Yoodo was launched last week and they claim to offer Malaysia’s first fully customisable mobile plan. Like the recent introduction of digital telco services, this is a service which you can only subscribe online through their official app.
If you’re clueless about Yoodo, here are 5 things that you need to know.
You can customise your own plan
Monthly Plans
Yoodo allows you to customise your own plan and this includes the amount of data, calls and SMS you get each month. If you don’t need so much data, you can reduce your quota for the next month. For data, you can select anything from 2GB (RM20/month), 5GB (RM30/month) or all the way to 100GB (RM150/month). There’s also add-on for 5GB Facebook (RM10/month), 10GB YouTube (RM20/month) and 5GB Instagram (RM10/month).
If you need calls and SMS, you can add on from as little as 50 minutes of calls (RM5/month) and 50 SMS (RM3/month). Of course, the cost per unit for data/calls/SMS would be cheaper if you go for a higher quantity.
Unlike typical prepaid plans that require you to top up a minimum of RM30 for 30 days of validity, you can subscribe to as little as RM3/month for 50 SMS. Note that any changes to your plan will only take effect in your next monthly cycle.
Booster
You can also add more data/calls/SMS midway by adding a booster plan. The booster rates are as follows:
Data
1GB – RM10
3GB – RM30
6GB – RM40Calls
50 minutes – RM5
100 minutes – RM7
200 minutes – RM9SMS
50 SMS – RM3
100 SMS – RM5
200 SMS – RM8
The booster plans will follow your current plan cycle and Yoodo does not carry forward unused quota to the following month.
IDD
For IDD and international SMS, you would also need to buy your call minutes and SMS upfront. The rates are dependent on the zone you’re calling. For Zone A which includes Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, US, UK and more, 30 minutes of voice calls cost RM15 and 30 SMS cost RM5.
To buy 30 minutes of calls or 30 SMS per zone can be excessive for casual users but take note that it will be valid for 365 days.
No VPN Required. Works with iPhone
Unlike Ookyo and Tapp, there’s no need to install additional VPN. Just pop the SIM into your smartphone and you’re good to go. It also works on both Android and iPhone.
Flat Rate roaming at RM10/day
Yoodo also claims that there is no pay per use and to make roaming hassle-free, they are offering a Roam like Home pass for only RM10 per day. With this pass, you can enjoy your existing data/calls/sms quota while travelling overseas. If you have a 10GB plan, you can utilise all of your quota for just RM10/day.
The pass also lets you receive incoming and outgoing calls to Malaysia with your existing call minutes. To call a local number during your travel, you’ll need to purchase an IDD quota for the zone of the country you’re in.
The Roam Like Home Pass is valid for 24-hours from the point of activation via the mobile app. This makes it easier to keep track especially if you’re travelling to a country with a different time zone. As a comparison, other telcos refreshes a new day at 12:00AM Malaysian time or based on the capital city of the country you’re in.
The Roam Like Home pass is currently available in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Laos, and Brunei. You won’t be able to roam in other countries but they will be introducing a different pass for more countries at a later date.
Only Credit/Debit card accepted
Yoodo is a subscription-based service similar to Spotify. At the moment they are only accepting credit/debit card for your monthly subscription. This means you won’t need to top manually each month so you can stay connected without any interruption. You can disable auto-renew from the app itself.
According to their FAQ, there will be an option to add a 360 day validity extension. This extension add-on is not available at the moment and it will be introduced at a later date.
Yoodo uses Celcom’s network
Yoodo considers themselves a startup that’s backed by Celcom. They share the same nationwide 4G/3G coverage as Celcom’s postpaid and Xpax prepaid offering.
If you’re interested, you can sign up for Yoodo via the Android and iOS app. Yoodo will ship the SIM pack to you for free or you can have it delivered immediately within 2 hours at a RM15 delivery fee (only within the Klang Valley). During sign up, you can register a new mobile number with a 011 prefix or port-in from your existing telco.
