Joining other Malaysian telcos that have contributed to the fight againt COVID-19 pandemic, Maxis has recently revealed that customers can now visit a select group of websites without affecting their data pool. In another words, there will no be data deducted from their quota for these websites.

It is not hard to see that these websites were chosen because they can provide vital information regarding COVID-19 as well as the effort by local authorities to stop the spread of the pandemic.

Here is the list of the sites which was appeared inside the MyMaxis, Hotlink RED, and Hotlink Flex app:

The screenshot above pretty much signifies that this complimentary data-free access is applicable to both postpaid and prepaid customers. As shown above, the notice didn’t specifically mention when this data-free access will last although we were informed by Maxis that it is valid for the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, please do your part as well in combating the COVID-19 pandemic by practicing good hygiene and stay home during the on-going Movement Control Order. Be calm, stay safe, and we’ll go through this storm together.

(Thanks for the tips, Kevin!)

The post Maxis Provides Free Data For Customers To Visit Selected Sites Including WHO and Ministry of Health appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Earlier this week, we have already seen Maxis provides free data access to selected websites that carry vital information and update that might be related to COVID-19 pandemic. As it turns out, the telco has added few more offerings for its customers for the on-going Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

For Maxis and Hotlink postpaid customers, they will be able to redeem 3GB of data from Friday, 27 March onwards via MyMaxis or Hotlink Flex app. This one-time free 3GB data add-on has a validity period of 30 days.

Starting from the same date, Maxis postpaid customers can also utilize Skype, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams without any effect on their data quota. This implementation will take place automatically, so there is nothing that customers need to perform or redeem on their end.

As for Hotlink prepaid customers, they will receive free 20GB on top of their HotlinkMU purchases starting this coming Monday, 23 March. This additional 20GB data will be provided to customers automatically and can be used for all Internet activities including streaming as well as downloads on any given time of the day.

Also through HotlinkMU deals, Hotlink prepaid customers are able to receive 30% cashback credits when they purchase digital reloads. To see the full list of offerings that Maxis provides throughout the MCO period, head on to its official website right here.

The post Maxis Announces Free Data Allocations: 3GB For Postpaid Customers, 20GB HotlinkMU Bonus appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

As part of its duty, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) constantly monitors the performance of telecommunications network in Malaysia and would then publish a Network Performance Report (NPR) on annual basis. For 2019, the NPR was published in early March 2020 albeit without much fanfare as per previous year.

For the mobile network segment, Maxis continues to dominate the space which is something that the telco has managed to achieve for the past few years. According to the report, Maxis managed to deliver average download speed of 32.32 Mbps which is 7Mbps higher than the second fastest telco in the report, Digi.

However, on year-to-year comparison, it seems that Maxis is almost 3Mbps slower than its result in 2018. On another hand, other telcos within the Big 4 group which include Celcom, Digi, and U Mobile have gained more speed in 2019:

In terms of latency, every telcos average RTT have increased in 2019. Some are more than others, as you can see from these tables:

Despite the degradation in performance, all mobile telcos in Malaysia are still well within the confines of MCMC’s mandatory standards which stated that theys must be able to provide at least 1Mbps download speed for at least 80% of the time alongside latency rate of under 250ms for at least 70% of the time.

(Main Image: lemoncat1 via Flickr.)

The post MCMC Network Performance Report 2019: Maxis Maintain Its Leadership Status in Mobile Network appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Maxis has recently rolled out a promotion that offers rebates to Maxis Fibre customers if they choose to upgrade their plan. However, the promotion is not being made available to everyone though since it is being offered to selected 30Mbps and 100Mbps customers.

If you are selected, you would then receive an email that looks like this:

While there are plenty of “free upgrade” and “no extra cost” remark mentioned in the promotional e-mail, we recommend you not to press that “Upgrade Me Today” button immediately. This is because it seems that the e-mail seems to be directly linked to your account and by pressing that button means that you directly agree to get the upgrade, without being asked for secondary confirmation.

