The new broadband package deal comes three months after the government’s Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) came into force. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) announced today four new starter packages by Telekom Malaysia (TM), Maxis, TIME dotcom (TIME) and Celcom under RM100.

The new broadband package deal comes three months after the government’s Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) came into force.

“Aside from the starter packages, the telcos have also increased their speed for (existing plans of) the same price. In certain instances, such as TM, the speed has increased tenfold,” MCMC said in a statement.

It included a table comparing the savings by the four leading telcos before and after MSAP.

For TM, the 30 Mbps priced at RM139 a month is now cheaper by 43 per cent to RM79.

The biggest savings was for Celcom’s 40 Mbps package, which dropped 56 per cent from RM180 down to RM80 a month.

Maxis, which offers 30 Mbps from RM139, shaved off 36 per cent to RM89 per month, and TIME, which offers the fastest speed at 100 Mbps, reduced its monthly package price by 34 per cent, from RM149 to RM99.

MCMC said it had anticipated that the full implementation of the MSAP for fixed broadband services would see a reduction of prices of at least 25 per cent by December 31 while higher speeds will be made available, adding that the implementation has instead resulted in over 30 per cent reduction for entry-level package prices.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo first announced the MSAP enforcement in June.

In August, he said only two telcos had adhered to the MSAP, despite extending the deadline to review commercial discussions from July 31 to the end of August after appeals were made for a deadline extension.

He warned that strict action would be taken against the telcos if they did not conform to the MSAP.

* A previous version of this story contained errors which have since been corrected.