As teased earlier, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has announced “Pakej Perpaduan” (Unity Package), a cheaper internet option to help reduce the cost of living for targeted groups. The special package will be offered to Youths (12-30 years old), B40, persons with disabilities (OKU), senior citizens, Malaysian Armed Forces veterans and police veterans.
Essentially, this new package is an update to the previous Pakej Remaja Keluarga Malaysia which offered 20GB of data for RM30 and it’s valid for 3 months. During the tabling of Budget 2023 during the previous administration, it was announced that the old package will be extended until April 2023.
According to the Minister, the new Pakej Perpaduan also costs RM30 but you’ll get 30GB of data that’s valid for 6 months (180 days). In summary, the new package offers double the validity and 50% more data at no extra cost.
Interestingly, the official press release stated that the new plan has a speed upgrade from 1Mbps to 3Mbps. There was no mention of a 1Mbps speed cap for the previous Pakej Remaja Keluarga Malaysia package. On a cost-per-month basis, the new offering is said to be 50% cheaper with an average of RM5/month (RM30 / 6 months validity) instead of RM10/month (RM30 / 3 months validity).
Overall, this is an affordable data option for casual users that don’t use more than 5GB per month and you still enjoy a low rate of RM1 per GB. While 3Mbps seems slow, it is good enough for video streaming at 720p HD for both Netflix and YouTube.
It is mentioned that the targeted groups will be able to enjoy the new plans when it goes to market in February 2023. The new package will be offered by the current telcos such as CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia (Unifi Mobile) and YTL Communications (Yes 5G). It is mentioned that the respective telcos will make their own announcements on the plan in the near future.
Fahmi said the reduction in pricing shows that the current Unity Government is focused on ensuring that Malaysian citizens have access to affordable telecommunications services. He added that the initiative aims at giving youths, B40, OKU, senior citizens, as well as armed forces and police veterans the ability to get quality and accessible telco services.
For fixed broadband users, Fahmi said an announcement will be made in the coming months.
[ SOURCE ]
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