How to choose the best internet service providers in Malaysia

Internet speed has come a long way since dial-up. We're now able to video call our loved ones, play multiplayer online games, run an e-commerce business and stream HD movies, all without a hitch. And this is all thanks to the advancement of internet broadband technology coverage that now offers fibre unlimited internet plans that are affordable. With so many Internet service providers in Malaysia such as Unifi, Maxis and Celcom, how do you know who offers the best and fastest home broadband plan? How do you decide which deal to go for? To help you choose the ISP and speed that suits you, here's a quick breakdown comparing some of the best wireless, internet broadband and mobile plans as well as the best service provider out there.

Internet plan comparison for Malaysia

 


Whatever your preferences are, or how much of a value you are looking for, always choose the smoothest internet service provider that'll work stably in your home or living area.

Otherwise, if you have the privilege of choosing between brands, there are plenty of consumers out there that have their preferences. From this perspective, we'll briefly touch on how each of the best internet service providers performed accordingly to Malaysians.


1. Internet plans with the best coverage: Celcom


You may see Celcom as either having reasonable or expensive deals. But there's one thing that many users (and even analytical studies) can agree on; it is the internet service provider with the widest and most stable coverage across Malaysia (on 4G availability).

According to several reviews, Celcom also provides the best reasonability for its terms & condition, as well as prices. For their unlimited plans, there is no hard quota limit, but bandwidth will be limited if abused. 


2. Internet plan with the best speeds and latency: Maxis

This telco brand is one of Malaysia's most stable internet service providers alongside Celcom. Although their mobile plans with internet are slightly more on the pricier side for the amount of data you get, you cannot deny that their speeds and latency are one of the fastest and lowest, respectively.

By getting their unlimited internet prepaid pass (which will fall under Hotlink), you can enjoy not just good internet speeds, but also free calls and SMS plans; something that Celcom's similarly-priced deals doesn't have.


3. Internet plan with the best value: Digi


This title was closely tied with UMobile's internet plan choices, but we have to give it to Digi for their wider broadband plans to homes and mobile, as well as a wider coverage in Malaysia.

Digi may not always be the fastest in speed or the widest in coverage compared to the other two. But, it shines in its value, especially for urbanised areas. They have many deals that offer a high ratio of data amount to price and has lucrative lifestyle deals that can be enjoyed online and offline too. Plus, Digi's customers are often gifted with free top-ups in their plans. 

CLICK HERE TO COMPARE INTERNET PLANS IN MALAYSIA

Fibre vs wireless broadband in Malaysia


Most Malaysian internet service providers (ISP) will offer you these types of connection choices, depending on your lifestyle and usage preferences. But, which do you really need?

Fibre broadband: 

As its name literally indicates, this type of internet connection refers to data transferred via fibre optic cables either fully or partially. Using glass wires (literally looking like 'fibres'), data is transferred using light signals from sender to recipient. While the connection is very fast, they are best for high-rise buildings.

This type of broadband allows for:

  • Fast transfer speeds at up to 10Gbps
  • Has great temperature resistance
  • Can transfer data in longer distances

Wireless broadband: 

This type of broadband refers to using a local area network or wide area network. Here, data is sent via electromagnetic waves from the telco towers to your mobile modem and then to your devices. Compared to fibre broadband, wireless broadband internet uses copper to send internet data around. But, unlike fibre, wireless broadband can reach both high rise and landed properties.

This type of broadband is:

  • More affordable
  • Easier to set up (just a SIM card and a modem!)
  • Available to most home types including landed
  • Tips for choosing an internet plan

This may seem like a no-brainer, yet you may not realise what areas should you look into when choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) for your intended internet broadband plan. Here are the most important factors to consider:

1. Availability

The first thing to start with is, what ISP centres or Telco towers are widely available in your neighbourhood. Of course, the more Telco towers (giant antennas to broadcast telecommunication) of the ISP are available in your area, the more stable the connections are going to be.

This means that while some ISP may have great reviews, but they don't necessarily mean they will do the best for you.

Home internet isn't something you want to change very frequently as compared to, say, a streaming service, because there are set up to do before you can use the internet plan. Therefore, ensure that the ISP's coverage and centres are widely available in your area.

2. Speed

Of course, speed is a huge factor in determining what you need. But here, we'll need you to look at how much data you actually need. And this ties back to what activities you'll actually do with your internet.

Say, you want to play competitive games such as PUBG and likewise. So, go for 1Gbps, right? Nope!

In fact, the minimum suggested speed you'll need for competitive gaming is 25mbps. This is why the minimum suggested internet speed for most people are at least 50 or 100mbps.

