P1 has unveiled its FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) plans in earlyApril. Its key difference compared to the other FTTH providers' plans is thatthe service is being bundled together with  P1's  mobile broadband  services  as well.  We  are, however,  of  the view that the company's FTTH product willnot provide any significant threat to Telekom Malaysia's (TM) Unifi given thatthe latter provides more values, features and benefits to subscribers. There isno change to our NEUTRAL view on the sector. We maintain our forecast andOUTPERFOM call on TM (TP: RM5.52) while keeping our MARKET PERFORM calls onDigi (TP: RM4.15), Axiata (TP: RM5.30) and Maxis (TP: RM5.80). 

A third FTTH player.  P1 has finally launched its FTTH(fiber-to-the-home) plans in early April, six months after signing a HSBBaccess and transmission agreement with TM. With the launch, P1 became the thirdcompany after Maxis to ride with the country's HSBB project. To recap, TM hassigned various forms of HSBB collaboration agreements with the four local mobileoperators (Celcom, Maxis, P1 and Redtone) since early last year.

P1's FTTH plan.P1's consumer FTTH plans start from RM169 per month. Similar to its existingOnePlans product, the package comes with a home and outdoor modem solution. Thekey difference between P1 and the other FTTH plan providers is that its 1Mbps mobile broadband with a dedicated 3GBof quota that does not share the home broadband quota. In this case forexample, should the subscriber under the plan exceed his mobile broadband quota,the speed will be reduced until the next billing cycle, and he will need to purchase additional quota to regainthe speed before the next billing cycle. Currently, P1 fiber service coversthree major areas, mainly in the Klang Valley, in Penang and in Johor.    

Head-to-headcomparison.  In terms of bundledsolution, TM has a well-balanced offering with unlimited calls to TM'snationwide network fixed lines and comes also with access to its IPTV services' HyppTV. Maxis, on the other hand, does not bundle its service with any IPTV servicesand its subscribers are required to top up from the monthly subscription feeshould they opt for mobile broadband services. Nevertheless, for those who are already Maxis' subscribers, Maxis' FTTHplans seem to be the best fit for them who make more phone calls to Maxisnumbers and overseas given that the plans come bundled with voice calls,including mobile and IDD.    

VIP 5 remains thecheapest entry level FTTH plan in terms of cost per quota should all threecompanies start to enforce their fair-use policy. The plan, which chargedRM149/month, provides 5Mbps with 60 GB download quota,  translating to RM2.48/GB vis-''-vis RM3.38/GB chargefor P1 OnePlan 169 package and RM4.27/GB and RM2.63/GB cost for Maxis' 4Mbps and6Mbps packages respectively. For the premium plan, Maxis' 30Mbps plan remainsthe most valuable with RM1.33/GB as compared to RM2.08/GB cost for TM's VIP20and RM1.35/GB 35/GB for P1's OnePlan 269 package.  

In regard of theirterms and conditions, all the players' packages come with a 24-month contractand charges RM200 for installation, although TM and Maxis are currently waivingthe installation charge. An early termination fee is imposed by all playerswith TM charging a flatrate penalty of RM500 vis-''-vis a total penaltydepending on the package price and the remaining contract period charged by P1and Maxis. No charges are imposed by TM should the existing Unify users upgradeto a higher plan. Nevertheless, Unifi subscribers will have to pay RM200 shouldthey decide to downgrade their existing plan. Unlike TM, P1 and Maxis charge aflat rate of RM20 and RM50 for each upgrade and downgrade plansrespectively.  

More heads in thehome broadband segment. The products launched by P1 may heat up thecompetition to TM's retail business given that the counterparty is now tappedinto TM's HSBB backhaul. However, it will, on the other hand, benefit TM'swholesale division over the medium-to-long term. We understand that TM maycharge RM52-RM55 per port, depending on the volume and contract duration, tothe network access seekers according to its wholesale high speed broadbandaccess terms and conditions that were announced previously in 2009.