Start

During the launch window, Circles.Life positioned 5G Start as a groundbreaking step that would redefine how customers experience the 5G network in Singapore. The timing of the announcement, dated 9 August 2021, framed Circles.Life as a pioneer among digital telcos, with a clear emphasis on accessibility and simplicity. The press release highlighted that Circles.Life becomes the first digital telco in Singapore to offer 5G NSA access at no cost for up to one month, with no conditions and no commitments. A central message was that there would be no limit to the number of sign-ups for the 5G Start trial, signaling an inclusive approach designed to maximize participation and curiosity about the new technology. The messaging stressed that customers would have the freedom to explore 5G ahead of the official launch of Circles.Life’s 5G paid add-on service.

In the immediate days following the announcement, Circles.Life opened sign-ups for 5G Start through the Circles.Life app during the period from 9 August to 15 August. This window was a crucial component of the campaign, designed to generate momentum and enable customers to experience 5G quickly. The one-month free trial period then extended until 16 September 2021, giving users ample time to assess performance, coverage, and the overall user experience with 5G, before the trial’s conclusion. The treeline of dates was further anchored by the broader end-of-year milestone of 31 December 2021, at which point Circles.Life indicated it would conclude the NSA trial while continuing work toward the SA transition. The decision to end the NSA trial by the end of December aligned with typical telco roadmaps, which often transition from pilot phases to commercially deployed capabilities as a network matures.

Beyond these trial dates, the press materials also emphasized Circles.Life’s strategic emphasis on customer-centric service design and the flexibility offered through the 5G Start program. The trial’s architecture—built on a no-contract, no-limit premise—was marketed as a fundamental shift in how customers interact with 5G technology. The launch narrative positioned Circles.Life as a catalyst for faster, more responsive connectivity that could accelerate users’ ability to download content, stream high-definition media, and engage with cloud-based services with minimal friction. The broader implication was that Circles.Life’s 5G Start could serve as a blueprint for how digital telcos can democratize access to advanced network capabilities by removing long-term commitments and enabling immediate experimentation with new technologies.

The public communications also included statements from senior leadership, underscoring a philosophy of consumer empowerment. Janice Chua, Circles.Life’s Head of Growth for Singapore, articulated a vision in which Circles.Life “puts the power back in the hands of consumers,” enabling them to experience 5G as it should be used—flexibly and on their own terms. The emphasis on simplicity, transparency, and speed resonated with the company’s broader mission to modernize Singapore’s telco landscape through a digital-first approach. Rameez Ansar, Circles.Life’s co-founder, reinforced the narrative by highlighting Circles.Life’s track record of innovation and its potential to challenge traditional telcos’ delivery of 5G by offering a customer-centric model with tangible value. The leadership messaging framed Circles.Life 5G Start as both a marketing milestone and a strategic initiative designed to accelerate 5G adoption, while simultaneously pushing competitors to rethink their own 5G strategies and value propositions for users.

Key Milestones and Communication Timeline

• 9 August 2021: Official announcement of Circles.Life 5G Start, positioning the program as the first 5G NSA offering in Singapore with free access for up to one month, no conditions, and no commitments.
• 9–15 August 2021: Sign-up window opens for both new and existing Circles.Life customers through the Circles.Life app, with a focus on broad accessibility and seamless enrollment.
• 16 August 2021 onward: The 5G Start service begins to deliver NSA experience to users on compatible devices, enabling immediate access to enhanced 5G speeds.
• 16 September 2021: Conclusion of the one-month free trial period, marking the end of the initial promotional phase and the transition toward the paid add-on model.
• 31 December 2021: Target end date for the 5G Start NSA trial, as Circles.Life advances its plans toward a potential 5G Standalone (SA) deployment and alignment with broader 5G network evolution.
• Post-trial: Circles.Life intends to offer 5G Start as a paid add-on service, continuing to deliver 5G NSA capabilities while preparing for the SA transition as part of its overall 5G strategy.

Through this timeline, Circles.Life’s communications emphasized inclusivity, transparency, and consumer empowerment, with a strong emphasis on “no commitments” and “no limits” during the trial phase. The company’s public messaging sought to position Circles.Life as a trailblazer in the Singapore market, signaling a commitment to an ongoing 5G strategy that would eventually culminate in more advanced SA features and broader network optimization. The timing of the public release and sign-up window was crafted to maximize awareness and participation among Circles.Life’s customer base, reinforcing the brand’s digital-first ethos while spotlighting the trial as a gateway to faster, more reliable connectivity for everyday digital needs.

