Disclosure: This article is sponsored by U Mobile.
It’s something many Malaysians know for some time now: data quotas for prepaid and postpaid plans are not catching up to our needs. The country’s mobile penetration rate has peaked at over 100% for a few years now, and more Malaysians are getting connected with their first smartphones.
It doesn’t help either that Malaysia’s internet speeds are also slowly increasing: from an average of 5.2Mbps in Q4 2015, the country’s average internet speed rose to 8.2Mbps in 2016, spurred largely by better mobile networks. As a result, Malaysians are constantly doing more online.
Data Hunger is Real
Whether it is to spend time on social media or using instant messaging apps to catch up with our friends, to playing online games both on mobile and desktop, we are using more data every day. That’s before we consider watching videos on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, or the fact that we’re spending more time and money shopping online.
And, with curated news apps digital assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, everything is just a voice command away – as long as you’re connected to the internet. Not only that, our phones are also backing up photos and syncing data in the background.
As mobile network connections get faster, Malaysians end up consuming more and more data every day.
Gradual Reaction
Thankfully, our local telcos have slowly warmed up to this fact. Over the past 12 months, every telco has bumped data quotas to meet consumer needs. But even then, these bumps are either not high enough, or come with plenty of terms and conditions.
Some telcos will offer additional mobile data, but only usable during weekends or at a certain off-peak time. Others force users to pay a certain amount to “combine” these data allowances.
But what worries users the most is how much data they actually need when there is a data quota inserted into their postpaid or prepaid plan. Most users will not know how much data a YouTube video consumes, and may choose not to watch it to preserve their data quota; remember, most telcos charge a hefty price to “top up” high speed data when you’ve used up the allocated quota.
What this means is that these plans are hampering Malaysians from doing more with their smartphones (even if it is just to be on Facebook). Some telcos have begun offering better plans, but now U Mobile may just have tipped the scales back in its favour with the new U Mobile Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan.
Data Liberation
In many ways, U Mobile addresses the many pain points of data-hungry Malaysians: unlimited high speed data, unlimited voice calls to all networks, and free data for tethering and for roaming.
At just RM78, the U Mobile Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan is the cheapest unlimited data plan available in Malaysia. Subscribers get unlimited voice calls as well as unlimited data. Plus, all subscribers will also be able to share that data using their smartphone as a mobile hotspot – users can share up to 10GB of data a month to other devices.
In addition to the unlimited voice and data, the Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan also includes the new Roam-Onz™ feature which offers 5GB of free data roaming in 12 destinations.
In comparison, the U Mobile Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan hits hard in the RM70-RM80 monthly commitment range. There are more expensive plans that offer less than this plan, as U Mobile plays to its strengths of providing the most affordable plans in the market.
No More “Playing Safe”
More importantly, this plan frees users from “playing safe” with their data quota. Subscribers no longer have to worry about how much data they have left, and restrict their usage accordingly. With the U Mobile Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan, you no longer have to fear about running out of data.
What’s more, U Mobile’s more affordable HERO Postpaid P38 and P48 plans also offer some degree of data liberation at lower price points. With generous amounts of data of 4GB or 5GB, both plans also offer unlimited Music-Onz™ and App-Onz™, as well as 5GB of Video-Onz™ for the P48 plan.
Find out more about the new U Mobile Unlimited HERO Postpaid P78 plan here.
