5G access fees will no longer be imposed on customers by telcos, says Comms Minister Fahmi Fadzil. The minister has confirmed this through an announcement on social media.
However, the announcement was extremely brief and lacked any in-depth details. For one, the minister didn't clarify whether the new directive is effective immediately or will only be implemented later.
Dulu masa 3G naik taraf ke 4G, tiada caj tambahan. Bila 4G naik taraf ke 5G, tak sepatutnya ada caj tambahan.
— Fahmi Fadzil (@fahmi_fadzil) January 9, 2024
Hari ini, saya umumkan, TIADA LAGI CAJ TAMBAHAN untuk perkhidmatan 5G.
Dengan pengumuman ini, saya ingin mengajak semua untuk naik taraf perkhidmatan telekomunikasi… pic.twitter.com/zaJBUZsbt5
Truth be told, the move has already been in the works for a while since the minister has previously pointed out that customers should not have to pay extra fees to utilise 5G. This is because the rollout of the 5G infrastructure was funded by public money, although this particular part of the statement could be up for debate.
Telcos have already moved away from 5G access fees anyway
While it is indeed a positive development, the announcement came at a time when most telcos have already distanced themselves from the controversial 5G access fees. They have since rolled out 5G plans that do not impose additional 5G access fees on customers and provide much more data for less.
For certain offerings such as lower-tier postpaid plans and prepaid plans, customers would receive access to 5G when they purchase extra data add-ons. However, do note that certain data add-ons or Internet passes may have speed caps even though your phone is connected to the 5G network.
Hence, do make sure to check the fine print of your telco plans, Internet passes, and data add-ons for further details about their 5G allocations.
