Celcom vs DiGi vs Maxis (Hotlink) Prepaid Broadband Comparison

Most people are wondering which is the best prepaid broadband.  As fans of each brand try to gain ground over the other, here's what I have collected on all 3 prepaid broadband services.  Yes, I did bother to try out all 3 because I wanted the best for my own use.



CELCOM Prepaid Broadband

There is no such thing which says being first would make you the best, and Celcom is testament to this.  Being the first telco to offer the prepaid broadband package, users are able to get on the internet with the speed of 384kbps.  Celcom Prepaid broadband is only limited to surfing the net, and voice calls/sms/mms services are unavailable. Grace period with credit still intact is 100 days.
The Pros: Unlimited usage with two choices of plans Daily Unlimited at RM6 (24 hours) or Weekly Unlimited at RM20 (7 days). Widest coverage.
The Cons: At 384kbps, the service seems a little bit pricey and speed has been reported to be unstable.  The fact that you need to slot in the sim card into a mobile phone and select which plan you would want to use is also annoying, especially if you do not like to open up your mobile phone.



MAXIS Prepaid Broadband via Hotlink

Maxis offers prepaid broadband via its prepaid branch, Hotlink.  The beauty of this move is that you can use your Hotlink sim card for both surfing the net, and also making calls.  While Hotlink does have it's pay per use Hotlink data plan, users can always opt to use their 7.2Mbps broadband by pre-purchasing the offered packages.  Since the package is bundled, you can use the sim card to make out going calls, sms, mms and using your phone as a modem.  Grace period with credit still intact depends on your Hotlink plan.
The Pros: High speed internet running at 7.2Mbps.  Shared balance which means you can top up your Hotlink number and use the balance also for broadband.  Stable speed.  Two choices of plans Daily Unlimited at RM8 (24 hours) or Weekly Unlimited at RM25 (7 days). Although it does require activation to select a plan, but due to its nature of sharing the broadband service and call service, users using their mobile phones as modem will benefit greatly.
The Cons: More expensive than the rest in the market. Coverage is average and limited to major areas in Sabah and Sarawak.  New users however need to be careful as sometimes confusion will cause users to use the mobile internet instead of the broadband plan, hence draining their credit faster. Download caps are in place, and exceeding the limit of the cap requires additional funds.



DiGi Prepaid Internet

The latest and the youngest wireless broadband in town.  Offering almost double what other telco's are offering, DiGi stands with their reputation of being the cheapest and most value for money service.  In additional to that, DiGi is offering users the Turbo 3G which is said to be a lot faster than the ordinary 3G offered by other Telcos. Grace period before termination is 90 days.
The Pros: Cheapest prepaid broadband, offering RM2 per day only at the speed of 384kbps.  Stable speed in areas covered. Easy set-up and usage.
The Cons: No choice of plans and the minimum top-up is RM10, with RM2 being deducted daily regardless of usage.  There is a download cap.  Very limited coverage.  Reload can't be made via Flexi e-load and automatic reload.



MY VERDICT:

I'm using Maxis (Hotlink), so that explains a lot without saying much.  But anyway, for what's it worth I found that Maxis despite being more expensive provides better service and coverage hence making it more reliable.  The ability to accumulate your credit balance and use it not only for broadband also encourages me to go for Maxis.  DiGi's prepaid plan does look tempting, but if you are only getting the wireless prepaid broadband as a second/back up, you won't be happy to know that your money/credit will still be deducted despite not using the services