Drop fixed broadband prices or face the music

According to AmBank Research, competition in the local cellular telco segment is expected to remain intense over the medium term, as repackaged data plans make their way to the market while the fixed broadband segment is expected to see rising pressure to improve price and speed.

AFTER Maxis Bhd revised its fixed broadband pricing last week, Axiata Group Bhd says it will invest heavily into the fixed broadband space next year.

Axiata’s move can be understood as cellular margins are thinning. Unless mobile players get into the fixed broadband space, they will have to contend with a depressing average revenue per user (Arpu) or may be left out when 5G comes into play because its backhaul relies heavily on fibre. So, it is moving in the right direction just like Maxis.