KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has announced Pakej Rahmah Prabayar Siswa which aims to provide affordable connectivity for students entering public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) and public skills training institutes (ILKA). The new package for students may look like a rehash of Pakej Perpaduan but there are a couple of differences.

According to the minister, Pakej Rahmah Prabayar Siswa will offer a minimum of 30GB of data with 180 days (six months) validity and the plans will not cost more than RM30. This means telcos may offer more data with 180-day validity for less than RM30.

The prepaid plan will be available starting August 16 2024 through CelcomDigi, Maxis, U Mobile, TM (Unifi Mobile) and Yes 5G.

Under the current administration, the government has jointly announced special packages with telcos to cater to different segments. This includes Pakej Perpaduan which offers 30GB of data for RM30, Pakej 5G Rahmah which offers 60GB of data for RM60 with a RM120 phone bundle and Pakej pHailing Rahmah which offers plans starting from RM33/month.

Looking at the current prepaid plans, several telcos are already offering generous amounts of high-speed data for less than RM30/month. For example, Yes 5G recently introduced its Yes Prepaid FT5G 20 which provides 50GB of data for only RM20/month. Meanwhile, Hotlink Prepaid Pantas 5G offers 20GB high-speed 4G+5G data + 20GB Bonus 5G data for RM25/month. — SoyaCincau