There are couple of things that you first need to know before pressing that button. We listed them down here in point form, for better visiblity:

• • This so-called free upgrade comes in the form of RM 40 rebate for your next bill if you existing 30Mbps customer which will be upgraded to 100Mbps through this promo.
  • However, this rebate only applicable for one month. So, if you accept the upgrade this month, then your May 2020 bill will remain RM 89, but you would start paying RM 129 from June onwards.
  • If you accept the upgrade via this promo, you must remain with the 100Mbps speed for at least one month, as stated in the promo’s TnC document. You can choose to downgrade back to 30Mbps and cheaper monthly fee only in June.
  • For 100Mbps customers, they will be provided with 300Mbps upgrade and RM 20 monthly rebate for the next two months. This means that in you will continue to pay RM 129 per month in May and June but your bill from July onwards would RM 149 per month.
  • If you want to revert to 100Mbps and RM 129 monthly fee, you can only do so in July.

So, if you were chosen for this highly targeted promotion by Maxis, do consider all the main points above together with the details mentioned in its TnC document before you proceed. Just take some time to understand them and you don’t really have to rush as the promotion will last until 30 April 2020.

(Thanks for the tipis, Josh HD!)

The post Maxis Offers Upgrade Rebate To Selected 30Mbps and 100Mbps Fibre Customers appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Maxis has collaborated with 12 local artists, including Faizal Tahir and Zee Avi, to produce a brand new music video titled Make It Through. Part of its #KitaSapotKita campaign, the company aims to raise funds to support fellow Malaysians by converting views and social shares into donations for those in need.

According to the company, Make It Through was shot in just ten days by the performing artists, and from their own homes nonetheless. The video is also a collaborative production between Maxis and XENO Entertainment in partnership with Astro Berhad.

Malaysians interested to pledge for the #KitaSapotKita campaign may do so by simply viewing the Make It Through music video on Youtube, and sharing it to friends and family. Additionally, the same applies when the song is streamed and shared on Spotify, Apple Music and Joox.

With more views, streams and shares, the higher the earnings generated. Maxis states that all of the song’s royalties and revenues will be contributed Yayasan Kebajikan Negara for COVID-19 related charities. Those interested to keep track of the total amount pledged can check out the official #KitaSapotKita website.

Make It Through is also available as a caller ringtone for those interested. Maxis users can download it by dialing *131*657086#.

Moreover, the company is also encouraging fellow Malaysians to take part by creating their own Make It Through video to support the campaign. Simply draw a heart shape on a piece of paper, and record a video of yourself ‘receiving’ the paper from your right and passing it to your left. Lastly, upload the video on Instagram with the hashtag #KitaSapotKita, and make sure your that your account is set to pubic.

Maxis will select approximately 100 videos from these submissions, and will produce a special  music video montage. The company adds that the submissions will be selected on a first come first serve basis and closes on 1 May 2020.

(Source: Maxis)

The post Maxis Debuts Music Video For Charity; Featuring Local Artists Including Faizal Tahir And Zee Avi appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

It has come to our attention that there are a lot of Maxis Fibre customers out there that are facing trouble accessing Twitter. While the full extent of the issue is not yet known for the time being, it appears that some customers have been experiencing difficulties accessing the popular social media network since late last week.

While this sounds rather ironic, you can view the collection of the complaints when you search for “Maxis Twitter” through Twitter itself:

Some users pointed out that changing to an alternative DNS address would solve their issue. For some, they managed to connect back to Twitter by restarting their router but there were also other users who still not able to access the social media network after trying these methods and was forced to either utilize VPN or connect to mobile providers to get back on Twitter.

Through these tweets, some customers also revealed that they can’t access other websites such as Maybank2u and Shopee through Maxis Fibre too:

@MaxisListens Hello maxis, i cant load my twitter, maybank2u, outlook and a few link website that is important cause it related to my working things when im using maxis fibre. Please check and do something about it. Its been a few days already.

— S (@nymzysn) April 22, 2020

Did @maxis changed their settings lately? Can't access tweetdeck, Shopee and numerous other websites today. When i changed ISP things turned back to normal.

— Effi Saharudin 🇲🇾📱💻 (@1Obefiend) April 22, 2020

We have reached to Maxis regarding this but so far, the company has nothing to update at this moment. However, one of the responses by the telco’s customer service on Twitter did revealed that Maxis is already aware of the issue with Twitter.

[1] Hi, we are aware of the Twitter issue and our team is working diligently to solve the issue as soon as possible.

— Maxis (@MaxisListens) April 22, 2020

With that, we will keep you posted once you hear more from Maxis. So, stay tuned.