Customer Experience During the Free Trial

During Circles.Life’s 5G Start free trial, customers could expect to experience a range of direct benefits designed to showcase the practical impacts of 5G NSA on daily use. The central promise of the trial was access to 5G at no cost, with an emphasis on a straightforward, no-contract experience. Users could begin to test high-speed downloads and uploads, smoother streaming for video content, and the potential for more responsive online activities such as video conferencing, online gaming, and cloud-based applications. The trial’s design ensured that customers could explore these capabilities across diverse scenarios, from home Wi-Fi replacement-like behavior to on-the-go mobile usage, while keeping their existing Circles.Life plans intact and unaffected by the trial’s conditions.

A core aspect of the trial experience was the absence of lock-ins or long-term commitments, allowing customers to sample 5G without any obligation to stay with the service after the trial ends. This approach aligns with Circles.Life’s broader philosophy of providing customers with the flexibility to customize their plans directly through the Circles.Life app, enabling rapid adjustments without bureaucratic hurdles. The app-based management of plans, billing, and services supports a streamlined user experience, making it easier for customers to optimize their mobile usage in real time. Alongside the speed enhancements, customers could also benefit from the trial’s emphasis on reliability and quality of service in covered areas, with the understanding that coverage would expand over time as networks are upgraded and optimized.

Customer support during the trial was framed around Circles.Life’s “Customer Happiness Experts,” who are available to respond promptly to inquiries and assist with any issues related to the 5G Start experience. This component of the offering underscores the company’s commitment to a high-touch, service-oriented customer experience despite its digital, self-service branding. In addition to general support, the trial highlighted the ability to sign up for 5G Start via the Circles.Life app within a specific window, reinforcing the trial’s emphasis on accessibility and ease of participation. The combination of immediate capability, no-cost access, and robust digital support is presented as a compelling value proposition for users who want to explore early 5G performance without immediate financial risk.

The messaging around “no limit” in the sign-up context is particularly noteworthy. Circles.Life marketed the trial as having no cap on the number of participants, which signals a democratized approach to 5G access. This is reinforced by the claim that customers could enjoy high-definition content, fast streaming, and lag-free communications with minimal friction, highlighting a user experience that emphasizes speed, clarity, and reliability. The 5G Start program’s design also reflects Circles.Life’s broader brand promise of customer-centricity, with a focus on simplification, transparency, and fast, direct pathways to enhanced connectivity. The trial’s structure and communication strategy collectively aimed to create a compelling early-adopter experience that could drive user enthusiasm, gather feedback, and build momentum for the ongoing rollout of 5G services under a paid model.

Practical Implications for Users

For users participating in the trial, the key practical implications included gaining firsthand exposure to 5G capabilities in everyday contexts. The NSA approach means that users could experience increased bandwidth and lower latency without needing to migrate to a new core network immediately. This facilitates better experiences with large file transfers, real-time collaboration, and media-rich applications that benefit from faster data transmission. The trial’s duration provides ample time to assess whether 5G NSA aligns with individual use cases, such as mobile gaming, 4K video streaming, and remote work scenarios. Because the trial does not require a contract, many customers could experiment with 5G on a trial basis and determine whether 5G Start satisfies their expectations before deciding on continued use post-trial.

From a device perspective, compatibility with NSA is a critical factor in determining whether a user can participate. The program targets customers with compatible devices, ensuring that users can access the enhanced 5G speeds without needing to upgrade hardware immediately. As such, device compatibility becomes a practical prerequisite, guiding users to verify their hardware capabilities before enrolling in the trial. The ability to test and evaluate 5G performance in the context of real-world usage—rather than a purely laboratory-like test—can inform customer decisions about whether to subscribe to the paid add-on after the trial period ends. In addition, the trial’s end date alignment with broader network strategy indicates a planned path forward for customers who wish to continue enjoying 5G features beyond the free period, while those who prefer to revert to non-5G behavior can do so with minimal impact.

