Telekom Malaysia to offer faster, cheaper broadband
TELEKOM Malaysia will unveil more affordable packages in stages to make broadband services considerably cheaper in two years.
The immediate beneficiaries will be UniFi customers who are entitled to a free higher speed upgrade for the same price.
“We are still in discussions with the government on how to implement this [reduction in pricing]. We have a window of two years to work on it.
“We were already planning for a reduction as that is where the trend is heading.
“It was a question of timing to implement it,” chief executive officer Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said in a briefing.
TM said all its UniFi subscribers would stand to get the free upgrade, subject to eligibility and technical feasibility.
The greatest beneficiary of the upgrade will be VIP5 and VIP10 subscribers.
TM would inform its subscribers to convey the changes starting in December.
TM has more than 2.37 million broadband customers, of which more than 900,000 are UniFi customers.
More than 60 per cent of TM’s broadband customers are now on its 4-megabits-per-second and above packages, while about 68 per cent of UniFi customers are on packages of 10Mbps and above.
Zamzamzairani was responding to the Budget 2017 announcements that fixed-line broadband service providers would have to offer services at a higher speed for the same price effective in January.
For example, a subscriber of its 5Mbps package at 149 ringgit (Bt1,250) will enjoy a package |with twice the speed, which is 10Mbps.
Within two years, for this package, the speed will be doubled at a price reduction of 50 per cent.
TM yesterday revealed its broadband improvement plan for next year to provide Malaysians with higher-value offerings.
The plan will initially benefit TM’s home customers riding on the high-speed broadband and suburban broadband project areas.
Under the initiative, the average broadband speeds for residential UniFi customers will be doubled, but for the same price.
Eligible customers nationwide will begin enjoying the upgrade in stages, beginning in January.
TM will also introduce new broadband package offerings |for non-UniFi customers next year.
