We all have our personal preferences as to which Malaysian telco is the best. It could be the one you are currently using or it could be the one with the latest marketing promotion. But the truth is that despite what the telcos want you to believe, there are not many differences among the offerings of Maxis, DiGi and Celcom.
All of them have similar packages, services and even pricings. It’s interesting then to wonder if telcos operate the same way all over the world. The easiest place to compare, and we do this all the time on virtually any subject, is to look at what our neighbours across the Causeway are getting in terms of telco services.
So who is getting the better deal: Malaysians or Singaporeans? MW did a little investigation to find out the truth behind the parades of sweet talks and promises – minus the currency exchange rate. We found a different landscape out there but there are signs that both countries are moving in the same direction.
For this story, we looked at the postpaid and prepaid markets in Malaysia and Singapore as well as the emerging 3G networks. We also checked out the mobile phone offerings in both countries and even took the time to explore the phone habits of the people.
We’re familiar, of course, with our own telcos. Maxis and Celcom are locked in a tight battle for the number one position and DiGi, known for its innovative and nimble spirit, is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Maxis has a 40% market share and Celcom is not far behind at 38%. DiGi is third with 22%. Over in Singapore, the leading telco, SingTel, with 38% market share, is seeing its once dominant position eroding fast due to StarHub which now has 32% of the market. M1, with 30%, has now slipped into the third position.
One key difference between the mobile scene in Malaysia and Singapore is that in the former, about 60% of the population uses mobile phones while in Singapore it’s a whopping 96%.
Postpaid pinnacles All three telcos in Malaysia offer postpaid services. The latest statistics from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) show that around 18.6% of phone users in Malaysia subscribe for postpaid packages. Postpaid plans have been repackaged in recent times by all three local telcos. Currently the packages offer discounts on voice and data calls as well as text and multimedia messages. The trend has been for each telco to offer three different packages, tailored for businessmen, average and low usage subscribers.
The same goes for the Singaporean telcos, but their packages come with a twist. Singaporeans get free phones with their postpaid contracts! All three telcos offer two-year plans that come with free entry-level phones or heavily subsidised high-end phones. No wonder the overwhelming majority of Singaporeans are postpaid users.
M Ridzwan, senior writer for MW Singapore is a postpaid user. He says, “Here in Singapore, we usually go for the two-year plans. At the moment, telcos are offering a Nokia 2650, Nokia 3120 or an LG B2100 with two-year plans. StarHub’s two-year plan gets you a higher-end Samsung SGH-E640.”
Malaysians, unfortunately, don’t usually get these kind of deals with their contracts. Postpaid users here have to be contended with attractive pricing packages. Good luck trying to get free or heavily-subsidized phones.
Is this trend going to change any time soon? Maxis’s Head of Consumer Marketing Ng Keng Ming indicates no. “I don’t think we’re heading that way,” he says. “We have yet to consider giving phones away for free, but we are giving out rebates on selected plans. In other words, we’re helping the customers to save but not through eroding the industry’s well-being.”
So what do we get from our telcos when it comes to postpaid plans? Mostly “no access fee” plans. One such well-received plan from Maxis is the Package 75, which encompasses a refundable upfront deposit of RM100, an attractive 15 sen nationwide call rate (for Maxis-to-Maxis calls) and 5 sen for every SMS sent (also Maxis-to-Maxis only). All this for a minimum monthly fee of RM75.
So what about free minutes and free SMS? Should we be envious of our Singaporean counterparts?
To that, Ng says, “think we’re pretty much there as well, like our Hotlink prepaid plan: there’s an option between Talk Plan and SMS Plan.” This plan allows users to switch between plans that give better rates for SMS or calls depending according to the preference of the user. But there’s one major difference: Those are prepaid plans. What about for postpaid?
Celcom’s postpaid plans are closer to the Singaporean model. Their MINUTES plans provide free minutes and SMS to subscribers. The 250 MINUTES postpaid package, for example, offers 250 minutes and 20 SMS per month for a monthly fee of RM50.
Prepaid Anonymous It’s interesting to note that while the Singaporeans are big on postpaid, Malaysians had been getting the sweeter deal when it comes to prepaid packages and services. Only a small percentage of the mobile phone users in Singapore are using prepaid, mainly students and foreign workers. This is due to the higher cost of registering for a postpaid, especially for foreigners who would also have to produce extra documents.
