Penang eSIM
In Penang you connect to Maxis or Celcom, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 61 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Maxis and Celcom
- Typical speed in Malaysia
- 61 Mbps typical, 18 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Penang
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.96 | $8.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $2.18 | $10.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.59 | $15.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.19 | $23.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $0.94 | $46.89 |
How Malaysia compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Maxis, Celcom
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Japan, 74 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Brunei, 58 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 3: Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi
Landing at Penang International Airport (PEN)
- Airport
- PEN / WMKP
- Distance
- 16 km from the centre of Penang
Getting into Penang
- Rapid Penang route 306 (Airport to Penang General Hospital, George Town) (PEN)
- Rapid Penang route 102 (Airport to Teluk Bahang) (PEN)
Worth knowing about Penang
- Penang has no rail or metro system; the only rail is the Penang Hill funicular, so buses and taxis are the ground options from the airport.
- The airport sits at the southeastern tip of Penang Island, about 16 km south of George Town.
- Penang Island is joined to mainland Malaysia by two long road bridges the 13.5 km Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge plus a ferry.
- Malaysia's regulator MCMC lists a passport, work permit identification card or student identification card as the documents a foreigner uses to register a prepaid SIM.
- MCMC is explicit that originals must be brought to registration and that the service provider verifies documents against the original identification.
- The Penang Hill funicular climbs 1,996 metres of track with a maximum gradient of 52.9 percent, or 27.9 degrees.
- Its 79 metre tunnel was the steepest in the world when it was built, and the modern cars reach the top in as little as 5 minutes against 30 on the 1923 system.
- The funicular was rebuilt from February 2010 and reopened on 25 April 2011.
- The second bridge, the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge, is 24 km long with 16.9 km of it over water, and opened to traffic on 2 March 2014.
- It runs from Bandar Cassia at Batu Kawan on the mainland to Batu Maung on the island, and is Malaysia's longest bridge though second in Southeast Asia to Brunei's 30 km crossing.
- Rapid Penang has been run by Rapid Bus, a subsidiary of the government owned Prasarana, since it launched in 2007.
- As of 2025 the operator ran 350 buses on 47 routes across the George Town conurbation, plus 17 demand responsive vans for last mile trips.
- The airport buses are infrequent: route 102 to Teluk Bahang runs 06:00 to 23:35 about every 75 minutes, and route 306 to Penang General Hospital 05:30 to 22:35 about every 40 minutes.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Malaysia we cover
- Langkawi
- 121 km from Penang, nearest airport LGK
- Kuala Lumpur
- 295 km from Penang, nearest airport SZB