The post Maxis Fibre Customers Are Having Trouble Accessing Twitter; Other Sites Might Be Affected Too appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Two days ago, we have reported that Maxis Fibre customers were having difficulties accessing Twitter as well as certain sites and gaming services. Maxis has finally provided us an update regarding the situation which was apparently caused by submarine cable belonged to one of its partners.

Here is the statement that the company has sent to us, reproduced in full:

“We have identified the root cause of the recent fibre issue experienced by some of our customers, which was due to our partner’s submarine cable. We are pleased to inform that the service has since been restored. We apologise for the inconvenience.”

This is a rather interesting revelation since you might have heard about the recent preventive maintenance work on Asia-America Gateway (AAG) network which is run by a consortium that includes TM as one of its members. On another hand, the Maxis Fibre service itself utilizes TM’s infrastructure, so it is rather hard to ignore this connection (heh) here given the circumstances.

However, Maxis stated that it is not able to provide further details regarding the said partner or submarine cable. That being said, the telco did say that Maxis Fibre services have been restored in progressive manner since last night.

A quick check through the same “Maxis Twitter” keyword on Twitter that listed down disgruntled customers two days ago showed that things have pretty much calmed down since this afternoon. With that, looks like things are now generally back to normal for Maxis Fibre customers.

The post Maxis Fibre Recent Disruption Is Caused By Submarine Cable appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

The Huawei P40 and P40 Pro has been made available in Malaysia  with prices starting from RM2799. While getting them on their own is always an option, you could also get one alongside a telco plan at a subsidised price.

As you’d expect, you can get the Huawei P40 series of devices have been made available via our four major telcos. In addition to the varying device prices, all four telcos have similar gifts when you get a device from them. The P40 has a case tied to it, while the P40 Pro will come with a wireless car charger.

Here’s what each telco is offering for the phones, as well as their associated plans:

Maxis

Digi

U Mobile

Celcom

Looking at what the telcos offer, Digi is the only one that makes you pay for the phone in installments. But if that’s something that you prefer, then you can do so with Maxis and Celcom too. After all, these two telcos have their Zerolution and EasyPhone plans, respectively.

You can check out each telco’s respective pages to find out more about what they offer, in addition to just their device and plan prices.

(Source: Maxis, Digi, U Mobile [1], [2], Celcom)

The post Huawei P40 Telco Price Comparison: Maxis, Digi, U Mobile And Celcom appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Maxis has begun to offer the new 2nd gen iPhone SE to consumers, just as the phone made its retail debut in Malaysia. Available specifically with MaxisONE postpaid plans, only the 128GB variant of the phone is available from the telco through.

Nevertheless, those who are interested to get the new phone through Maxis can choose to do so via two of its ownership programs. The first one being Maxis Zerolution which is a 24-month instalment plan that also has zero upfront payment.

The monthly payment for the phone depends on the specific MaxisONE postpaid plan that customers choose. For example, the iPhone SE costs RM 64 per month with the MaxisONE Plan 188 through Zerolution.

However, do note that this is not inclusive of the monthly fee for the MaxisONE Plan itself which would then involve a total monthly commitment of RM 252. On another hand, there is also the normal MaxisONE device plan with a 24-month contract which allows Maxis consumers to purchase the new iPhone SE at a subsidized price.

Let’s take the MaxisONE Plan 188 as an example once again; customers that chose this plan can obtain for the phone for RM 645 although they do need to come out with an upfront fee of RM 1,599 at the point of purchase. This upfront fee will be refunded to customers over a period of 12 months though.

To see the exact iPhone SE pricing for each MaxisONE plan, do check out Maxis’ official website.

The post Maxis Zerolution Offers iPhone SE 2020 From As Low As RM 64 Per Month appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

The Apple iPhone SE has been made available in Malaysia, with a starting price of RM1999. If you’re looking to get the phone while also getting a new telco postpaid plan, then the major local telcos have something for you.

As usual, the four major telcos in Malaysia have something to offer for the iPhone SE. Here’s what each is offering, as well as their associated plans:

Maxis

Maxis is the only one among the four major telcos to limit the iPhone SE plans to the 128GB model. The telco also has its Zerolution installment plan as well, if you choose to not pay a lump sum for the phone.

Digi

One reason to pick Digi’s plans over any other telco is the option to get a bundle with the Apple Watch Series 5.

U Mobile

For U Mobile, eligible existing subscribers will be exempt from an upfront payment. Others will have to fork up RM720 for the Unlimited HERO P99 plan, or RM1056 for the P139. These will be reimbursed over the course of the 24-month contract.

