Penang – known for its heritage, mixed cuisine & attractions.
It is also regarded as one of the more walkable cities in Malaysia… and that says a lot.
Writing a list of all the cool things to do in Penang would require another blog post (or a dedicated Penang blog), so I will save you from that because you want to know what SIM card options are available at the airport.
So, which SIM cards are available at the airport?
You can get a Digi, Celcom, Maxis, or TuneTalk SIM card for between 13 MYR (2.70 USD) and 80 MYR (16.75 USD) at Penang International Airport (PEN).
And eSIMs are available too 😎.
These prices are reasonable for airport standards.
And most mobile operators sell SIM cards and plans for the same prices as if you were to buy them outside the airport.
Let's review all your options at Penang Airport.
Original publication: 25th of April 2024. Last updated: 25th of April 2024.
Table of Contents
Mobile Operators in Malaysia
Malaysia has five mobile operators, one sub-brand & three Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:
- Digi Malaysia
- Celcom (Axiata) Malaysia
- Hotlink by Maxis
- U Mobile Malaysia
- Yes Malaysia (4G/LTE & 5G NR only)
- redONE Malaysia (Celcom (Axiata) Malaysia MVNO)
- speakOUT Malaysia (Digi Malaysia MVNO)
- Tune Talk (Celcom (Axiata) Malaysia MVNO)
- Yoodo (Celcom (Axiata) Malaysia sub-brand)
Digi Malaysia, Celcom Malaysia, Hotlink & TuneTalk sell SIM cards and eSIMs at Penang International Airport (PEN).
Let's see what their options are.
Where to Buy a SIM Card at Penang International Airport
Digi Malaysia, Celcom Malaysia, Hotlink Malaysia & TuneTalk SIM cards and eSIMs are sold in the international arrivals hall of Penang International Airport (PEN).
After luggage claims and customs, walk through the door and turn to your right.
You will find the Communication Center, where SIM cards are sold here.
Once inside, you will have Celcom to your left.
And Digi, TuneTalk & Hotlink are to your right.
Below are the opening hours of each store:
- Digi Malaysia: 6:00 – 0:00 (although they may close earlier if they cannot be bothered anymore… like in my case)
- Celcom Malaysia: 7:00 – 23:00
- Hotlink Malaysia: 7:00 – 22:00
- TuneTalk: 7:00 – 23:00 (seems outdated because the store was still open around 0:00)
Celcom also has a machine selling SIM cards to the right of the store.
However, it is disabled after business hours…
So, if you arrive late, like in my case, TuneTalk is your only option.
The most you will spend on a standard SIM card and plan is 50 MYR (10.45 USD), but the average is 30 MYR (6.30 USD).
Finally, reasonable prices for SIM cards at an airport 🤣.
All these mobile operators sell tourist SIM cards and regular ones.
Let's review each mobile operator to see what they sell at Penang Airport.
Digi Malaysia SIM Cards at Penang International Airport
Digi Malaysia, just Digi, used to be the second-largest mobile operator in Malaysia (Maxis/Hotlink).
However, it merged with Celcom Malaysia in 2022 to become DigiCelcom, which overtook Maxis/Hotlink (which used to be the largest).
For the time being, Digi and Celcom Malaysia have different offerings at Penang Airport.
However, the stores may merge or sell the same plans when you visit Penang.
After luggage claim and customers, walk through the sliding door and head to your right (from your perspective).
Enter the Communication Center and walk to the yellow store – Digi's color.
When I arrived, the salesperson had already started the reconciliation process and could not sell SIM cards anymore (23:51 – even though the store was supposed to be open from 6:00 until 0:00).
Worry not; I still have an overview of all the plans Digi sells at Penang Airport:
| Price | Credit | Data 1 | Social Data 2 | Hotspot Data | Local Minutes | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 MYR | 5 MYR | 15 GB | Unlimited | 1 GB | N/A | 30 days |
| 39 MYR | 5 MYR | 30 GB | Unlimited | 3 GB | Unlimited | 30 days |
| 45 MYR | 5 MYR | Unlimited @ 6 Mbps | Unlimited | N/A | Unlimited | 30 days |
| 50 MYR | 5 MYR | 25 GB | Unlimited 3 | N/A 4 | Unlimited 5 | 30 days |
1 5G NR access, but all speeds (4G/LTE and 5G NR) are throttled @ 100 Mbps
2 for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok & Twitter
3 +unlimited data for YouTube
4 you can still tether (hotspot) with your 25 GB data allowance
5 +75 international minutes to Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand & Vietnam
There is another 120 MYR plan, but it is unclear what the perks are besides the 5 MYR credit and the validity being 365 days (one year).
