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Ibon Mobile Taiwan Review: Way Faster Than Expected (+Speedtests)

2020 was probably the start of a terrible phase in many people's lives – perhaps yours included.

For me, not as much as bad as most (it was probably the start of a great 20s for me… so far).

Before the world went on a lockdown, I was in Taiwan – a trip that was supposed to last only two months.

With infection rates being crazy in Europe and Australia being closed off to basically everyone (including its own citizens), I did not feel like going anyway.

Luckily, the Taiwanese government was kind enough to extend everyone's visa – even though I would normally have to leave after 90 days.

Because of this lenient policy, I stayed in Taiwan for an entire year.

As a result, I was able to test every Taiwanese SIM card, including Ibon Mobile, extensively.

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I am talking about literal months of testing in nine different cities/counties – from New Taipei up north to Pingtung to the south – from Chiayi/Taichung on the west to Hualien/Taitung (literally meaning East Taiwan) on the east; I have been there.

I have to say that I usually do not get the opportunity to test SIM cards for a year (mostly because I want to visit another country anyway… so much to see!) – but with a lockdown, it seemed like I had no choice.

And you know I took that opportunity and went to the extreme – testing each SIM card at 101 test locations (to pay respect to the Taiwan 101 building (honestly, it was just a coincidence, lol)).

Adu from Phone Travel Wiz's collection of Taiwanese SIM Cards (Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star, GT Mobile & Ibon Mobile)
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So when I say that Ibon Mbile is way faster than expected in the title, you can believe it truly is – especially when I compare it to five other Taiwanese SIM cards (Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan & GT Mobile Taiwan).

But of course, I will explain why Ibon Mobile is good throughout this review.

Let's get started, shall we?

Ibon Mobile Taiwan Review by Phone Travel Wiz

Original publication: 9th of September 2020. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.


Table of Contents

Who is Ibon Mobile?

Ibon Mobile Taiwan Logo
© Ibon Mobile

Ibon Mobile, or 統一超商電信 if you want to be fancy, is a Far EasTone MVNO.

It is the mobile brand by 7-Eleven Taiwan.

In Taiwan, you have five mobile operators and one Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) offering prepaid services easily accessible to tourists:

  • Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信)
  • Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大)
  • Far EasTone (遠傳電信)
  • T Star Taiwan (台灣之星)
  • GT Mobile Taiwan (亞太電信)
  • Ibon Mobile (統一超商電信 – Far EasTone MVNO)

Just like Far EasTone and GT Mobile Taiwan, Taiwan Mobile and T Star Taiwan announced a merger.

For now, you have six options.

As you know, I tested the other four mobile operators + the sole MVNO during my one-year stay in Taiwan. You can read them here: Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan & GT Mobile Taiwan.

Buying a SIM Card in Taiwan Guide (logos of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star, GT Mobile & Ibon Mobile)

Let's talk about Far EasTone's coverage first, because Ibon Mobile uses its network, after these quick frequency details:

  • 2G: N/A – shut down in 2017
  • 3G: 2100 MHz
  • 4G/LTE: 700 MHz (Band 28), 1800 MHz (Band 3), 2100 MHz (Band 1) & 2600 MHz (Band 7)
  • 5G NR: 2100 MHz (n1), 3500 MHz (n78 – shared with GT Mobile Taiwan) & 28 GHz (n257)
  • VoLTE: Yes
  • VoWiFi: Yes

Here you have Ibon Mobile's APN settings:

  • Name: Ibon
  • APN: internet OR seven4g

Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.

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Ibon Coverage + My Experience

You can have a mobile operator providing you 1 Gbps download speeds.

But it will be useless if it covers only one street in Taiwan.

So, how is Ibon Mobile's coverage, which Far EasTone uses?

Regarding general availability, Far EasTone has the best availability, with an availability score of 99.2%.

Ahead of Taiwan Mobile (99%), Chungha Telecom and T Star Taiwan (98.9%) & GT Mobile Taiwan (98.2%).

Taiwan Opensignal 4G LTE Availability

But with score of more than 98%, all Taiwanese mobile operators have excellent availability anyway.

When looking at 5G NR availability, Far EasTone has the best availability (38.7%). Ahead of Taiwan Mobile (23.3%), Chunghwa Telecom (22.9%) & T Star Taiwan (21.8%).

If you wonder why GT Mobile Taiwan is not on the list, Far EasTone and GT Mobile Taiwan share the same 5G NR network @ 3500 MHz (n78 – ahead of the merger) – so there you go 😜.

When we look at 5G NR reach, Far EasTone is the best, with a reach score of 6.9 (on a 10-point scale).

Ahead of Taiwan Mobile (6), Chunghwa Telecom (5.3) & T Star Taiwan (4.3).

So far, I have been talking about coverage from other reports, but what was my coverage experience with Far EasTone and Ibon Mobile?

