28/09/2015
Prepaid SIM in Malaysia
I thought it would be good to include some articles/guides/tips on prepaid SIM focusing on mobile internet usage in this blog, so here's the first of my posts. It's gonna be brief and focused mainly on my personal experience (especially internet usage) and some information found online.
In Malaysia, there are 4 network operators:
1) Maxis
2) Celcom
3) DiGi
4) U Mobile (Coverage)
In terms of nationwide network coverage, I believe Maxis is possibly the best. However, if you are travelling mainly in city areas, it might be cheaper to go with DiGi or U Mobile.
So far, I've tried Celcom, DiGi and also U Mobile and I visit mainly Johor Bahru (JB), Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Penang. My favourite so far (and what I would recommend if your main usage is internet rather than calls/sms) would be U Mobile for reasonable coverage and best pricing for internet usage.
For an overview of what Maxis/Celcom/DiGi provide, you can refer to this guide. In Malaysia, there are many internet plans that are for unlimited usage, but speed will be throttled after certain usage due to fair usage policy. However, the actual limit and speed after throttling may not be clearly spelt out in several cases.
My guide here will be focused mainly on U Mobile, which is not mentioned in the recommended guide. It is also my preferred choice of prepaid SIM. I even made an effort to reload regularly to keep the phone number since I do travel to JB/KL/Penang a few times a year.
The starter pack for U Mobile costs just RM8 with RM5 value included. It can be bought at 7-11 stores, petrol stations, U Mobile booths in some shopping malls (e.g. AEON Bukit Indah in JB) , and U Mobile shops (mainly in KL, e.g. Berjaya Times Square). The credit validity is 2 times the reload value (e.g. 20 days for RM10 reload) and there is complimentary internet data package and free calls to U Mobile users.
There are unlimited internet plans at RM18 to RM48 per month, but your speed will be throttled down to 64kbps if you exceeded certain amount of usage (fair usage policy). If you are unhappy with the "unlimited" plans, you can choose to go with pay-per-use at a rate of RM0.05 RM0.10 per MB.
What's also very interesting is that they offer very attractive rates for roaming (and data roaming) in Singapore. Roaming service for prepaid customers is only available in Singapore and not elsewhere though. In fact, it is even cheaper than the pay-per-use rates offered by operators in Singapore (not comparing with the data plans available though). Hence, this is very useful for tourists who are visiting Malaysia and Singapore, but only want a single prepaid SIM card for usage in both countries. You just have to note that you can only purchase the starter pack and reloads in Malaysia.
In summary for U Mobile:
Starter pack: RM8 with RM5 value
RM0.20 per MB (without plan)
RM18 per month: Speed throttled to 64kbps after 250MB usage.
RM28 per month: Speed throttled to 64kbps after 1GB usage.
RM38 per month (LTE): Speed throttled to 64kbps after 1GB usage.
RM48 per month (LTE): Speed throttled to 64kbps after 2GB usage.
RM0.30 per MB for data roaming in Singapore. First 50MB free per day. Charges capped at RM30 per day.
For Celcom, they have daily internet plan at RM5 and weekly plan at RM18. Simply dial *118 # to select your plan of choice. My experience was that I only had EDGE connection instead of 3G connection even in city center areas in Kuala Lumpur. I'm not sure if the condition has improved much by now though.
In summary for Celcom's data plans:
RM0.10 for every 10KB (without plan)
RM5 per day
RM18 per week
RM38 per month
In DiGi's case, they seem to be tweaking their mobile data rates several times over these few years. Here are the prepaid plans available:
DiGi Easy Prepaid: Starter pack costs RM16.80 with RM8 credit. Free internet usage for first 2 days upon activation. RM18 for 30 days of unlimited internet usage.
DiGi Best Prepaid: Starter pack costs RM10.80 with RM6 credit. Free internet usage for first 2 days upon activation. RM5 for 5 days of unlimited Whatsapp usage and 100MB for internet.
Hello Malaysia Traveller’s Pack: Seems to be similar as DiGi Best Prepaid.
There is another prepaid plan that focuses mainly for internet usage but the starter pack costs more:
DG Prepaid SmartPlan: Starter pack costs RM25 with 300MB worth of internet usage and unlimited usage of WhatsApp. Reload from RM10 (200MB for 10 days) to RM100 (2GB for 100 days). Refer to link for full list of reload packages.
Maxis has a brand new website in English and it seems that these internet plans are available:
FREE Basic Internet Package: unlimited usage (64kbps only) of Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp
Subscribe to data plans below for internet usage outside the basic package or to enjoy higher internet access speeds.
RM1 per day for unlimited usage for: Facebook or Twitter or Opera Mini or Waze.
RM7 per week for 100MB.
RM20 per month for 350MB.
RM30 per month for 1GB.
RM68 per month for 3GB.
Recommended Guide: http://prepaidwithdata.wikia.com/wiki/Malaysia
From
http://vicott-travel.blogspot.my/2013/01/prepaid-sim-in-malaysia.html
The above operators are added by MVNOs like Tune Talk, XOX Mobile, Friendi mobile and Buzz me. There are 4 WiMAX-based network operators: AsiaSpace, PacketOne (P1), YTL (Yes), Redtone which are not mentioned further as their system is not compatible with most GSM devices.