Celcom

Like Maxis, Celcom gives subscribers the option to pay for the phone up front, or to get it via installments via its EasyPhone Own program. You could also get just the iPhone SE without any plan. But prices will be the same as if you picked one up straight from Apple.

For more details on what each telco is offering, you can check out their individual pages for their iPhone SE plans, linked below.

(Source: Maxis, Digi, U Mobile, Celcom)

The post iPhone SE Telco Price Comparison: Maxis, Digi, U Mobile And Celcom appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Back in 2017, Maxis has consolidated its home and mobile wireless broadband plans into a single plan called MaxisONE Go WiFi. Fast forward to 2020, the telco is now preparing to provide unlimited data quota for the plan.

At this moment, the MaxisONE Go WiFi has a maximum data cap of 65GB for RM 138 per month. While the price will remain the same, the data cap will be removed starting from 28 May onwards.

The implementation of the unlimited data quota will take place automatically and customers will receive SMS confirmation once it has taken place for their account. Even though the unlimited data cap will only begin on 28 May, new customers can still sign up for MaxisONE Go WiFi immediately as they will also receive the unlimited data at the same time.

Meanwhile, Maxis is now offering the MaxisONE Go WiFi plan with RM 360 rebate to existing Maxis Postpaid customers. This rebate takes place over 12 months which means eligible customers will receive a discount of RM 30 per month. Additionally, they can also opt for a 4G Home Router for just RM 1.

To learn more details about MaxisONE Go WiFi plan, do check out Maxis official website right here.

(Thanks for the tips, @tcp_asdf!)

The post MaxisONE Go WiFi To Receive Unlimited Data Starting From 28 May appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

A recent document has revealed that 700MHz spectrum bands have been allocated to selected telco companies last month including Altel, Celcom, Digi, Maxis, and TM. The document showed that the move was made under the direction of Saifuddin Abdullah, the current Minister of Communications and Multimedia.

The 700MHz spectrum bands have been considered as one of the 5G pioneer bands by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). On 1 January 2020, MCMC has announced that it will award 2 x 30MHz of 700MHz band as well as 100MHz of 3.5GHz band to a single consortium through a tender process that was scheduled to take place within Q1 2020.

However, MCMC did not provide further updates regarding the 5G spectrum allocation up until the recent discovery of the document [pdf] within MCMC’s website by Malaysian Wireless. According to the document which was signed on 15 May 2020 and labelled as Minister Directive No 4 for 2020, here is how the 700MHz bands were divided to the five selected telcos:

In general, this means Altel and TM were given 2 x 5MHz each while Celcom, Digi, and Maxis received 2 x 10MHz respectively. As far as our knowledge goes, none of these telcos has publicly announced that they have been allocated these bands.

Meanwhile, there is no official documents so far that indicate if Minister Saifuddin has applied similar directive to the other 5G pioneer bands such as 3.5GHz and 26/28GHz. We are now reaching out to MCMC as well as the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia to find out more information regarding this sudden assignment of 700MHz spectrum bands.

The post Minister Allocates 700MHz 5G Spectrum Bands To Altel, Celcom, Digi, Maxis, and TM appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Early details of an upcoming Hotlink prepaid plan have made their way online. Through the plan, customers able to obtain unlimited data and call for RM 35 per month.

Of course, there is some catch to the plan. Despite having unlimited data, the data speed will be capped at 3Mbps although one can choose to obtain the higher-end plan that comes with 6Mbps speed cap and costs RM 45 per month.

Additionally, customers also must purchase a separate hotspot pass if they want to share the connection through tethering. Our tipsters also added that these new Hotlink unlimited plans will likely be launched on 4 June 2020.

In a way, it seems that these upcoming Hotlink unlimited plans will be going head-to-head against U Mobile’s GX30 and GX38 plans given their similarities in terms of data speed. However, U Mobile plans come with hotspot allocations but on another hand, Hotlink has advantages in terms of unlimited calls and stronger network capabilities.

We are now reaching out to Maxis to obtain more details regarding these new unlimited Hotlink prepaid plans. So, stay tuned.

[Thanks for the tips, anonymous.]

