PETALING JAYA: There is disbelief among consumers about the announcement made by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil that telcos are no longer charging extra for 5G. On X (formerly Twitter), several consumers have claimed that they are still being required to pay additional fees to access 5G. One user shared a screenshot showing an extra charge of RM10 per month for a 5G booster, while another user stated that it would cost an additional RM3 to access 5G.
In response to some consumers, Fahmi has asked them to check with their respective telcos and he tagged the companies in his replies. Based on checks by LifestyleTech, 5G offerings by telcos may vary depending on the user’s current plan.
Maxis is providing a 5G Access Pass at no additional cost for eligible subscribers, allowing them to experience 5G with their existing rate plan quota. The company has also introduced new postpaid plans with free additional 5G-only data, starting from RM79 monthly for 80GB (4G/5G data) and 80GB (5G-only).
On the other hand, Celcom offers the 5G booster for free to Mega 80, 98, 128, 158 and 188 customers, while customers on lower-priced plans such as Xpax Postpaid 40 and 60 are required to pay an additional RM20 and RM10 respectively. In addition, Celcom prepaid customers on the RM25 to RM40 monthly plan can purchase 5G boosters priced from RM3 to RM12, and the Xpax Prepaid 5G with 75GB data is available for RM48.
Digi customers on Postpaid 40 can get a 5G booster for an additional RM20 monthly with 30GB data, while Postpaid 60 subscribers can purchase the 5G booster for RM10 monthly which comes with 60GB data. For Digi prepaid customers, access to 5G is available through a 5G booster pass which starts at RM3 with one-day validity and comes with a 100Mbps speed cap.
Yoodo consumers need to purchase a high-speed data plan starting from RM12 for 2GB data to experience 5G. However, it appears that 5G is not available for users on the unlimited data plan which starts at RM35 per month.
Fahmi made the announcement during a press conference on Jan 9, adding that mobile network operators have promised their commitment over the matter. He also said that the government will be monitoring the issue.