Leadership Perspectives and Strategic Context

The leadership at Circles.Life framed the 5G Start initiative within a broader strategic vision of reshaping how Singaporeans access and experience mobile networks. Janice Chua, Circles.Life’s Head of Growth for Singapore, articulated a viewpoint that emphasizes consumer empowerment and choice. She highlighted that Circles.Life’s approach aims to place power back in the hands of customers by offering a simple and straightforward way to experience 5G at no cost, with no commitments and no limits during the trial period. This sentiment reinforces Circles.Life’s reputation as a customer-centric digital telco, prioritizing user autonomy and transparent pricing. Chua’s comments connect the 5G Start program to Circles.Life’s broader ecosystem of digital services, which is designed to complement and accelerate 5G adoption by providing integrated experiences across devices and platforms.

Rameez Ansar, Circles.Life’s co-founder, provided a complementary perspective on the initiative, noting Circles.Life’s ongoing track record of innovation in Singapore’s telecommunications landscape. Ansar suggested that the 5G Start program would prompt competitors to reevaluate their own 5G delivery models and the value they offer to users. The underlying implication of Ansar’s commentary is that Circles.Life seeks to catalyze industry-wide improvements by demonstrating a flexible, customer-first approach to 5G access, which could push the market toward more user-friendly pricing, simpler onboarding processes, and faster deployment of new capabilities. These leadership remarks frame Circles.Life’s 5G Start as more than a promotional campaign; they position the program as a strategic move to shape consumer expectations and stimulate faster adoption of 5G across Singapore.

Circles.Life’s Digital Telco Philosophy

Circles.Life’s broader business philosophy centers on delivering a differentiated, digital-first telecom experience. Founded in Singapore in 2016, Circles.Life positions itself as Singapore’s fourth telco and the country’s first digital telco, with a mission to empower customers by providing personalized digital services and highly flexible offerings. The company emphasizes a proprietary technology stack designed to support a completely digital customer journey, enabling rapid development and delivery of tailored features and services. This technological approach underpins Circles.Life’s ability to implement innovative 5G-related initiatives, including early NSA trials and future SA planning, within a consumer-friendly framework. The company asserts that it has captured more than 5% of Singapore’s mobile subscriber market share, signaling rapid growth and increasing influence within the local telco landscape. With a workforce of over 400 employees located in Singapore and regional offices across the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Australia, Circles.Life has pursued expansion into international markets since its initial launch. The company’s overseas growth began in Taiwan in June 2019, followed by Australia in September 2019, demonstrating its ambition to extend its digital telco model beyond Singapore’s borders.

The Circles.Life business model emphasizes efficiency, speed, and customer-centric service design. The company’s proprietary technology stack supports a highly digital customer journey, enabling features such as real-time plan customization, instant customer support responses, transparent billing, and same-day SIM card delivery. This digital-centric approach aligns with the 5G Start initiative, which seeks to remove friction and accelerate customer engagement with new network capabilities. The overall narrative positions Circles.Life as a disruptor in the Singapore telco space, using a nimble, technology-driven approach to deliver differentiated value to consumers. The focus on rapid iteration, cloud-based capabilities, and a performance-oriented product roadmap is designed to sustain Circles.Life’s growth trajectory as a digital-first operator, while concurrently pushing for deeper 5G adoption and broader access to advanced network features for customers.

About Circles.Life

Circles.Life was founded in 2016 in Singapore as the country’s fourth telco and its first digital telco. Since the company’s inception, Circles.Life has centered its strategy on giving power back to customers through personalized digital services and a unique business model that emphasizes flexibility, speed, and direct customer engagement. The company’s technology stack is proprietary, delivering a completely digital customer journey across the entire lifecycle—from sign-up to billing to service adjustments. Circles.Life has achieved notable market presence, accounting for more than 5% of Singapore’s mobile subscriber market share and establishing itself as a fast-growing telco with a customer-centric reputation. The organization’s footprint expands beyond Singapore with more than 400 employees located in Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Australia, reflecting its regional growth strategy and the ability to operate across multiple markets with a similarly digital and customer-focused approach. Circles.Life’s expansion into Taiwan (June 2019) and Australia (September 2019) marked its first overseas ventures, signaling a broader ambition to redefine telco experiences across Asia-Pacific. The company’s commitment to innovation and rapid product development continues to drive its agenda to deliver value and differentiation in a competitive market.

Implications for 5G Adoption and Future Prospects

The introduction of Circles.Life 5G Start has several implications for 5G adoption in Singapore and for the broader telecommunications ecosystem. By offering a free, no-commitment trial of 5G NSA, Circles.Life lowers the barrier to entry for customers who have been curious about 5G but hesitant to adopt it due to concerns about cost or complexity. The NSA approach provides visible benefits in speed and responsiveness without requiring customers to upgrade to a new core network immediately, enabling a smoother transition for users who rely on a mix of 4G and 5G services. The trial’s structure—emphasizing no contract, no commitments, and no limit on sign-ups—serves as a strong incentive for early adopters and can help Circles.Life gather valuable usage data that informs future product development and network optimization.

