The Ultimate Review Of TIME Fibre Broadband For Home

When it comes to choosing broadband Internet for home, there are a whole range of criteria to consider. Besides Internet speed and pricing, you’re going to have to think hard about download allowances, contract length and other added services that you may or may not put to good use. Everyone uses their broadband Internet for home a little differently but don’t worry, we’ll break it down so it’ll be easy for you to work out whether this broadband deal is good for you or not.

Here, we look at TIME broadband who updated their packages and now offers the fastest Internet speed of 500Mbps in Malaysia for home. They’ve also removed their data caps so it’s unlimited downloads and uploads at these speeds. It’s probably hands down the best package you can get now but with more limited coverage than other broadband Internet providers in Malaysia like TM’s UniFi and Maxis, hence it’s pretty hard to get.

Here’s a snapshot of TIME Fibre Internet packages Malaysia:

Price for the lowest package	Price for the fastest package	Best for	Why we like it?	What’s the drawback?
100Mbps RM157.94	500Mbps RM316.94	Online gamers, video conferencing users and online movie buffs	Cheapest price for one of the highest speed packages in the market	Low coverage

Let’s take a look at it a little more up close:

1. Speed and pricing

Speed! That’s what everyone wants from their broadband plan but depending on how many devices you are using or how many of you will be sharing it with at home. What’s more important is your quota, all the speed in the world is not that great if you get throttled down.

When it comes to speed, the latest TIME Fibre broadband for home is great as it offers Internet speed of up to 500Mbps for households. That’s more than enough to download a music album in seconds, HD movies in minutes and a game in no time.

Here’s the chart of their pricing:

Speed	Pricing (Monthly)	Coverage	Quota	Usage
100Mbps	RM157.94	Low	Unlimited	Online activities Supports up to 6 devices
300Mbps	RM200.34	Low	Unlimited	Online activities + Streaming Supports up to 8 devices
500Mbps	RM316.94	Low	Unlimited	Online activities + Streaming + Heavy online gaming Supports more than 8 devices

TIME Home Broadband Fibre has revamped their broadband package plans to offer faster Internet ranging from 100Mbps to a whopping 500Mbps.

The basic 100Mbps broadband option now costs RM157.94 a month, while an extra RM42 lets you triple up your Internet speed to 300Mbps at RM200.34 a month. Both 100Mbps and 300Mbps plans come with a D-Link DIR-850L router. For the ultimate Internet experience, the TIME Home Broadband Fibre 500Mbps is offered at RM316.94 a month and it comes bundled with a Linksys EA6350 Router.

The basic 100Mbps plan is now competing against Maxis, who offer their 100Mbps plan at RM316.94, and UniFi at RM348.74. That’s about 2x what Time Fibre is offering!

For existing users, the deal is even sweeter as you’d get automatic upgrade to any of the above three packages at the same cost.

Previous plan	New plan upgrade
10Mbps	100Mbps
20Mbps & 100Mbps	300Mbps
30Mbps & 50Mbps	500Mbps

However, existing customers will need to upgrade their existing wireless router to fully experience the speed upgrade. For existing customers, the router you currently have is only capable of supporting up to 100Mbps. To enjoy the new speeds, existing customers will need to purchase a new compatible router. You may need to purchase your own compatible router or terminate your current plan before moving to the new plan which offers free high spec compatible wireless router worth more than RM700. However, if you were previously on 10Mbps and paying RM136.74 previously, by terminating and getting a new 100Mbps plan, you would have to pay RM157.94 a month – RM21.20 more every month. This comes up to RM508.80 over two years. It’s a pretty small price to pay considering that you’ll be getting 10x the speed.

New users can immediately sign up for these plans, but unlike previous plans, the new plans only come with a 24-month contract. All these plans have equal download and upload speeds and there is no broadband cap. With symmetrical speeds, if you’re on TIME Home Broadband Fibre 300Mbps, you’ll be getting 300Mbps for both download and upload, which sounds like a dream come true – especially for heavy Internet users where speed both ways is key.

Sounds too good to be true? What’s even better is, these plans are more affordable compared to TM UniFi and Maxis’ current Fibre plans. TIME Home Broadband Fibre 100Mbps at RM157.94 is cheaper by about RM159 compared to Maxis home fibre internet’s 100Mbps plan, while you save RM190.80 compared to TM UniFi Pro 100.

In comparison, TM UniFi and Maxis charges you higher – but many of us end up having to choose either one due to TIME’s limited coverage.  Users don’t have a choice if they don’t live in areas not serviced by TIME.