It was excellent, honestly – I had nothing to complain about.

Unlike most countries I visit, I also spend much time in non-touristy areas in Taiwan (because I had a full year here).

In most cases, I was still connected to 4G/LTE.

However, expect your phone to switch to 3G or have no reception at all when you are on the train (especially on the high-speed train (HSR)).

There is one exception: Pingtung and Taitung counties.

If you take the train from the west to the east, the train will go through a few mountains (the view is amazing, by the way).

You will barely have reception in these sections – and it starts from Fangshan until Taimali (which takes 1:30 hours to 2:30 hours, depending on the train you take).

Pingtung to Taitung by Train

Yes, there are other stations between those Fangshan and Taimali.

But there is a big chance your train will not stop at most of them, meaning your phone does not have enough time to reconnect to the network.

And even though the train leaves the tunnels every now and then, you still will not have enough time to reconnect to the network.

I cannot speak of how reception will be when you take the car from Pingtung to Taitung (because I could not drive back then).

It may be better than on the train because most of the roads do not go through tunnels.

Below is Far EasTone's coverage map produced by Speedtest on the mainland and Penghu County (the island on the left/west of the mainland):

Below are the coverage maps on the Kinmen Islands (Jincheng – on the left) and the Matsu Islands (Lienchiang + Dongju, Nangan & Xiju – on the right) produced by Speedtest:

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How to Get an Ibon Mobile SIM Card & Prices

You can get an Ibon Mobile SIM card from 7-Elevens throughout Taiwan, but not those at airports, such as (Taipei) Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).

Like in many East Asian countries, convenience stores like 7-Eleven can easily be found.

Heck, on some main roads there can be up to ten 7-Elevens.

Even then… it can be a challenge to find a 7-Eleven selling Ibon Mobile SIM cards.

For some reason, most 7-Elevens do not have the SIM cards in stock.

And if they do, it is the postpaid variant that looks like this.

Ibon Mobile Taiwan Postpaid SIM Card (Gold)

Normally, the salesperson will simply tell you they do not have the prepaid variant.

But if they try to sell you the gold SIM card, do not take it because they can only be activated by Taiwanese citizens and residents.

Because I stayed in Taiwan for a full year, I had plenty to bike to all mobile operator stores in a seven-kilometer radius (50+).

In the case of Ibon Mobile, that would be 7-Eleven stores.

It took me a full day to go to all these stores, and I did not succeed until the next day when I was on my way to a park and wanted ot grab a drink on the way.

I am telling you all of this because it will be more convenient for you to grab yourself a SIM card at any of the international airports in Taiwan.

This way, you do not have to go on a hunt to find an Ibon Mobile SIM card.

Buying a SIM Card at Kaohsiung International Airport Guide (logos of Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile)
Buying a SIM Card at Taipei Songshan Airport Guide (logo of Chunghwa Telecom)
Buying a SIM Card at Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Guide (logos of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star & GT Mobile)

Okay, let's say you are really determined and want to get an Ibon Mobile SIM card – how much do you have to pay?

You can get an Ibon Mobile SIM card for 350 NTD, giving you either 50 NTD credit and unlimited daya for 5 days OR 1.2 GB of data for 60 days.

Ibon Mobile Taiwan SIM Cards

You kow that I went for the unlimited data variant because I go through 1 GB of data quickly 🤪.

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Ibon Mobile Plans, Bundles & Offers

Ibon Mobile has two data-featured prepaid plans: Internet Packages by Volume & Internet Packages by Day.

Disclaimer: these were the available plans at the time I was in Taiwan – the offering may have changed since then (including whether 5G NR is available to prepaid customers or not). To see Ibon Mobile's current plans, check out my Taiwan SIM card buying guide (which gets updated regularly – at least four times a year).

I will list all the prices in NTD (New Taiwan Dollar).

To convert NTD to your currency (let's say HKD – Hong Kong Dollar) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Wise Currency Exchange Banner
© Wise

Internet Packages by Volume

The Internet Packages by Volume are data bundles (without 5G NR access).

The following Internet Packages by Volume are available:

PriceDataValidity
180 NTD1.2 GB60 days
300 NTD2.2 GB60 days
699 NTD5 GB90 days
1000 NTD8 GB185 days
Ibon Mobile Taiwan Data by Volume Plans

Internet Packages by Day

The Internet Packages by Day are (truly) unlimited data bundles (without 5G NR access).

The following Internet Packages by Day are available:

PriceDataValidity
100 NTDUnlimited1 day
300 NTDUnlimited3 days
500 NTDUnlimited5 days
899 NTD“Unlimited”, 40 GB 130 days
1599 NTDUnlimited60 days
2099 NTDUnlimited90 days
3500 NTDUnlimited185 days

1 +unlimited data @ 5 Mbps after exhausting your high-speed data allowance (slow)

Ibon Mobile Taiwan Data by Day Plans
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Ibon Mobile Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check

Ibon Mobile top-up vouchers are sold in 7-Eleven throughout Taiwan.

