KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Telekom Malaysia (TM) recorded a 15 per cent increase in overall Internet traffic usage since the inception of second movement control order (MCO) beginning January 13, 2021 compared to the first MCO in March last year.

TM said the enforcement of MCO 2.0 has made most Malaysians rely heavily on Internet connectivity for online communication to stay connected and productive while working and learning at home, which naturally led to an inevitable surge of data consumption.

"We have the capacity and diverse network connectivity nationwide and worldwide to support immediate and large spike in demand for Internet bandwidth, as a result of our continuous network optimisation effort.

"Our existing partnerships with world’s technology giants and social networks in locally hosting Internet content in Malaysia has also resulted in better customer experience while accessing applications and content,” it told Bernama via email, here.

TM said the industry has come together to support the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) initiative by offering a special mobile data package for candidates of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysian (STPM).

"This package has also been extended to students of institutions of higher learning under 22 years of age, under the Malaysian Economic and Rakyat’s Protection (PERMAI) assistance package.

"The special package offers a 15GB LTE data pass at the price of RM20 only and is available until April 30, 2021. All telcos have also extended the free additional 1GB Internet data daily, valid for 24 hours per day for the same period,” it said.

According to TM, the industry is also collaborating with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to provide free broadband services at selected People’s Housing Programme (PPR) for 2021 SPM and STPM candidates.

"There are 130 PPRs involved in this project nationwide, of them, 59 will be managed by TM,” it added.

Meanwhile, TM is now providing greater flexibility via its converged offering of ‘unifi Your World’ plans, which is tailored to meet customers’ Internet, mobile, and TV content needs.

Through this customised offer, customers can select home broadband options and combine it with unlimited 4G LTE mobile data plans, entertainment packs from unifi TV, and devices such as unifi Plus Box or Mesh Wi-Fi. — Bernama