The cost of broadband has always been a hot topic among Malaysians. Even with TM’s new Unifi plans that offer faster speeds for less, many had frown upon the removal of its cheaper 5Mbps option at RM149/month.
For those with the need for speed, it can get ridiculously expensive. Maxis offers 100Mbps broadband for a colossal RM398/month. Alternatively, TIME is also offering 100Mbps at a cheaper RM179/month but it comes with a 100GB cap.
Is there a way for Malaysians to get faster speeds at lower prices? A Singaporean broadband company wants to make it possible when it comes to Malaysia.
MyRepublic that’s based in Singapore has caused quite a stir by offering 1Gbps of fibre internet for as low as S$49/month (about RM150) during its debut. It was a deal you can’t refuse as the other players were charging as high as S$395/month (about RM1215) for the same speed. It didn’t take too long before the existing incumbents started slashing prices to match MyRepublic’s offering.
Even today, MyRepublic is offering 2x 1Gbps connections for home users at only S$59.99 (about RM185) per month. On top of that, they are also coming up as the 4th mobile telco in Singapore, with unlimited high speed quota. Apart from Singapore, they are also in New Zealand offering as high as 1Gbps at NZ$89.99/month (about RM261).
As reported by DigitalNewsAsia, MyRepublic is planning to enter Malaysia with the ambition to offer 100Mbps connectivity for around RM60-RM70 a month. Its CEO Malcolm Rodrigues wants to be very disruptive in the market and they are eager to take up the disruptor role in our local scene. The timing however depends on our regulatory environment, and they are looking forward for TM to open up its network access by 2016.
At the moment, other fibre broadband players such as Maxis and P1 are tapping onto the same HSBB network as TM but they are basically wholesale deals which isn’t ideal for MyRepublic. In their expansion into Malaysia and other markets, they had hired Michael Lai, who is the former CEO of P1 and TM Net.
Can MyRepublic disrupt our local broadband scene? 100Mbps at RM60/month sounds insane especially when TM charges double for a mere 1Mbps ADSL service. If Maxis could deliver 10Mbps from as low as RM118/month, undercutting TM’s UniFi service on the same network, it won’t be surprising.
Like most new ventures, they could offer broadband below cost just to rake the numbers in. For example When telco 3 entered Australia, they had offered loads of free calls, heavily subsidised device offers and lower barrier to entry even for foreign subscribers in order to pull the masses onto their fold. Can MyRepublic make a difference in Malaysia? Let us know what do you think in the comments below.
