The Latest Maxis Broadband Prices: Is It Time To Change Your Broadband Providers?
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Broadband prices have been steadily decreasing over the last couple of months. All thanks to the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MASP) which came into force on 8 June. No deadline was originally set, but the Communications And Multimedia Ministry has announced that it will take stern action against any telco that hasn’t revised its pricing by the end of August.
The directive from ministry sets a maximum price for wholesale broadband. What this essentially means is that the government is controlling how much Telekom Malaysia is able to charge other broadband providers for using its infrastructure. Thus, lowering prices across the board and increasing competition.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo claims that prices could drop by up to 25% by the end of the year.
At the same time, we are unlikely to see much this year. TM applied for permission to delay the implementation of the MASP; saying that the measures would only further hurt its earnings. This was expected to delay the rolling out of any new promotions from broadband providers; at least until the government made its own announcement on the matter.
In such a case, it would be prudent to take a closer look at what is currently on the table. You can get ahead of any revisions that could be coming from providers as the deadline nears and know the savings you will actually get if you switch plans when the new prices are announced.
What are the telcos offering?
| TIME Fibre | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Max Download Speed | Max Upload Speed | |
| Time Home Fibre 100 | RM149 | 100Mbps | 100Mbps |
| Time Home Fibre 300 | RM189 | 300Mbps | 300Mbps |
| Time Home Fibre 500 | RM299 | 500Mbps | 500Mbps |
| MaxisOne Home | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Max Download Speed | Max Upload Speed | |
| MaxisOne Home 30Mbps | RM89 | 30Mbps | 30Mbps |
| MaxisOne Home 100Mbps | RM129 | 100Mbps | 50Mbps |
| UniFi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Max Download Speed | Max Upload Speed | |
| UniFi Basic | RM79 | 30Mbps (60GB quota) | 5Mbps |
| UniFi Pro 100 | RM129 | 100Mbps | 50Mbps |
So far, only UniFi and Maxis have had new subscriptions available. Maxis with its MaxisOne Home Fibre 30Mbps and 100Mbps packages, while UniFi has the UniFi Basic plan, which is aimed at low income households and has a relatively low data quota.
August 29 update: UniFi Basic has been opened to everyone, and not just the B40 segment. This offer is still only available through the TM Portal.
September 9 update: TM has announced a new UniFi Pro 100 subscription, providing users with a 100Mbps connection for RM129. However, this doesn’t include the set top box and only provides access to UniFi PlayTV. It also will not receive the planned UniFi Turbo boost that’s being rolled out for the other UniFi plans.
Shortly after the announcement of the MASP, TM also announced a new restructuring of its UniFi service. The move aims to boost existing user speeds by up to 10x under the UniFi Turbo brand. Users with speeds of less than 20Mbps will be boosted to 100Mbps, while 30Mbps and 50Mbps users will be upgraded to 300Mbps and 500Mbps respectively.
Should you make the switch?
It’s difficult to say at the moment. If Maxis is any indication, the pricing for existing broadband plans should be coming down by the promised 25%. Or at least, users can look forward to providers revising just what they are offering to consumers in terms of speeds.
If you are in the market for a new broadband provider, Maxis would be the best bet (at least for the next few days). Aside from being the only new mass market plans available, it offers more than the purportedly budget minded UniFi Basic package. Keep in mind that only RM10 separates having an unlimited data quota for the same download speed.
The new pricing also means you will be saving a whopping RM1200 over 24 months if you subscribe to the MaxisONE Home Fire 30Mbps plan.
That said, there are some caveats to take into account. Maxis is only rolling out the new plan on September 13 onwards. Until then, the original pricing of RM139 for 30Mbps and RM299 for 100Mbps remains. Customers can subscribe to the plans now, but will have to wait until the middle of September for the updated pricing to kick in.
Alternatively, customers can sign up from September 13 onwards. All existing customers with or without a contract will be able to switch to the new plan, but their contract will be re-contracted to 24 months.
Before making that switch keep the following in mind.
Broadband providers are currently only being asked to announce their renewed pricing and could possibly delay the actual implementation until a later date. This is considering that the lynchpin of all this, TM, is trying to delay complying with the MASP. So, if you are in the market for a new broadband subscription now, the new pricing for Maxis is pretty attractive.