In Malaysia, the prepaid market has flourished due to the relatively ease of activation – no hassles in registration and no need to show any personal identification documents. Prepaid packages offered here are more affordable – the cheapest pack in Malaysia costs only RM10 while in Singapore the lowest is S$15.
Prepaid packs here are marketed under the Hotlink, Beyond and X-pax brands – from Maxis, DiGi and Celcom respectively. Some even allow high speed network access. Hotlink prepaid is the first prepaid plan in Malaysia to integrate 3G capabilities. Even the telcos in Singapore do not have 3G for their prepaids.
DiGi essentially makes its money from prepaid users. Approximately 85% of DiGi’s customers are prepaid users. It has shown innovativeness in its marketing and is usually the first to come up with novel promotions and services.
For example, its Birthday Bonus adds an extra 50% of the total reloaded amount three days before and after the user’s registered birthday. Recently DiGi launched the MTV Powerpack prepaid promotion which allows users to send unlimited free SMS to six Friends & Family numbers, and unlimited downloads of MTV content, all for a mere RM5 a month.
The prepaid packs in Malaysia however are a little more expensive in terms of call and SMS rates when compared to the prepaid packs offered by SingTel, StarHub and M1. Take StarHub’s Green prepaid pack – it costs eight dollars* more than the cheapest prepaid pack available in Malaysia, but calls are cheaper by 14 cents*. Maxis charges its prepaid calls on a 12-second block rate whereas StarHub deducts credit by one-minute blocks.
(*We do not take into account currency conversion).
High-speed data networks It’s interesting to note that while the Singaporeans are big on postpaid, Malaysians had been getting the sweeter deal when it comes to prepaid packages and services. Only a small percentage of the mobile phone users in Singapore are using prepaid, mainly students and foreign workers. This is due to the higher cost of registering for a postpaid, especially for foreigners who would also have to produce extra documents.
This year has been an exciting year for consumers as all three telcos now have the ability to offer high-speed networks. DiGi was first with the launch of their EDGE network last year, but Celcom and Maxis have seized the initiative with the debut of their faster 3G networks earlier this year.
SingTel, StarHub and M1 have been providing 3G to their customers since the start of the year, which placed them a little ahead of the Malaysian telcos. The comparison between both sides with regards to the high-speed network reveals that there are not many differences in the services, pricing and content offerings.
Currently, the only telco in either country that provides EDGE as a package is DiGi. Since its launch over a year ago, DiGi proudly claims that EDGE is currently the only high-speed mobile network with a wide coverage across the country.
Maxis and Celcom recently launched their 3G services but 3G is still considered to be at its infancy in here. Both telcos have launched introductory packages and some content offerings including mobile TV and entertainment clips downloads. The number of adopters is still low.
Over in Singapore, the picture is very much the same. The offerings are about the same. However their high speed data access packages are substantially more expensive than their Malaysian counterparts. One major dfference: Singapore has nation-wide coverage. We are nowhere near there.
Phone picks We have a huge number of phones to choose from, unlike Singapore, which generally has fewer brands on offer. Our Singaporean neighbours are missing out on brands like Pantech, I-Mobile and Geo. However, they win on another point. They tend to get new mobile phones earlier than us, mostly because the famous brands have headquarters located in the Lion City. The Sony Ericsson W800 is a good example. Singaporeans were flashing this phone around while we were still waiting for the official launch to happen here.
Phone habits In Malaysia, the caller has to pay the whole cost of the call but in Singapore, for a long time, the cost is split between caller and receiver until late 2003. These days, most Singapore packages do come with free incoming calls but many Singaporeans still do not pick up calls if they do not know who the caller is, a habit dating back from the days they had to bear part of the cost of the call.
Over in Malaysia, people don’t hesitate to pick up calls but pause when it comes to making outstation calls. Outstation calls are charged by the distance and tended to be expensive. In tiny Singapore, there is no such thing as outstation calls. That’s changing here too, though. Celcom and DiGi have launched “One Country” plans.
Who’s on top? It’s hard to say whether Malaysians or Singaporeans have the upper hand. Singapore wins hands down with regards to postpaid and the free phones that come with them. Over in Malaysia, prepaid is the prevalent choice so naturally, our prepaid plans are better than theirs.
Aaron Gray, CK Ng & M Ridzwan 