To top up your Ibon Mobile SIM card, call 722, select option 2, select option 1, and follow the instructions.

Call 722, select option 2, and select option 2 again to check your Ibon Mobile balance.

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Ibon Mobile Speed Test Results (in Hualien, Kaohsiung, Luodong, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan, Taitung, Taoyuan & Yilan)

Alright, now it is time to talk about the speeds you can expect with Far EasTone (read: Ibon Mobile) after covering all the other essential topics like coverage.

But before I share my test results in Hualien, Kaohsiung, Luodong, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan, Taitung, Taoyuan & Yilan counties, I want to set the stage first and make a small comparison with Far EasTone's competition.

The insights I give you are from 2022, while I did the tests back in 2020.

Far EasTone is regarded by Speedtest as the second-fastest mobile operator in Taiwan in Q1-Q2 of 2022.

With a median download speed of 64.48 Mbps, Far EasTone is ahead of Taiwan Mobile (48.07 Mbps), T Star Taiwan (35.40 Mbps) & GT Mobile Taiwan (18.58 Mbps), but behind Chunghwa Telecom (71.39 Mbps).

When we look at 5G NR, Far EasTone is also the second-fastest.

With a median download speed of 310.83 Mbps, Far EasTone is faster than Taiwan Mobile (276.38 Mbps), GT Mobile (264.20 Mbps) & T Star (139.82 Mbps), but slower than Chunghwa Telecom (415.45 Mbps).

As mentioned earlier, 5G NR is available to Far EasTone prepaid customers, but not for Ibon Mobile customers (yet).

Okay, those were valuable insights – let's talk about my speed test results now.

As I said, I did speed tests with the Speedtest app in nine cities/counties, which is way more than most of the testing I did (usually in just one or two cities, lmao).

So I will go county to county, allowing you to just read the results of the city/cities/county/counties you plan on visiting.

Well… actually not really.

You see, in most cases, MVNOs like Ibon Mobile get deprioritized on the network of the mobile operator – Far EasTone in this case.

However, Ibon Mobile has full 4G/LTE access on the Far EasTone network.

I also wrote my Far EasTone review, mentioning that I managed to get my fastest 4G/LTE download speed ever until 2022 (438.25 Mbps).

Officially… I managed to get that result with Ibon Mobile, as shown in the network name in the image below.

Far EasTone Download at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 MRT Platform in Taoyuan (438.25 Mbps)
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 MRT Platform Taoyuan

So how am I sure you get similar speeds with Ibon Mobile as with Far EasTone?

I used both SIM cards simultaneously for a while when conducting my tests.

After a while, I realized the results were practically the same.

As mentioned in my review, getting a regular Far EasTone prepaid SIM card is a struggle.

Except for getting it at Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).

Buying a SIM Card at Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Guide (logos of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star & GT Mobile)

Whereas I eventually managed with Ibon Mobile from a 7-Eleven in Tainan City.

Because it was much easier to get another data-featured plan with Ibon Mobile, unlike Far EasTone requiring me to go to the airport, I used Ibon Mobile as my main SIM card for the Far EasTone network.

So far, this has been the only time I have done so because MVNOs are usually slower or do not have full access to the network.

So if you want to know about the speed test results I got with Ibon Mobile, you will have to check out my Far EasTone review.

Worry not; you can read about the results of the city or cities you plan on visiting without reading the whole review by clicking the city names below.

But if you fly into Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), I encourage you to get a Far EasTone SIM card there instead of trying to get an Ibon Mobile SIM card because I already explained my struggle to get one.

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My Overall Experience with Ibon Mobile – Is It Any Good?

Being added.


Taiwanese SIM Card Reviews

As mentioned earlier, I also tried out Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan & GT Mobile Taiwan when I was in Taiwan.

You should read those reviews too.

>>> Chunghwa Telecom Review | Taiwan Mobile Review | Far EasTone Review | T Star Taiwan Review | GT Mobile Taiwan <<<

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Later, I will make a comparison post of the six Taiwanese SIM cards I tried… but that will take a while (I have many reviews of other countries that I still need to write, so they are prioritized).

But you can still make an educated purchased after reading the Taiwanese SIM card reviews.

Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Asian SIM cards.

Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star, GT Mobile & Ibon Mobile SIM Cards Held by Adu from Phone Travel Wiz

Taiwan SIM Card Buying Guide

There are five other SIM cards to choose from in Taiwan besides Ibon Mobile.

I analyze and discuss them in-depth in my Taiwan SIM card buying guide.

Buying a SIM Card in Taiwan Guide (logos of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star, GT Mobile & Ibon Mobile)