YTL Communications recently launched its latest data plans under YES Kasi Up, which includes new postpaid and prepaid mobile plans.
The goal of these plans is to make high speed mobile internet affordable to all Malaysians. The plans are accompanied by two generous promotions that complement the benefits of the Kasi Up plans, and promise to provide extra value for customers.
So how does it offer the most value for money?
Let’s compare YES Kasi Up postpaid and prepaid plans with the flagship plans from other mobile service providers in Malaysia.
What does Kasi Up Postpaid 49 offer compared to the competition?
| YES Kasi Up Postpaid 49 | U Mobile Giler Unlimited GX68 | Maxis 188 | Celcom Mega Unlimited | Digi Postpaid 150 Infinite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | RM49/month | RM68/month | RM188/month | RM168/month | RM150/month |
| Data quota | 100GB* | Unlimited** | 100GB | Unlimited** | Unlimited** |
| Free calls | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Hotspot | Yes | 5GB | Yes | 30GB | Yes |
| Total cost for 24-month contract | RM882 (18 months only; first 6 months of Kasi Up are free) | RM1,632 | RM4,512 | RM4,032 | RM3,600 |
*Expandable with YES Databack promotion.
**Subject to Fair Use Policy.
As far as prices go, YES Kasi Up is the clear winner. It offers the most affordable solution at only RM49 per month, not to mention a special promotion that means you don’t have to pay anything for the first six months of a two-year contract. This means a savings of RM300 on a 24-month plan!
When it comes to overall savings, there is no beating the value offered by YES Kasi Up.
However, you may have noticed in the comparison table that YES Kasi Up does not come with unlimited data each month. Despite offering unlimited data quotas, all telcos has a fair use policy (FUP) that applies to unlimited plans.
This is usually included in the terms and conditions of each plan that require you to manage the amount of data you use. Using too much each month may see your download speeds throttled to between 128kbps and 256kbps depending on the provider.
However, most subscribers are unlikely to reach that amount of maximum usage that will affect the speed.
How does Kasi Up Prepaid Unlimited compare with other prepaid plans?
| Prepaid with 30-day validity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YES Kasi Up Prepaid Unlimited | U Mobile Giler Unlimited GX38 | Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited (6Mbps) | Celcom Xpax | Digi Prepaid NEXT 35 | |
| Price | RM30/month | RM35/month | RM45/month | RM35/month | RM35/month |
| Data quota | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30GB |
| Internet speed cap | 7Mbps | 6Mbps | 6Mbps | 3Mbps | None |
| Calls | RM0.09/min | Unlimited calls | Unlimited calls | Unlimited calls | Unlimited calls |
| SMS | RM0.09 | RM0.03/SMS to U Mobile network RM0.05/SMS to other networks | RM0.15 | RM0.15 | RM0.10 |
| Hotspot | 9GB | 6GB data | +RM5 for unlimited hotspot | 3GB | Information not available |
Similarly, the YES Kasi Up prepaid plan offers the most affordable data plan at the lowest price for those on a tight budget.
As shown in the comparison, this plan comes with some caps on download speed but is unlikely to affect regular users who may not need maximum download speeds for their daily use.
If you are more comfortable using a prepaid subscription, then YES Kasi Up offers the most value for money. It has the highest capped download speed at 7Mbps at the lowest price. While its phone and SMS charges are not unlimited, these services are often not the main priority for mobile plan users these days.
YES Kasi Up also offers the most affordable prices for add-on data. Coming in at RM1 per 1GB purchased.
| Yes Kasi Up data add-on prices | |
|---|---|
It should be noted that while three of the five featured telcos offer unlimited data, the speeds provided fall below the minimum requirement to properly stream video. Netflix recommends a 3Mbps connection to stream in standard definition (480p), and a minimum of 5Mbps for high definition video. YouTube comes with a similar set of requirements.
How can you save and earn more with YES data plans?
Besides offering the lowest prices for mobile data, YES Kasi Up plans come with TWO programmes that allow you to save, earn and share cash.
1. YES Kasi Up Earn & Refer
To sweeten the deal for both it’s postpaid and prepaid plans: a referral bonus through the Kasi Up Refer & Earn Programme that puts cash directly into your account.
The Kasi Up referral programme gives you up to RM50 per person that signs up for a YES postpaid or prepaid account using your referral code. How much you earn depends on which YES Kasi Up line the subscribers you refer use.
Here’s how much you can earn just by referring other subscribers. Note that the Kasi Up Refer & Earn programme provides benefits at different times depending on which plan the referee chooses.
| Plan | Upon activation | Month 2 | Month 3 | Month 4 | Month 5 | Month 6 | Month 7 | Month 8 | Month 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kasi Up Postpaid 49 (without contract) | RM20 | RM10 | RM10 | RM10 | - | - | - | - | - | RM50 |
| Kasi Up Postpaid 49 (with contract) | RM20 | - | - | - | - | - | RM10 | RM10 | RM10 | RM50 |
| Kasi Up Postpaid 30 Phone Bundle (with contract) | RM15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | RM15 |
| Kasi Up Prepaid 15 | RM5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | RM5 |
Source: YES
What’s more, the person using your referral code also earns the same amount. This means that both of you end up saving up to a whole month’s worth of phone bills.
If you add it all up, it could end up being quite a lot considering that YES Kasi Up Postpaid 49 already gives you the first six months of your two-year contract for free. That amounts to savings of up to RM344 each across your first year with YES. In other words, that means seven months of free data.
First six months free (worth RM294) + YES Refer & Earn (worth RM50) = Total savings worth RM344
2. YES Databack
If the 100GB per month offered by YES Kasi Up postpaid plans aren’t enough, you can increase the amount by doing what you do best: go shopping.
YES Databack offers the unique benefit of being able to earn an additional 5GB of data for every RM50 spent on Shopee, with a maximum of 100GB of extra data earned.
Considering the amount of online shopping that already goes on these days, it isn’t too difficult to see how this side benefit adds a lot of value to any YES Kasi Up plan. In fact, YTL intends to expand this databack promotion to more partners in the future, which will increase your opportunities to earn additional data.
No 3G stress with YES 4G network
YES is the only 100% 4G network in the country. The advantages this offer against the competition is because of what is about to happen under the JENDELA initiative.
Under this initiative, the government aims to shut down Malaysia’s 3G network by December 2021. It is unclear as to how the other telcos will handle the change, and whether this will affect coverage or network stability. However, this uncertainty does not apply to YES as it has been operating only on the 4G network since 2010.
In other words, there will be no change in your service from YES 4G even after the networks are updated to achieve the country’s future goals.
Who is the winner?
Based on the comparison above, the new contender, YES Kasi Up, does give the other mobile operators a run for their money. It lives up to the claim of being the best value for money mobile data plan available in Malaysia right now. The postpaid plan offers the lowest rates with a generous six months of free subscription and comes with a unique and attractive referral programme.
The prepaid plan also offers the lowest rates for unlimited data, while also offering the highest download speeds among those with speed caps. Ultimately, it’s all about bringing down the cost of data for all Malaysians while making it possible to save and earn more.