So from here, depending on what your usual internet download speeds are in a day, you determine how much you need based on how big your household is. In short, choosing the right internet speed is based on how much it can be comfortably split among everyone at home (independently) without any lag. (Ex. 5 people using 25mbps for gaming at the same time = at least 200mbps download speed)

3. Reliability

Finally, you'll want to make sure that the ISP's customer support is adequate for you in your living area. This doesn't just mean having excellent service in physical help centres but also call centres, as well as fewer connectivity disruptions whether it's for your home broadband or for your mobile needs.

CLICK HERE TO COMPARE THE BEST INTERNET PLANS IN MALAYSIA

Celcom Home Fibre Internet Plans | Celcom Prepaid & Postpaid Internet Plans

 


Celcom Home Fibre benefits ;

  • Ultra wide 4G LTE coverage - Powered by 9,200 sites to cover 94% of Malaysia’s network population
  • Smooth 4K videos - Enjoy the best video streaming experience
  • Lowest latency - Low latency for streaming and gaming without delays

Celcom has both Postpaid and Prepaid plans. For Postpaid, it’s Celcom Mobile Plans and for Prepaid, it’s Celcom Xpax. They have five (5) Postpaid plans for you to consider, namely Celcom Mobile Gold, Celcom Mobile Gold Plus, Celcom Mobile Gold Supreme, Celcom Mobile Platinum, Celcom Mobile Platinum Plus

Celcom Xpax Prepaid Pack is available online or at any of the bluecube and dealers. You can register your Celcom line at any of our stores, available nationwide. 

If you are Malaysian, you can use your MyKad/ Army/Police Identification. If you're a Non-Malaysian, You only need your passport / iKad / Ambassador ID, etc and a deposit of MYR500 for voice plan and/or MYR100 for data plan.

You may choose from a series of normal running numbers. However, it's highly recommended the Celcom Mobile Platinum plan, as you can choose your preferred number.

If you already have an existing line with another Telco, you can your mobile number & opt for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). It will take within 3 days to be activated, after the usual verification and approval from your current Telco.

Registration requires you to be present for verification purposes and you must be 18 years and above.

Celcom offers special rates RM10 monthly rebate of a lifetime to selected postpaid plans including Celcom Home Wireless plans

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH CELCOM


MAXIS Home Fibre & Business Internet Broadband Review

 


Maxis Home Fibre & Business Plans 

  • Reliable internet connection
  • Has free mesh WiFi units
  • Free internet security setup

The Maxis Fibre plans are available to all income groups whose homes are located within our coverage with a contract of 24 months. Existing Fibre customers within contract or out of contract are eligible to change to their choice of new plan without penalty.

You may sign up for the Maxis Fibre plans at all Maxis Sales Channels including Maxis Centre, Maxis Exclusive Partners and Authorized Resellers, on the Maxis official website or call in. There will be a 24-month contract for new sign ups.

For new customer, you have an option to add Unlimited Voice at RM10 per month which also comes with a free DECT phone. Alternatively, you may plug in your own telephone and will be charged on a pay-as-you-use basis at standard rates of RM0.09/minute charge to mobile and fixed line number. Standard rates for international and special numbers will apply.

For existing customer changing to 30/100/300/500/800 rateplans, DECT phone is not provided and you will have to buy your own.

If you live in a high-rise building you can subscribe to the new plans, but the broadband speeds available to you will depend on the building’s infrastructure.


The plans with super fast speed are Maxis Fibre 300Mbps, 500Mbps and 800MbpsYou will enjoy the following value added services with Maxis Fibre 500Mbps and 800MbpsFREE mesh WiFi (2 units) to enhance your home WiFi coverage

There will be a contract of 24 months for mesh WiFi, should you subscribe to Maxis Fibre Plans of 300Mbps and below or terminate your Fibre service. There will be a penalty for mesh WiFi and the remaining balance charge is calculated as follows : 

[2 units x (Device Recommended Retail Price (RRP) ÷ 24 months)] x Remaining month(s)]

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH MAXIS


Digi Fibre Broadband Home & Mobile Internet Plans Review



Digi Internet Fibre 290

  • Best internet plan for big homes - second best internet plan for gaming
  • Digi - RM260.00
  • Best value for a 1Gbps internet plan
  • Up to RM720 rebate if signed with mobile postpaid plan
  • Accessible for most home types including landed properties
  • 24-month contract applies
  • Depending on your home area, internet might not be as stable


For those who are looking to get an internet home plan whether it's for a condo or a terrace/landed property, Digi has made it more accessible for you to own speedy internet so you can stream everything with an unlimited download quota.

Compared to unifi, Digi's fibre broadband deals are quite similarly priced. But we have to hand it to Digi for their 1Gbps internet plan. At RM290 per month (or RM260 for existing customers), this is a much better deal than many other competitors, especially for bigger households.

