ASTRO 6399 ASTRO MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BERHADo makes fibre broadband service available on standalone basis
KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd is now a full internet service provider (ISP) as it has made its fibre broadband service Astro Fibre available on a standalone basis.
In a statement on Thursday (May 5), Astro claimed that Astro Fibre plans offer the most affordable high-speed broadband currently in the market, with four different speed tiers available.
“The 50 Mbps plan is priced at RM99 per month and 100 Mbps at RM129 per month with one free Mesh WiFi unit for 24 months for speeds 100 Mbps and above, whereas 500 Mbps and 800 Mbps are priced at RM189 and RM249 per month respectively, the most affordable in the market,” it said.
In comparison, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) — whose high-speed broadband (HSBB) network is being leveraged by Astro for its Astro Fibre service — provides its Unifi fibre broadband service at RM89 per month for its 30 Mbps plan and RM129 per month for 100 Mbps.
Initially, when Astro Fibre was first launched in March, the fibre broadband service was not available standalone and was only available as part of the group’s existing Astro TV bundles or as an add-on.
Astro’s fibre broadband service stemmed from the collaboration it entered into with TM last year to support the government’s National Digital Network (JENDELA) plan and to deliver a high-quality digital experience to all Malaysians through the provision of reliable broadband and content services.
Through the collaboration, TM, via its global and wholesale business arm TM Wholesale, provided Astro with a full suite of infrastructure and connectivity solutions — comprising the whole range of wholesale services, inclusive of HSBB, bandwidth, backhaul and internet access.
Astro to target “greenfield” of broadband market, says CGS-CIMB
CGS-CIMB Research analyst Kamarul Anwar is of the view that there is a “greenfield” or unoccupied share of the broadband market that the Astro can tap.
He said that Astro is looking to capitalise on the government’s JENDELA plan to accelerate internet access to all Malaysians by 2025, whereby the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) targets to have fixed-line broadband coverage of nine million premises versus the 4.95 million as at end-2020.
“Essentially, there is a greenfield market that Astro can tap on, so they do not necessarily have to get existing broadband users.
“In (CGS-CIMB Research’s view), Astro is looking to grab a market share in the high-speed broadband market, which explains why it is playing with its pricing [of its services]. But when it comes down to how realistic it is for Astro to succeed in the broadband market, only time will tell,” he said on Thursday when contacted by theedgemarkets.com.
Kamarul said while Astro has an advantage on the content side, the reality is that there are Malaysians — especially those within the younger demographics — that will always choose piracy over licensed content services. Shrinking disposable incomes is the major culprit as to why a large chunk prefer piracy, he added.
For this segment of Malaysians, the broadband-pay-TV bundle may still seem unattractive when standalone broadband packages are being offered at a cheaper price point and with rampant piracy in the market.
Kamarul opined that Astro’s move to make Astro Fibre available on a standalone basis opens up its net of potential subscribers to include those who are disinterested in their pay-TV services but would opt for their fibre broadband services.
“Astro has been battling piracy for decades, and it knows how far-reaching piracy’s influence is among Malaysians. So, it is opening this broadband proposition to customers who do not want its content services.
“Astro is cognisant enough that the market is already riddled with piracy and it cannot win them all; not everyone will want to subscribe to Astro’s pay-TV services. So, the best they can do is to widen their range of offerings and include the people who are very obstinate in their views on piracy,” he added.
Astro stock is well-liked by analysts as Bloomberg data shows that 10 have a “buy/add/overweight” call on it, while four have a “hold/neutral” call, with target prices (TP) ranging from RM1.03 to RM1.43.
Astro’s share price closed one sen or 1% lower to 99 sen on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM5.16 billion.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/astro-makes-fibre-broadband-service-available-standalone-basis
Singapore Investment
-
-
-
-
-
Portfolio Update4 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Dubai vs. Singapore: Which City is Better?18 hours ago
-
-
Bitcoin Halving: Buy Now, Sell Later?18 hours ago
-
-
-
Today’s Deal of the day – Dobin App19 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beware Of Scams1 day ago
-
-
-
-
Buying a home for face2 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Finance Investment Movement 444 days ago
-
-
-
-
Going REITs Shopping Again5 days ago
-
-
Weekly Markets Outlook6 days ago
-
Market indeed coming down6 days ago
-
Cory Diary : Dividend Q1 '246 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Banks and Miles Report – Mar 20241 week ago
-
-
Revisiting Bitcoin1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
2024 (Portfolio Update)2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
Retirement Journey Update for March 20242 weeks ago
-
-
-
1Q 2024 Investment Strategy Update2 weeks ago
-
-
Portfolio Summary for March 20242 weeks ago
-
Reasonable Dividend Yield 2024Q22 weeks ago
-
-
-
Portfolio (March 30, 2024)3 weeks ago
-
-
-
QAF #77 - 2023 Annual Report3 weeks ago
-
Lentor Hills Residences3 weeks ago
-
Burnt out!3 weeks ago
-
-
-
Feb 2024 Expenditure3 weeks ago
-
-
Starting Our Second Property Cycle4 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Feb 2024 Portfolio1 month ago
-
-
Summary of February 20241 month ago
-
The Market Is A Scam!1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Options Trading Journal Jan 20242 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
End of 2023 Review3 months ago
-
-
Year 2023 DIYQuant Portfolio Performance Report3 months ago
-
Monthly Summary of November 20234 months ago
-
3 Simple Poker Strategies for Beginners4 months ago
-
Migration of website4 months ago
-
-
Abandon REITS?4 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
August 2023 Portfolio Updates7 months ago
-
-
-
-
Hello SP Group, I'm Back!9 months ago
-
-
-
-
A New Light11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Demoralized1 year ago
-
2022 Thoughts, Hello 2023!1 year ago
-
Series of Defaults for Maple Finance1 year ago
-
Takeaways from “Sea Change”1 year ago
-
-
Greed is Coming Back1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What is Overemployment1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Home
ASTRO
ASTRO 6399 ASTRO MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BERHADo makes fibre broadband service available on standalone basis