Digi Fibre Broadband is now more expensive and confusing

Digi has announced its new Digi Internet Freedom which provides not just Fibre Broadband for the home but also on the go for everyone in the family. On the surface, this looks like the yellow telco’s answer to MaxisOne Prime but upon closer inspection, it isn’t what you think.

When you visit the product page, it seems to suggest that you could get fibre broadband and a postpaid plan from RM130/month. In reality, the RM130/month is actually just for the 100Mbps fibre broadband connection without any additional mobile plan. You’ll have to pay at least RM80/month for an eligible postpaid plan to enjoy the “Internet Freedom” perks. The next fibre broadband option is 500Mbps at RM190/month and 1Gbps at RM290/month.

Across the board, if you pair it with a Digi Postpaid 80 plan and above, Digi is providing 6 months of Amazon Prime Video subscription worth RM162. However, you won’t get any additional savings or discounts for pairing the postpaid plan on the 100Mbps fibre broadband option.

For customers that sign up for the 500Mbps and 1Gbps fibre plans, you can get RM40 off on your home broadband subscription and up to 20% off on your Digi Postpaid line. The amount of savings that you’ll get depends on how many lines you have in your account.

If you have 1 line, you’ll get 5% discount and if you have 2 lines, you’ll get 10% off. If you have 3 or more lines, Digi offers 20% off. Do note that the discount is only applicable to the principal line only and you won’t enjoy any savings on the supplementary line subscription fee.

The issue with Digi’s Internet Freedom offering is that it isn’t clear how much you should pay each month for the fibre + mobile plan combo. It is as if Digi wants its potential customers to whip out their calculator and perform their own calculation.

We did the math and below is the total monthly subscription cost for the fibre broadband plan + 1 postpaid line (excluding 6% tax):

• Digi 100Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 80 – RM210
• Digi 100Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 120 – RM250
• Digi 100Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 160 – RM290
• Digi 100Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 190 – RM320
  
• Digi 500Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 80 – RM226
• Digi 500Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 120 – RM264
• Digi 500Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 160 – RM302
• Digi 500Mbps Fibre + Postpaid 190 – RM330.50
  
• Digi 1Gbps Fibre + Postpaid 80 – RM326
• Digi 1Gbps Fibre + Postpaid 120 – RM364
• Digi 1Gbps Fibre + Postpaid 160 – RM402
• Digi 1Gbps Fibre + Postpaid 190 – RM430.50

With the additional discounts offered, the price gap between the 100Mbps and 500Mbps plan is quite minimal and it makes more sense to go for the 500Mbps option if you pair it with a postpaid plan. Do note that you could save a bit more if you have additional supplementary lines under your account.

Higher subscription fee than before

Overall, Digi has increased the prices of its fibre broadband subscriptions across the board. When Digi introduced the plans last year, the 100Mbps plan was going for RM129/month, 500Mbps was priced at RM159/month and 1Gbps was going for RM199/month. When we asked Digi about the price difference, we are told that the old prices were an introductory offer when it kicked off its Fibre pilot launch in Melaka, Klang Valley and Sabah.

Another thing to take note is that the upload speeds are slightly different as well. The 100Mbps plan was previously offered with 100Mbps upload but Digi Internet Freedom is now offering a lower 50Mbps upload. There’s no change in speed for the 500Mbps and 1Gbps plan as both options continue to offer 200Mbps upload.

What’s interesting is that Digi is now using the term “up to” to describe its download and upload speeds. When we asked Digi if the advertised speeds are guaranteed, we are told that it is provided on a best effort basis.

Similar coverage as Time?

We are told that Digi Internet Freedom is available at selected locations in the Klang Valley, Penang and Sabah. When we did a quick search on Digi’s coverage checker, it appears that its availability is similar to Time Fibre Broadband. The search results are mostly high rise residential addresses. This isn’t surprising as Digi had announced early this year that it is tapping on Time’s network to expand its fibre broadband footprint.

So here’s the thing, if the availability is the same as Time, why should you pay more on Digi? At the moment, Time is offering 100Mbps at RM99/month, 500Mbps at RM139/month and 1Gbps at RM199/month.

If you get Time’s 1Gbps plan and Digi Postpaid 80 separately, that would cost you RM279/month versus RM326/month on Digi Internet Freedom. That’s RM1,128 worth of savings for a 24-month period. Since Digi isn’t providing any savings for its base 100Mbps fibre plan, you can save RM31/month if you subscribe to Time broadband’s 100Mbps directly for RM99/month.

As usual, the fibre broadband plans from Digi are tied to a 24-month contract. If you plan to make voice calls at home, take note that the fibre plans don’t come with fixed voice service.

For more info, you can check out Digi Internet Freedom.

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