The post Hotlink To Launch Unlimited Data and Call Prepaid Plan For RM 35 Per Month appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Maxis has announced that it is upgrading all postpaid plans with up to double the original monthly data quota, at no additional cost. The telco also notes that it is enhancing the flexibility of the Postpaid Share 48 plan by bumping up the allowed shareable data to 30GB, thus discontinuing the 10GB all-day + 10GB personal limit from before.

The postpaid plans that are receiving the upgrade includes Maxis Postpaid 98, 188 and Tablet 28 Plan, which will receive a quota boost at 40GB, 100GB and 30GB respectively. The East Malaysian exclusive plan, Postpaid 68, will also receive a significant quota boost to 30GB. You can refer to the image below for the complete list.

Maxis added that the upgrade process will take place between 4 to 10 June 2020, and customers will be notified via SMS. Those subscribing to the telco for these plans on 4 June onwards will get to immediately enjoy the new benefits as well.

Do take note that the changing of share limit quota or the change of plans are not allowed during the aforementioned period. For more information, please visit the telco’s official website via the link provided below.

(Source: Maxis Official Website)

The post Maxis To Upgrade Data Quota For All Postpaid Plans At No Additional Cost appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

After its existence was discovered earlier this week, Maxis has officially launched the new Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited plan today. Interesting enough, the telco has also unveiled a separate Hotlink Prepaid plan that is targeted to video streaming users.

As per what we have reported before, the Hotlink Unlimited Plan provides unlimited call and data with a starting price of RM 35 per month although the data speed is capped at 3Mbps. Users can choose to increase the speed cap to 6Mbps for RM 45 per month.

Aside from that, there’s also daily and weekly unlimited passes as well although their speed is limited to 3Mbps. To enable a hotspot feature, users need to purchase a separate pass which would also remove the speed cap but these hotspot/uncapped speed daily and weekly passes do come with data quota, as shown on the table above.

Meanwhile, Maxis has also revamped the previous Hotlink SUPERRR pack into the Hotlink Prepaid Video plan which is more traditional as it comes with data quota. The plan does have some advantages though since it has no speed cap and there is also dedicated 10GB quota for selected video streaming services such as YouTube, iflix, Viu, Tonton, and Astro GO.

Hotlink Prepaid Video customers also receive additional video quota for free that is two times the amount of their general data pool. For example, if you choose to subscribe the RM 25 monthly pass which comes with 4GB of general data quota, that means you are eligible for 8GB of additional video quota for free.

So, in general, you have a total of 18GB of video quota at your disposal if you choose the RM 25 monthly pass, as an example. According to Hotlink’s website, the free video data will be utilized first before the 10GB video quota that comes as standard with Hotlink Prepaid Video plan.

Both Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited and Hotlink Prepaid Video packs are now readily available from all Maxis Store, Hotlink dealer, and convenience stores throughout Malaysia. If you need further information, do head on to Hotlink’s official website right here.

The post Hotlink Unlimited Plan Is Now Official; Alongside A Separate Video-Oriented Offering appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Earlier this week, Maxis unveiled the brand-new Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited plan which as per its name offers unlimited usage of data and calls, although there is a speed cap between 3 to 5Mbps depending on the internet passes that a customer chooses.

However, as it turns out, the Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited plan still has data quota. As pointed out by popular local tech Twitter user @XavierNaxa, the data ceiling has been listed inside the FAQ document of the plan at Hotlink’s official website and is being implemented as part of the plan’s Fair Usage Policy (FUP).

With the monthly internet passes which cost between RM 35 to RM 45 a month, customers are subjected to a 50GB ceiling for high-speed Internet while the RM 12 weekly and RM 3 daily passes are provided with a quota of 15GB and 5GB respectively. Once a user reaches these limits, their speed will be reduced to 512kbps.

But oddly enough, another Twitter user, @tariqnzmee pointed out that the data ceiling was not published on Hotlink’s website at launch. It was only added at a later time and this can be verified through Google’s search cache:

Truth to be told, FUP is a standard practice among telcos in Malaysia. However, telcos never voluntarily reveal their exact FUP data cap to the public and we usually only get to see these figures either through leaked documents or responses by the respective telco’s support team.

Hence, in general, there is no such thing as a ‘true’ unlimited plan in the market at this point in time, as all telco’s offerings out there are subjected to some kind of FUP. We urge all telcos to move past vague formalities and be more transparent with their FUP figures in their respective data plans.

