By BERNAMA

Consumers will enjoy cheaper broadband services with the announcement by four telecommunications companies (telcos) to reduce the price of their fixed broadband packages by up to 56%.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said the announcement by the four telcos — Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Maxis Bhd, TIME dotCom Bhd and Celcom Axiata Bhd — followed the call by Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo that they should offer cheaper broadband services with increased speed with the implementation of the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP).

“All the telcos are currently offering packages which start from less than RM100, as well as packages which offer higher speed with cheaper prices,” the commission said in a statement yesterday.

According to MCMC, TM’s starter pack of 30Mbps before MSAP at RM139 is now priced at RM79, while Celcom’s 40Mbps starter pack has been reduced to RM80 from RM180, Maxis’ 30Mbps starter pack is now at RM89 from RM139, and TIME’s 100Mbps starter pack is now RM99 from RM149.

TIME’s package of 500Mbps is now priced at RM139, while its 1Gbps package is now RM199.

The statement also said the implementation of the MSAP and the reduction in prices are 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 Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to improve the quality of broadband services in Malaysia,” it said.

All telecommunications companies (telcos) offering Internet service packages need to ensure that consumers get the speed of the Internet as offered in their packages, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

He said the ministry, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), would monitor the matter and take appropriate action if the Internet speed experienced by customers was not the same as the package promised.

“All the telcos must understand. When they issue new packages, they mention higher speeds and lower costs, so they have to make sure that the speed that the customer received is as promised.

“So, I ask them to boost their monitoring on the matter. They have to check that the speed that the customers get is the speed that they say that the customers will get in their packages. I also ask the telcos to create a complaint bureau and the complaints must be studied in depth, quickly and effectively,” he told reporters in Port Dickson yesterday.

He also urged telcos to review the old Internet packages for their existing customers and work towards reducing the prices.

He said the government welcomed the new packages offered by those companies that served better Internet speeds at cheaper prices, but they also need to appreciate their existing customers who still subscribed to the old packages.

“On behalf of our ministry, I’ve told MCMC that we are serious. We are serious when we say we want lower prices, faster speeds,” he said.

Gobind said the government is working towards revising the minimum standard and reasonableness in the prices of the Internet services and the MCMC was scheduled to make an announcement about it yesterday.

Asked on whether his presence in Port Dickson yesterday was due to the Pakatan Harapan candidate Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s comment about the lack of high-speed Internet, Gobind said the matter was not supposed to have arisen.

Gobind, who is also DAP deputy chairman, said he was in Port Dickson to campaign for Anwar because of the spirit of brotherhood and unity in Pakatan Harapan.

“We are coming to the campaign because we are friends who are familiar with Anwar. He is my good friend. I am not here as a minister, I am here as Gobind Singh Deo and I am also MP for Puchong,” he said.

The Election Commission has set Oct 13 as polling day with next Tuesday (Oct 9) as the early polling day.