The back drop:
According to MCMC, TM’s starter pack of 30 Megabits per second (Mbps) before MSAP at RM139 was now priced at RM79, while Celcom’s 40 Mbps starter pack has been reduced to RM80 from RM180, Maxis’ 30 Mbps starter pack now at RM89 from RM139 and TIME’s 100 Mbps starter pack now RM99 from RM149.
Meanwhile, TIME’s package of 500 Mbps was now priced at RM139 while its one gigabit (Gbps) package was now RM199.
The statement also said the implementation of the MSAP and reduction of prices was in line with the government’s efforts to provide high-quality world-class broadband services at reasonable prices.
“The MCMC will continue to work with the Communications and Multimedia Ministry to improve the quality of broadband services in Malaysia,” it said.
Hope you can address the elephants in the room:
a) What about existing subscribers, who form the bulk of users now ... if we allow the telcos to force current subscribers to fulfil their package commitments, do you think that is fair? If you do, please say so in order for us to target our protests. As of now, people seemingly in charge are silent on the most important points.
b) What about underserved areas. It is 2018 already. Many countries already offer countrywide coverage. Many Malaysians in underpopulated areas cannot even get higher speeds' packages because it is deemed not feasible. It is 2018 and still, we cannot get a proper handle on this issue.
c) Why not automatically upgrade all subscribers to the new lower-cost packages; why make everyone's life more difficult, needing to unsubscribe (with penalty) and re-subscribe... WHEN the telcos can operate profitably even with the new cheaper packages with higher speeds, which is to say the telcos are already gouging existing subscribers reaping supernormal profits. Is there no such thing as brand goodwill. All the advertising promoting customer service and these companies great branding and commitment to clients are all "fake news" or lip service?
d) Local telcos already enjoy a monopolistic position with domestic users bearing the brunt of excesses and inefficiencies. Thanks to the prodding by the new government we are seeing some light but just the above pointers already indicate that that is insufficient. Why not let in Huawei or other international providers, if the local telcos find it so hard to please local users. We, Malaysians are already paying way too much for access.
e) The other big quibble not addressed is the reliability of the level of service. We all know that when we subscribe for 100mbps, we will not get that most of the time. Providers will say that peak usage hours will make that untenable. There should be accountability and measurement. For example, there must be a threshold that the said service cannot dip below (i.e. 50% or 60% of speed), and not more than 4-6 hours a day. Something like that should be made available and measured, and providers will be fined accordingly if they cannot deliver their said promises.
e) The other big quibble not addressed is the reliability of the level of service. We all know that when we subscribe for 100mbps, we will not get that most of the time. Providers will say that peak usage hours will make that untenable. There should be accountability and measurement. For example, there must be a threshold that the said service cannot dip below (i.e. 50% or 60% of speed), and not more than 4-6 hours a day. Something like that should be made available and measured, and providers will be fined accordingly if they cannot deliver their said promises.
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