The post Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited Plan Actually Comes with Data Quota of 50GB Per Month appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Earlier in the month, three local telcos have announced their own monthly unlimited data prepaid plans. They are Maxis, U Mobile and Celcom, each with their own slight variations for their offerings. But one thing they have in common is that each telco has a plan that you can get for RM35 a month.

Some might not aware of this but Yes 4G also offers unlimited prepaid plans to its customers. In fact, the telco has been offering them since 2018, just like U Mobile.

So, how do they stack up against each other? Here’s a table that puts them all in one place, so that you can compare them more easily:

It’s important to note that all the above unlimited prepaid plans are subjected to their respective Fair Use Policy (FUP).

If you are not familiar with FUP, it’s basically something put in place to prevent heavy users from hogging all the bandwidth. In effect, this means that once you’ve used a certain amount of data, the telcos will reduce your mobile internet speeds further. For gamers, think of this as a soft cap for the amount of data you can use.

Maxis has noted its soft cap in its support page. For Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited monthly passes, the soft cap is at 50GB, after which your mobile internet speeds will be reduced to 512kbps. But considering even the higher initial speed cap of 6Mbps, it’s going to take awhile to go through 50GB anyway.

As for the other telcos, none of them have stated what these soft caps are for their plans.

What about Digi?

Officially, Digi doesn’t have an equivalent unlimited data prepaid plan for the time being. Despite the appearance of Internet Cili Padi unlimited passes on MyDigi app recently, the telco says that this was actually a system glitch.

So when – or if – it actually rolls out, it’s possible that what we get will be a little different from what we see now. But as it is, Digi will seemingly provide 3Mbps unlimited data and unlimited calls for RM35 a month.

All in all, the unlimited data plans sound like a good deal, provided you’re not a heavy user. Hotspot usage is another limitation, as you either have a limited amount of data allocated for it, or have to pay to use it. But ultimately, which one you pick will most likely be decided by which telco has the best coverage for where you are.

The post Comparing The Unlimited Prepaid Plans: Hotlink, U Mobile, Xpax And Yes 4G appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

UPDATE (10 July 9:16 PM): Maxis has stated that these “revamped” Hotlink Postpaid plans are not new. Check out this report for more details.

ORIGINAL STORY (9 July 3:27 PM):

Maxis has revamped its Hotlink Postpaid plans and will be launching them very soon according to the information that we have received from our reader. In addition to that, we have also discovered several images online that supported the information.

According to aizat22 who has posted the image above on Lowyat.NET Forums, he stumbled upon the new Hotlink Postpaid plans above while visiting a Maxis dealer in Johor earlier this week. However, the dealer stated that the plans are so new that they are not even in the Maxis backend system for dealers.

In other words, customers not able to register for them yet. As a comparison, here is how the Hotlink Postpaid plans on Maxis online store looked like at the moment:

In general, the new Hotlink Postpaid 40 replaces the current Hotlink Postpaid 30 With More Data by having a larger data pool for general usages. On another hand, the new Hotlink Postpaid 50 cancels out the existing Hotlink Postpaid 60 with 21GB of general data quota.

For those who still prefer having a dedicated data pool for their YouTube consumption, they can choose to have the new Hotlink Postpaid 60 that provides two times the amount of general data but somehow costs RM 70 per month instead of RM 60.

Another interesting thing to note about these newly revamped Hotlink Postpaid plans is that there is a 30Mbps speed cap on these plans, as stated on the marketing material above. Meanwhile, a quick search on Facebook has also lead us to another Maxis dealer in Johor who has posted similar material on its Facebook page:

We have also personally visited the Maxis Center at The Gardens Mall here in Kuala Lumpur to check if these new Hotlink Postpaid plans are available there, but we were told that there are no new offerings under Hotlink Postpaid at the time being. Additionally, we have also reached out to representatives of Maxis for further clarifications and received a similar answer as well.

Despite that, we expect the telco to announce these plans very soon anyway, given the materials that we have seen so far. So, stay tuned.

(Thanks for the tips, aizat22!)

The post New Hotlink Postpaid Plans Coming Soon: Provides More Data with 30Mbps Speed Cap appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

Yesterday, a photo of a marketing material listing down the pricing and data quota for Hotlink Postpaid plans had made its way online. After comparing it with the information on Hotlink’s website at that time, it appeared that the telco may have revamped its postpaid plans.

