This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on August 21, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Bhd will continue investing in accessing available fibre networks in Malaysia, building its own, and securing access to higher speeds in coming months, said its chief executive officer Robert Nason.

“We believe broadband has a great future and we see a significant growth potential in this market. We welcome the government’s initiative to enable the industry to offer more choices at competitive prices to consumers and businesses,” Nason said in a statement announcing the launch of Maxis’ “Always On” affordable high-speed fibre broadband plans for consumers and businesses yesterday.

The fibre plans are available in speeds of up to 100Mbps, at prices 36% to 65% lower than previous similar plans.

Maxis consumers can get the 100Mbps plan at RM129 per month, and 30Mbps at RM89 per month. Unlimited Internet access, a dual-band WiFi router to maximise speed, and end-to-end installation and assurance support by Maxperts are provided under the new home fibre plans. “The 100Mbps plan comes with unlimited voice calls and a free DECT phone, whereas customers who take up the 30Mbps plan can choose to add this feature,” said Maxis.

Business customers, on the other hand, can take up the 100Mbps plan for RM139 per month, and 30Mbps for RM99 per month. The new business fibre plan also offers multiple business-grade benefits like the “Always On” connectivity, Maxperts support, and a future-proof business-grade router that will enable additional speed upgrades as they become available. “The 100Mbps package is a complete offering for any business that includes the above in addition to unlimited calls to all networks,” Maxis said.

The group’s consumer business head Dushyan Vaithiyanathan said with the group’s “unrestricted, no conditions, highly affordable plans”, Maxis has essentially opened up a new era of accessible fibre broadband for even more Malaysian homes. “The future is about converged offerings, and we have the ability to offer both fixed and mobile to provide a total connectivity solution to our broadband customers,” he added.

The group’s enterprise head Paul McManus, meanwhile, observed that in a digital world, connectivity is the lifeblood of any business, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and micro SMEs which operate in an extremely competitive space.

“This means they need the peace of mind of ‘Always On’ and a reliable connection 24/7. With the increasing reliance on web usage and cloud services, our fibre connectivity offers the best tool to businesses so that they can operate, expand and grow with complete confidence,” said McManus.

Maxis shares closed unchanged at RM5.75 yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM44.95 billion.