Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

[Starfia]

Eh what? 👀

You have your phone in constant Airplane mode/No Sim, and are living all day everyday in wifi range?

Essentially. Not Airplane Mode, but yes to no SIM. I'm sometimes out of Wi-Fi range during outings, but plenty of my typical locations offer Wi-Fi access, and my ISP contract includes all kinds of Wi-Fi access points.

I started questioning the idea that people need phone service at least 15 years ago, and today I can only recommend not having it.

 

[-BigMac-]

Essentially. Not Airplane Mode, but yes to no SIM. I'm sometimes out of Wi-Fi range during outings, but plenty of my typical locations offer Wi-Fi access, and my ISP contract includes all kinds of Wi-Fi access points.

I started questioning the idea that people need phone service at least 15 years ago, and today I can only recommend not having it.

Ok, interesting.
So you don't have a number?

What if someone - let's say work/car service shop etc - needs a phone number to call you?
Theyre not going to facetime audio/whatsapp call you? (Doesnt whatapp actually need a number to register anyway?)

I think Singapore is years ahead in most countries infrastructure, but someone like me - in Australia - would have absolutely no wifi connection outside of home, maybe work, and a few spots around the CBD and McDonalds haha

 

[Starfia]

Ok, interesting.
So you don't have a number?

What if someone - let's say work/car service shop etc - needs a phone number to call you?

Again, essentially right. A few places I consider essential say they require some kind of number – and I occasionally (maybe a couple of times a year) want to call a customer service number or something. For that, I've used Skype services until they shut down this year, so I've been shopping for another. The only real use for SMS texting I've found has been occasional (again, maybe once per year) verification codes for identity confirmation. But for almost everything – everyday life stuff, official communications, identity confirmation, et cetera – e-mail is sufficient.

 

[-BigMac-]

Again, essentially right. A few places I consider essential say they require some kind of number – and I occasionally (maybe a couple of times a year) want to call a customer service number or something. For that, I've used Skype services until they shut down this year, so I've been shopping for another. The only real use for SMS texting I've found has been occasional (again, maybe once per year) verification codes for identity confirmation. But for almost everything – everyday life stuff, official communications, identity confirmation, et cetera – e-mail is sufficient.

Wow very cool. You don't need a number to create bank accounts in Singapore?

You need your phone number in Australia for almost everything😅

You couldnt really sign up for any service, or contract without one😬

 

[Starfia]

Wow very cool. You don't need a number to create bank accounts in Singapore?

You need your phone number in Australia for almost everything😅

You couldnt really sign up for any service, or contract without one😬

I'm in the United States, currently – I was originally chiming in because I was surprised to hear any government ever contacts its citizens using text messages, let alone iMessage.

In the United States, I suspect that to people generally, it seems like you need a phone number for everything, but the exercise disproves it. (The most common situation I encounter is that companies "require" a phone number to create an account – so I'll offer my extraneous number there – but don't turn out to actually need or use it.)

 

[DreamyLucid]

We get government SMS with .gov.sg header for any transactions related to the government. This is a good request.

 

[JustSomebody12]

This actually seems like a good government mandate, for a change.

Yes, together with the DMA and DSA