2. Add-ons

Every provider be it TM UniFi, TIME, Maxis or Astro’s IPTV offers ‘Bundled’ packages. These include a landline, TV and even a mobile phone plan with your broadband subscription. These can save you money and spare you the hassle of having to pay several bills each month. Of course, these should only matter to you if you’re actually going to use them. If you’re happy with your current phone or TV package and just want an Internet-only option – then the bundle’s going to actually cost you more money. Just remember to look at all costs including set-up or connection fees before committing.

If you use your home phone a lot to keep in touch with family and friends, TIME Home Broadband Fibre can cater for that too.

Voice Calls (home packages)
Local call rates to both fixed and mobile numbers: • RM0.09/minute [Lower from previous rate by RM0.01 per minute] • IDD calls to 60 countries: RM0.08/minute Upgrade to TIME Voice Home 10 Plan (RM10/month) for 2,000 FREE minutes

For those who need to make calls, you can get an annual 2,000 minutes pack for RM10 a month with a 12-month contract. Alternatively, you can pay per use at RM0.09 per minute for fixed and mobile numbers nationwide and RM0.08 per minute for overseas calls.

On the voice end, TIME does not offer the best rates. Maxis home fibre Internet still has the best calls deals, as it offers unlimited free calls to both mobile and land lines for 30Mbps plan and above. So, if a voice plan is equally or even a more important need, you’ll likely be disappointed with TIME Fibre.

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3. Installation and cancellation fees

Other benefits offered by TIME Home Broadband Fibre is its sign up deal. By signing up for TIME Home Broadband Fibre, you can get a router and a cordless phone, unlike Maxis which does not provide a cordless phone.

Most broadband packages also come with an installation fee. For example, Maxis home fibre Internet charges you RM200 for installation, and TIME charges RM249. However, for a 24-month contract (which is the only contract term offered at the moment) with TIME Home Broadband Fibre, the installation fee is waived! You are also entitled for free subscription on the first month.

For non-residents, you’ll need to pay a RM500 deposit above the installation charges, but it can be waived if you opt for the auto debit facility using your debit or credit card as your monthly payment method. However, one drawback with the new plans is, the one more free trial has been discontinued. This means you will not be able to get away from paying the termination fee if you find TIME’s connectivity unsatisfactory.

If you want to terminate the service before your contract is over, an early contract termination fee of RM500 is payable.

4. Coverage

Although TIME fibre Internet offers one of the fastest Internet package Malaysia, the fibre coverage is low. It is currently only available at selected areas in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca, Johor and Penang. It covers 250,000 homes, mostly condos and apartments around the Klang Valley, making it harder to sign up. You’ll need to check if you’re covered before getting all hyped about picking it up which is probably the service’s biggest downside.

The verdict? 

TIME Home Broadband Fibre 100Mbps at RM157.94 is a lot cheaper (by about RM190.80) than TM UniFi home fibre Internet’s 100Mbps plan. TIME’s fastest broadband plan of 500Mbps priced at RM316.94 is the same price as Maxis’s fastest 100Mbps plan. In short, with TIME you get the fastest Internet speed but with the lowest price in the market.

If you are looking for the best value for money with the fastest Internet package in Malaysia, TIME Home Broadband Fibre is definitely it right now as it provides the fastest fibre broadband at 500Mbps and cheaper 100Mbps package compared to Maxis.

Overall, TIME’s latest plans offer faster speeds and lower subscription when compared to its previous 100Mbps Home Fibre plan with 100GB quota at RM189.74 a month. Best of all, it comes with unlimited bandwidth.

The other advantage is that they’ll be providing you with a great quality high speed router valued at RM700. This provides an advantage in overall wifi coverage in your home too so it’s a really great deal.

The biggest problem with TIME fibre Internet is that it has the lowest coverage out of all the operators. They only serve specific residential complexes in select areas of the country. If you’re living on a landed property you’ll have no luck with TIME fibre Internet and even if you reside in a condominium, you still may not be within their coverage. However, if you are within coverage, this will be good plan to subscribe to for all your Internet needs.

Just like other fibre plans in the market, the plan is tied with 24 months contract. So, if you plan to terminate it before then because you are shifting and your new place does not support fibre connection, you will end up paying RM500 in penalty.

Overall, we’d have to say that TIME Fibre Internet Malaysia is the best deal on the market and if you do have coverage we’d definitely recommend you to pick it up straight away, there really is no competition to it.

*This article was first published on February 15 , 2016 and has been updated with the latest comparison based on new packages from its competitors.

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