Yes launches commercial 5G via DNB at insanely low prices

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Image by szefei | Bigstockphoto

CommsUpdate: Malaysian mobile network operator Yes has announced its full commercial 5G launch, with a host of heavily discounted data plans that it claims are up to 300% cheaper than existing 4G plans.

Yes – which soft-launched 5G connectivity in December 2021 using the single wholesale network being rolled out and managed by Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) – unveiled a new range of four 5G tariffs, each of which offers unlimited calls and data with no fair usage cap.

Plans are differentiated by the amount of hotspot data they include. In terms of the entry-level tariff – ‘Infinite Basic’ – this costs MYR58 ($13) per month and provides a 10GB monthly hotspot data allowance, while at the other end of the scale the top-end ‘Infinite Ultra’ plan is priced at MYR178 per month and increases the hotspot data cap to 100GB.

The pricing work out to average data charges of 30 sen (around $0.07) per GB.

Consumers who sign up for an ‘Infinite+’ 36-month contract can get a free 5G smartphone.

Local press outlet The Edge Markets cited Yes CEO Wing K Lee as saying that the take-up rate for his company’s 5G plans in the soft-launch phase was “in the six digits”.

“The idea of the soft launch was to fine tune the network – we weren’t ready to sell then but to allow our early adopters to give feedback and help us optimise the network,” Lee said. “From February onwards, it was quite smooth sailing and that is why we are confident to launch in May after our network performance has exceeded all the key performance indicators that we set.”

Yes is the first and so far only Malaysian operator to launch a ful commercial 5G offering using the government’s DNB wholesale 5G network. Rival operators Celcom Axiata, DiGi Telecommunications, Maxis and U Mobile have been at loggerheads with the government over DNB’s access model, pricing and ownership rules.

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