how much... (V)

Telecommunication..

We need to communicate, that's why we created language, written words, letters, telephone, mobile phones, emails, text messaging and many other tools/applications that allow us to contact and be contacted. Just a few weeks ago, UN declared that Internet access a human right. 

Yet, the cost of telecommunication in this country is by any means cheap..

There are 3 main companies offering mobile services - Digi, Maxis and Celcom, and a fourth lesser known provider, U Mobile.. The usual prepaid and postpaid options are available.. Here, I can't decide for you which provider to subscribe to nor will I tell you to get a prepaid or postpaid plan.. You have to decide for yourself, based on your usage pattern and call volume. But beware, that with the "addiction" to social media (like FaceBook, Twitters, Tumblr, etc) and online video games (like Angry Birds, etc) on "smart" 3G/4G phones, it is very easy to go for unlimited data plans which you don't need (unless your work .

All 3 main providers have a basic (monthly) MYR$ 50 plan.. you can check them out here, here and here.. Monitor your usage and cut down on unnecessary calls because it is very easy to lose track while chatting and rack up hefty phone bills.. Your plan might be MYR$ 50, but it will usually come up to around MYR$ 60 - 100 per month.. Of course, if you are using a 3G/4G smart phone, your phone bill will definitely be more.. Each telco has provided a comparison chart for their 3G Internet packages to illustrate their competitiveness.. Maxis's, Digi's and Celcom's..

Then we come to broadband internet services.. you would need to decide if you want to use wireless broadband or wired one.. For a comprehensive chart of pricing and services of both wired and wireless broadband in Malaysia, check out this website.. 

So in the end, you would most probably have to fork out more than the MYR$ 90 per month that I've listed in my earlier post for telecommunication..

Next, other miscellaneous expenditures..





Disclaimer: I am not an economist nor am I (formally) trained in finance.. The figures above are my own estimation which are based on data gleaned from my family/friends and the Internet. I am just stating my observation, experience and thoughts, as I had lived in 3 different Asian countries/cities in the past 20 years...