Travelling abroad involves making a lot of arrangements like applying for a visa, travel insurance, packing etc. In all these activities, one does not concentrate on a small yet important task which is arranging for a prepaid SIM card of the country being visited.
Buying a prepaid SIM card after landing in a foreign country can be a hassle, if you are rushing to attend a meeting or going for an important work.
Therefore, in this blog, we pick Malaysia as the visiting country and tell you where to buy a prepaid SIM in Malaysia-beautiful Southeast Asian country.
There are basically 4 GSM based service providers in Malaysia which offer telecom services. These include Celcom, Maxis, DiGi and U Mobile.
Each service provider offers a variety of plans for the user to choose from. The suitable offers from these providers are:
Celcom’s New Magic SIM pack– It can be availed at RM 6 with a validity of 5 days and at a call rate of 24 sen/minute with free high speed internet.
Digi Prepaid Live pack– It is offered for RM 12 with 300 MB internet, calls at 30 sen/minute and validity of 7 days.
Maxis’ Hotlink Fast Active 10– It can be purchased for RM 10, 300 MB (validity 2 days), call rate 12 sen/30 sec and a validity of 5 days.
U Mobile’s Powerpack– It is available for RM 8.50, 200 MB, 6 sen/30 sec and a validity of 10 days.
Celcom and Maxis prepaid SIM cards are available at all major shopping centers, airports and convenience stores such as 7-Eleven. A Digi Sim card is available at various authorized stores within the country while a U mobile SIM card can be purchased from not only the authorized stores but in 7-Eleven as well.
Most of the service providers offer a standard SIM card which can be cut into a micro/nano SIM on request and for free of charge.
Coverage is good in the populated areas, however, weak in remote areas. Celcom boasts of maximum coverage with 10,000 base transceiver stations, Maxis and Digi follow closely. U mobile has the smallest own network but roams on Maxis on 2G, 3G, 4G.
All SIM cards must be registered upon purchase. The registration process is done by the person from whom the SIM card will be purchased. The required documents for registration include passport number (original document required for verification) and hotel address. Registration of a SIM card takes about 2-3 minutes and then you are ready to use it. Travellers must take note that the local sales tax called GST (Good and Services Tax) of 6% is levied on the face value of all top-up vouchers.
These days there are various international roaming apps in the market which offer a low cost roaming solution. These apps help a traveler in keeping in touch with friends, family, and co-workers, while travelling abroad and also do not put a burden on their pocket. Such apps can also be used in combination with a prepaid SIM card.
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