Affordable 30Mbps unifi below RM100 for poorer folks, others get free upgrade says Telekom

Telekom Malaysia's share price has come under pressure after the government said the price of broadband would be reduced by 25% by year end.

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) will introduce an affordable entry level unifi @ 30Mbps for targeted B40 segment of the population. This would be below RM100, which is more than 40% below the existing 30Mbps package.

Acting group CEO Datuk Bazlan Osman said on Tuesday that TM would also have unifi “turbo” plans offering more than double the speed.

He said there would be a special package upgrade for pre-unifi (formerly known as Streamyx) customers in unifi areas nationwide.

There would also be a re-launch of “unlimited” unifi mobile postpaid plan.

Bazlan said the introduction of its new broadband and mobile plans to boost its market leadership position and deliver on the national broadband aspiration with respect to price, speed and coverage. 

The new plans are as detailed below: 

1. A new affordable entry level unifi package at 30Mbps for targeted B40 segment. Lower income groups can access high-speed broadband through this package at a price point below RM100 (more than 40% lower price from the existing 30Mbps package). Registration for pre-booking starts 15 July 2018 via unifi.com.my. 

2. unifi ‘turbo’ plans offering more than double the current broadband speed. TM will gradually upgrade the speed for all its existing unifi customers at more than double the speed at no extra cost starting 15 August 2018, while new customers subscribing to existing unifi plans before 31 December 2018 will also be upgraded accordingly in 2019. 

3. Special package upgrade for pre-unifi (formerly known as Streamyx) customers in unifi areas nationwide. Eligibility status check will be available via unifi.com.my from 15 July 2018. 

Note: All above are subject to technical availability in customers’ areas and terms & conditions. 

4. A re-launch of its ‘unlimited’ unifi Mobile postpaid plan, which gives customers unlimited data, calls and messaging. This serves as a convergence offering exclusive to existing broadband customers and will be available at all unifi outlets and unifi.com.my from 15 July 2018. 

Bazlan said as Malaysia’s convergence champion, “we believe that internet access is a critical enabler to grow our digital and creative economy towards making life and business easier for all”.

Curently, TM serves nearly two million broadband homes, more than 8 million individuals and connect more than 10 million devices nationwide. 

He said the plans were to meet Malaysians' demand for faster internet connection at affordable prices, which has been its aspiration since the launch of unifi in 2010. 

In October 2016, it announced its Broadband Improvement Plan (BIP), with speed increase upgrades of up to 100Mbps at the same price and completed the exercise in 2017 to benefit close to one million broadband customers nationwide, including 323,000 pre-unifi customers. 

“Currently, we have started contacting our pre-unifi customers in unifi areas for an upgrade to unifi plans. 

“For others not in unifi areas, we will continuously invest in our network to provide at least our 30Mbps entry level unifi package through the latest fixed and wireless broadband technologies.

“Collectively, these new Broadband plans will catapult Malaysia beyond a majority of our regional peers into a competitive set of countries globally with high-speed broadband,” he added.