Gobind says he will take immediate action to rectify problems faced by broadband users.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said in a statement that he is aware that not all existing fixed broadband users are enjoying higher speeds and lower prices.
On Sunday, his ministry announced that telcos such as Telekom Malaysia, Time, Maxis and Celcom have introduced more affordable entry-level plans with the implementation of Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) in June.
“I realised that the packages does not lower the prices of services to existing customers. This means, they do not get to enjoy the benefits of the new plans immediately,” he said.
MSAP is supposed to result in more than 30% reduction in broadband prices for some entry-level packages and Gobind said the issue will be handled immediately.
Another issue that he wants to tackle immediately is that many Streamyx users are still not eligible to be upgraded to Unifi due to lack of infrastructure.
“Apart from that, I found out that there are no suggestions provided to address the issues faced by existing Streamyx users, therefore this is something I need to tackle immediately. I will meet with representatives from local telcos to discuss the matter immediately,” he said.
On Sept 24, TM announced that existing Streamyx customers can start checking to see if they qualify for a free upgrade to Unifi.
The free upgrade will bump Streamyx users to Internet speeds of up to 100Mbps (megabits per second). However, the upgrade depends on the availability of Unifi in the area and the building’s infrastructure for condos and apartments.
Those in landed properties can look forward to 100Mbps while users in high rise areas will be upgraded to 30Mbps.
In areas where Unifi is not available yet, Streamyx users will be upgraded to 8Mbps – the highest speed for the service.
As for when will the upgrade be implemented, users have to wait for an update by TM.
Currently Streamyx broadband plans offer Internet speeds ranging from 384Kbps (kilobits per second) to 8Mbps. The price of Streamyx broadband packages range from RM110 to RM160 per month.
Streamyx users have been reaching out to the MCMC via Twitter to complain that they have been subjected to higher prices for lower speeds for a very long time.
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