To be frank, this particular 1Gbps plan allows for comfortable unlimited HD streaming and competitive gaming sessions for almost everyone in the house as well (5 pax, more or less). As a bonus, if you sign up for a fibre broadband account with a Digi postpaid plan, you can get up to a total of RM720 rebate in 24-month contracts. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH DIGI


TIME Fibre Internet Home Broadband Review

 


1. TIME Fibre Home Broadband 1Gbps

  • Best internet plan for gaming
  • TIME Fibre Internet - RM199.00
  • One of the fastest internet in Malaysia
  • Very good value-for-money
  • Option to have no lock-in contract
  • Service provider with one of the lowest latencies across internet plans
  • Only covers internet for high-rise buildings including businesses

Have a gaming hub for yourself and your friends or family? TIME Internet is arguably one of the best home broadband providers you can get at the moment. And this 1Gbps plan will not let your whole party cry over lag.

Their fibre internet plans are constantly known as the best value-for-money. In fact, the internet service provider has shocked the Telco industry from the get-go, offering internet speeds of up to 1Gbps with prices that many Telco brands can't offer.

Now, if you absolutely want the fastest internet for everything else, especially online gaming, TIME has their 1Gbps plan for RM199 only. Otherwise, you can settle with their other plans starting from RM99 per month for 100mbps, their bestseller is definitely the RM139 per month-plan for 500mbps.

The catch is that the brand's Internet coverage is mainly limited to high-rise buildings.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH TIME BROADBAND




2. TIME Fibre Home Broadband 500Mbps

  • Best unlimited & cheapest broadband plan - for condominiums & high-rise
  • TIME Fibre Internet - RM139.00
  • Very value-for-money
  • Fast performance
  • Option to have no lock-in contract
  • Service provider with one of the lowest latencies across internet plans
  • Only covers high-rise buildings

Living in the city and in a high-rise? Well, you should look no further than TIME's own 100% Fibre internet plans, aimed to provide you with consistent internet speeds.

This is the best value-for-money and one of the cheapest broadband plan that you can get at this price. With 500Mbps internet speed, this plan is perfect for anything including HD streaming, con-calls and multiplayer gaming. Moreover, it has a flat rate of 8 cents per minute for calls to anywhere in the world - that's really cheap! 

The only downside is that this plan isn't compatible with landed homes. Additionally, do check out for TIME's gift and prizes of the month, available only to new subscribers. Another hidden goodie to being a TIME internet subscriber is their relatively low latency. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH TIME BROADBAND

TM UNIFI Home Fibre Broadband Plans Review

 


1. Unifi Home Fibre Broadband 500mbps + Plus Box

  • Best internet plan for home - TM unifi Home Fibre - RM249.00
  • Value for money for the internet speed & TV package
  • Available to most homes including landed properties
  • 30 Days free trial available
  • Free 600-minute calls (reasonably priced per minute once quota is up)
  • Free 6 months TV channel access
  • Not the best bang-for-buck if you're only considering it for just the internet
  • 24-month contract

Looking for high-speed internet for your home? This fibre broadband deal might be what your house needs, be it if you live in a condominium or a landed home.

Part of what makes this unlimited data broadband plan attractive is its easy accessibility for most Malaysians. Their service centres are widely available, and that you get a total of free 600-minute calls too, with 10 sens per minute charges apply once that amount is used up. 

But of course, the plan also comes with a Plus Box, which lets you tune in to channels and movies including blockbusters. 

Internet download speeds are set at 500mbps, with upload speeds capped at 100mbps. Sounds modest for most homes, no? The catch here is that you'll have to sign a 24-month contract to enjoy this otherwise value-for-money deal.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH UNIFI




2. Unifi Home Fibre Broadband 300mbps + Plus Box

  • Second best internet plan for home
  • TM unifi Home Fibre - RM199.00
  • Available for most homes including landed properties
  • One of the best value offers around
  • Free 600-minute calls
  • Free TV package for 6 months
  • Still not the best bang for buck in terms of internet speed

The next best those who'd like to keep things simpler; unifi's own 300Mbps is perfect for you. Suitable for most types of landed homes, the 300Mbps speed is good for your daily video streaming and light online gaming. For your reference, the plan is able to download HD movie files of 3GB in 3 minutes and lets you stream 4k resolution movies with ease.

Additionally, getting the plan also entitles you to free channels and a free subscription to unifi's PlayTV for 6 months, thanks to the inclusion of the Plus Box.

Compared to the 500mbps plan, this offer is much more affordable and reasonable for most homes with 3 to 4 people (where not everyone needs a high-speed internet plan for demanding tasks such as gaming). The one difference is that while download speeds remain at 300mbps, the upload speed is halved to 50mbps. 

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WITH UNIFI


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