From a consumer perspective, the 5G Start program highlights a shift toward more accessible 5G experiences and a move away from single-carrier, long-term commitments that often characterized early 5G introductions. The emphasis on plan customization, transparent billing, and same-day SIM delivery underlines Circles.Life’s digital, customer-centric model, which can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty as 5G networks expand. The availability of 5G Start during a defined window and the subsequent transition to a paid add-on demonstrate a thoughtful balance between trial accessibility and commercial viability, ensuring that the program remains financially sustainable for Circles.Life while still offering a compelling value proposition for users who wish to continue with 5G after the trial.

Strategically, Circles.Life’s NSA trial signals a broader industry trend toward rapid deployment of 5G services, followed by accelerated development toward 5G Standalone (SA). The company’s explicit plan to pursue SA capabilities in the future aligns with global network evolution, which commonly begins with NSA deployments as networks test capacity, coverage, and application performance before moving to SA with more advanced features. The 5G Start initiative thus functions as a strategic prelude to Circles.Life’s SA journey, helping to validate customer demand, refine service delivery models, and shape competitive dynamics among Singapore’s telcos. For the market at large, Circles.Life’s approach could influence how digital telcos communicate about 5G, how they structure trials, and how they balance upfront accessibility with sustainable monetization as networks mature.

Coverage, User Experience, and System Readiness

Circles.Life’s emphasis on 5G Start focusing on key population areas indicates a deliberate approach to rolling out NSA coverage where demand and network capabilities intersect most strongly. While the program provides a free, no-commitment pathway for customers to explore 5G, it also sets expectations regarding coverage and performance. Users in covered regions can anticipate improvements in download and upload speeds relative to 4G experiences, enabling faster media consumption, smoother video calls, and better responsiveness in cloud-based applications. The trial’s user experience is designed to be intuitive and frictionless, with sign-up and activation managed through Circles.Life’s mobile app, a channel well-suited to the company’s digital-first identity. The app-based device and plan management features contribute to a streamlined user journey, reducing the overhead often associated with network changes and enabling customers to tailor their usage to their personal needs. This approach supports Circles.Life’s goal of delivering a customer-centric 5G experience that is easy to access and navigate, while also providing a basis for evaluating whether more expansive 5G features are desired in the future.

As a strategic move, the 5G Start trial also offers Circles.Life the opportunity to experiment with marketing messages that resonate with digital-savvy consumers. By emphasizing “no conditions, no commitments, and no limit,” Circles.Life communicates a reassuring stance toward experimentation and exploration, which can drive higher engagement and sign-up rates, while reinforcing the brand’s image as an approachable, consumer-friendly operator. The trial’s end-date strategy aligns with the company’s long-range plan to implement SA capabilities, which are typically more complex and require broader network readiness. By combining NSA testing with a clear pathway to SA, Circles.Life can manage customer expectations and maintain momentum in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, ensuring that users remain engaged with the brand as it advances its 5G offerings.

Conclusion

Circles.Life’s 5G Start program marks a pivotal moment for Singapore’s telecom landscape, introducing 5G NSA access through a free, no-cost trial that prioritizes simplicity, transparency, and customer empowerment. The initiative positions Circles.Life as a pioneer among digital telcos, delivering 5G to a broad audience through an accessible, app-driven process and transitioning to a paid add-on after the trial period. The strategic emphasis on NSA as an early 5G deployment path, paired with a dedicated effort toward 5G SA in the future, demonstrates Circles.Life’s commitment to evolving the network experience while maintaining a strong focus on customer value and flexibility. Through leadership statements that highlight consumer empowerment and competitive transformation, Circles.Life reinforces its role as an innovator within Singapore’s telco sector, driving adoption, improving service experiences, and expanding access to advanced network capabilities. The combination of rapid deployments, a digital-first service model, and a clear, customer-centric roadmap supports Circles.Life’s ambition to reshape how 5G is experienced and utilized, both in the near term and as the network continues to mature toward standalone architectures. This approach not only enhances the immediate user experience but also sets the stage for a broader, more dynamic 5G ecosystem in Singapore, with Circles.Life positioned at the forefront of the transition.