Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited users will have their mobile Internet speeds throttled after 8PM

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Besides the general inconvenience, the global pandemic-induced movement control order (MCO) has had severe economical effects. That's why some companies are looking for ways to "balance the books", so to say. One of them would be Maxis, which has been throttling the Internet speed for some of its Hotlink users.

Maxis has begun implementing a time-based Fair Usage Policy (FUP) system for its Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited users. During MCO, users of the prepaid package will have their mobile Internet speed reduced to 512Kbps (from 3Mbps or 6Mbps) between 8 PM to 12 AM every day. This is actually noted in the FAQ for the plan's Unlimited Internet Passes, but normally the FUP is only implemented once a user exceeds a certain data cap.

Unfortunately, some Hotlink users have the misfortune of experiencing it first hand. Upon lodging their complaint (by user @leekokwan), these users received were notified of the speed reduction through WhatsApp or Facebook messages. Judging from the company's response, it can be assumed that all Hotlink Prepaid Unlimited will have their speed reduced at night.

Have any of you encountered this issue? If so, is it a big problem for you? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.

Update (1:37PM): We just got an official statement from Maxis in regards to the issue.

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.