As a part of Budget 2013 and under the National Broadband Initiative,the Malaysian government announced that RM200 rebate will be given to the eligible people to buy some selected 3G smartphone.Recently,MCMC just published the details about this rebate:
- Only applicable to Malaysians between 21 to 30 years old.
- The gross monthly income no more than RM3000.
- The selected 3G smartphone no more than RM500.
- Existing mobile broadband/data users or new users.
- One unit per person
The selected 3G smartphone(as at 26 Dec. 2012) are:
1) Alcatel 993D
2) Alcatel OneTouch Glory 23) Alcatel OneTouch Inspire 2
4) The Buzz Phone
5) HTC Wildfire
6) Huawei Ideos X3
7) LG Optimus L3
8) Ninetology Black Pearl II
9) Ninetology Palette
10) Nokia 2730
11) Nokia 7230
12) Nokia Asha 305
13) Nokia Asha 308
14) Nokia Asha 311
15) Nokia C2-03
16) Nokia Lumia 610
17) Samsung Galaxy Chat
18) Samsung Galaxy Mini
19) Samsung Galaxy Pocket
20) Samsung Galaxy Y
21) Sony Xperia Tipo
22) ZTE Acqua
23) ZTE V790
MCMC said that the government intends to help the youths in low income group,so they set RM500 limit for the smartphone.However,since there are a lot of noises about this,the latest news is the government may be reviewed the limit in the next cabinet meeting.From my opinion,I think the government could raise up the limit up to at least RM1000 to let the youths have a chance to get a mid-range smartphone instead of entry level one.
MCMC also said the service providers may update the list of smartphones from time to time to give more choices to eligible buyers.
Update:The cabinet finally heard the voice from the mass public and decided not to set the cap for the smartphone.That means the eligible people could buy any smartphones listed by selected service providers with RM200 rebate from now on.
For the eligible buyers,you could start to apply for the rebate from 1 January 2013 by registering online at http://nbi.skmm.gov.my/ .
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