Hotlink Blames MCO For Reducing Customers To 512kbps After 8pm

People are currently fed up with Hotlink. Little did the public know that the telco had implemented the Fair Usage Policy (FUP) on Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited users during the Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0) period.

This means that everyday from 8pm till 12 midnight, all Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited users are just limited to 512kbps for 4 hours. A few customers had shed light on this issue through feedback from WhatsApp and Facebook.

It appears that both Unlimited 3Mbps (RM35/month) and 6Mbps (RM45/month) users have been affected by the FUP implementation. If you’ve been experiencing problems streaming HD videos after dinner time, it’s probably not a network issue. Blame it on Maxis. It’s unfair especially if users are paying for 6Mbps, only to be reduced to 512kbps from 8pm onwards.

Usually, the FUP would only kick in when the user uses up the ceiling data allocation for their respective quota. But what if you decide to buying data add-on? To quote a Maxis customer service representative, you’ll still be limited to the reduced speed. Check out the screenshots below:

Not only customers are uninformed, these restrictions aren’t even specified in their website. Perhaps MCMC ought to investigate this case?

Update (1st February, 2:40pm):

Maxis reached to us with the following statement:

“Firstly, Maxis would like to apologise for the miscommunication on the Hotlink Unlimited Fair Usage Policy (FUP) which only applies to certain situations. Maxis would also like to clarify that we do not manage speeds to 512kbps during the MCO period.

Our focus during a surge in network traffic especially during the MCO period is making sure that access to a reliable and fast mobile internet network is available to everyone for essential activities such as web access to important information, e-learning and work from home. This network traffic management for Hotlink users during limited busy hours at night from 8pm to 12 midnight is not to be confused with Fair Usage Policy. Instead, it is an interim measure to ensure less data congestion to ensure a good user experience. We continue to monitor traffic and quality levels, and optimise network capacity while accelerating upgrades to retain a good mobile data speed experience. We encourage customers to reach out to our customer service team for any further assistance.”

Sources: Twitter, Lowyat.