In response to our report that was published yesterday, Maxis released a statement saying that the “revamped” Hotlink Postpaid plans are not new:

We would like to clarify that there are currently no plans to revamp our existing Hotlink Postpaid plans. The image in the article refers to an ongoing internet add-on pass (10GB for RM10), which is currently only available in the Hotlink Postpaid app for purchase.

On top of their current postpaid plans, customers can purchase the internet add-on multiple times depending on their needs. The attached screenshot of our passes on the app is for your reference.

Here is the said screenshot:

Based on my interpretation of this statement, here is what the marketing material was supposed to represent:

Hotlink Postpaid 40 = Hotlink Postpaid 30 + RM 10 10GB Special Pass

Hotlink Postpaid 50 = Hotlink Postpaid 30 + (RM 10 10GB Special Pass x 2)

Hotlink Postpaid 60 @ RM 70 = Hotlink Postpaid 60 + RM 10 10GB Special Pass

So, the calculation checked out indeed but nevertheless, there is a part of the Maxis’ statement that I feel has contradicted itself. Specifically, the part where it said that this RM 10 Special Pass is only available through the Hotlink Postpaid app.

If that is really the case, then technically these Hotlink Postpaid 40, Hotlink Postpaid 50, and Hotlink Postpaid 60 @ RM 70 plans would not be available through on-ground dealers.

But here we are, looking at the marketing poster that have now appeared at many dealers throughout the country. In fact, we have discovered new variants of the poster which includes RM 10 discount for the Hotlink Postpaid 60 @ RM 70 plan specifically for customers in Kelantan and Terengganu as well as Sabah and Sarawak.

All in all, while I do accept the explanation from Maxis that the Hotlink Postpaid 40, Hotlink Postpaid 50, and Hotlink Postpaid 60 @ RM 70 are not new plans, I also feel that Maxis should have made this fact visible inside their marketing material by showing the actual composition for each of these three plans.

While it is likely that the move was done in the name of simplicity, I believe the majority of customers out there would prefer to have the facts being laid down to them rather than being masked in new names.

(Main image: aizat22 @ Lowyat.NET Forums.)

The post Maxis: The “Revamped” Hotlink Postpaid Plans Are Not New appeared first on Lowyat.NET.

UPDATE (11:45 PM): Samsung has officially announced the pricing and pre-order program for Galaxy Note20 series in Malaysia. Scroll down for the full information.

ORIGINAL STORY (11:13 PM):

While Samsung has yet to officially announce the pricing for the Galaxy Note20 series in Malaysia, someone managed to find out about it much earlier though. Based on a photo posted in Lowyat.NET Forums, it seems that a local telco may reveal it early.

According to the photo posted by our forumer iSean which depicts the Maxis Zerolution program for the Galaxy Note20 series, the Galaxy Note20 Ultra is priced at RM 5199 while the Galaxy Note20 5G can be obtained for RM 4299. However, the price for the 4G variant of Galaxy Note20 is not included in the photo.

That being said, the photo did mention that pre-order customers for Galaxy Note20 Ultra will receive Galaxy Buds Live. On another hand, the Galaxy Buds+ will be provided to customers to chose Galaxy Note20 5G instead.

Not to forget, the image also stated that pre-order with Galaxy Note20 series will begin from 6 August onwards, at least for Maxis customers. Do stay tuned, as we’ll update this post further once we receive official information from Samsung.

UPDATE (11:45 PM): 

So, the information shown above turns out to be true after all. As a recap, the Galaxy Note20 Ultra is priced at RM 5199 and pre-order customers will indeed receive the equally new Galaxy Buds Live.

As for the standard Galaxy Note20 model, the 5G variant goes for RM 4299 while the 4G model is available for RM 3899. Regardless of the network type, pre-order customers for both variants are entitled to Galaxy Buds+.

Not enough with that, Samsung will also provide a UV Sterilizer with built-in wireless charger as well as another wireless charger to all Galaxy Note20 series pre-order customers regardless of the variant that they choose.

The Galaxy Note20 series pre-order in Malaysia will take place from 10 AM onwards on 6 August and will last until 20 August. If you are eager to secure your unit, you can pre-order any of these Galaxy Note20 devices through Samsung Malaysia’s official website right here.

The post Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra To Cost RM 5199 In Malaysia; Non-Ultra Starts At RM 3899 (UPDATED) appeared first on Lowyat.NET.