CELCOM (Malaysia) Bhd, the country's second largest mobile operator, has launched a prepaid mobile broadband service targeted at business travellers and students.

"We have received many requests from business travellers who need Internet connection but not on a regular basis. Students also requested the service as it is easier for them to split their Internet cost," chief marketing officer Chee Pok Jin said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The Celcom Broadband Prepaid start pack, priced at RM25, comes with RM20 credit. It can only be used for Internet access, and not phone calls.

There is also a Weekly Unlimited package at only RM20, which gives users unlimited Internet access for seven consecutive days.

Those who want to use the Internet for one or two days can opt for the Daily Unlimited package, priced at RM6 for 24 consecutive hours of access.

Celcom grew its mobile broadband subscriber base by 300 per cent to about 250,000 last year. At end-February, it had 270,000 users, making it a market leader.

"We are confident that this uptrend will continue and believe that the introduction of the broadband prepaid package will reinforce our position as the number one mobile broadband provider," said Chee.

The company also launched the Celcom Broadband Wireless Gateway: mobile equipment that lets users surf the Internet and make voice calls.

The service comes in two packages: RM139 a month and RM299 a month.

By paying RM139 a month, customers will be offered speeds of up to 3.6 megabits per second (Mbps), with a 5-gigabyte quota.

Under the RM299 package, they can get up to 3.6Mbps of Internet speed, without quotas.

Customers on both packages, by hooking the fixed-line phone to the equipment, can make calls at 30 sen a minute, anytime and anywhere in the country.