Because I arrived in Penang too late, I could not buy a SIM card at the airport.
Instead, I went to a 7/11 or Happy Mart near my Airbnb and paid 10 MYR for the SIM card… only for self-registration to not work.
SIM card registration is mandatory in Malaysia (and all other Southeast Asian countries).
You would also have to show your passport to get a SIM card from the Penang Airport store.
However, the MyDigi app would not accept my details for some reason, and it locked me out after three attempts.
The Hotlink, Celcom & U Mobile apps had no issue with my details, so it was odd that registration did not work with Digi 🤔.
The morning after, I went to a Digi-authorized reseller, only to be told that I needed to go to a Digi store 25 minutes away by car because they could not register SIM cards not sold by them.
Instead of wasting my time, I bought a new SIM card and plan from that store, and it worked as it should.
You will not experience registration issues when you buy your Digi SIM card at Penang Airport because the staff uses a different registration method than the MyDigi app.
But I wanted you to be aware of this in case you decide not to buy your SIM card at the airport and want to opt for self-registration instead – it may not work.
Anyway, when I used and tested my Digi SIM card, I was on 5G NR most of the time and had crazy fast speeds (up to 756.70 Mbps – my average was 281.07 Mbps).
In the earlier table, I stated that speeds are capped @ 100 Mbps.
It looks like the speed cap was introduced after I left Malaysia (19th of March – I left the country on the 12th).
Anyway, after all of that, you now have your Digi SIM card!
I am unsure whether the airport store sells eSIMs (the staff was too busy doing her thing).
But Digi does have eSIMs, so I assume they are available.
However, you can consider getting a travel eSIM for Malaysia instead.
Most of them have generous data allowances for the country, and even unlimited data plans are available.
I write about the best travel eSIMs for Malaysia in my Best Malaysia eSIM buying guide.
I even tried many of them extensively for my Malaysian eSIM review series.
Celcom Malaysia SIM Cards at Penang International Airport
Celcom Malaysia, just Celcom, used to be the third-largest mobile operator in Malaysia (behind Maxis/Hotlink and Digi Malaysia).
However, it merged with Digi Malaysia in 2022 to become DigiCelcom, which overtook Maxis/Hotlink (which used to be the largest).
For now, Celcom and Digi Malaysia have different offerings at Penang Airport.
However, the stores may merge or sell the same plans when you visit Penang.
After luggage claim and customers, walk through the sliding door and turn right (from your perspective).
Enter the Communication Center.
Make an immediate left turn to enter the Celcom store.
When I arrived at 23:50, the Celcom store had already been closed for about an hour (its opening hours are from 7:00 to 23:00).
No problem, I and some other customers thought, because Celcom has a machine on its right that was still on.
The two individuals in front of me stopped using the machine within a minute, so I thought they were just topping up their SIM cards.
When I tried using the machine, I found out why they abandoned it – it stopped selling SIM cards when the Celcom store was closed 🫠.
Worry not; I visited the store on departure to find out your options when visiting Penang Airport.
Celcom sells seven SIM cards, which are split into two:
And you have these high-allowance data plans:
I forgot to ask about the validity of these plans.
But, knowing that most Celcom plans are valid for 30 days, I suspect the aforementioned plans have the same validity.
Moreover, only those plans are available as eSIMs – the other four are only SIM cards.
Because I arrived in Penang too late, I could not buy a SIM card at the airport.
Instead, I went to a 7/11 near my Airbnb and paid 10 MYR for the SIM card.
SIM card registration is mandatory in Malaysia (and all other Southeast Asian countries).
This means you must show your passport when buying a Celcom SIM card at Penang airport or a Celcom/DigiCelcom store.
If you buy your SIM card from a reseller, like 7/11, you can self-register using the Celcom Life app.
After that, your SIM card can be used immediately (same as if you were to buy a Celcom SIM card at Penang Airport or a Celcom/DigiCelcom store).
You now have your Celcom SIM card!
Officially, (Digi)Celcom plans are capped @ 100 Mbps and have 5G NR access.
However, I had no 5G NR access at all, and the fastest speed I got was 319.16 Mbps.
If you buy your SIM card from a reseller, like a convenience store, note that you cannot recharge online with a non-Malaysian or non-Singaporean debit- or credit card – you will get an error.
You can buy physical top-up cards from resellers or use an online wallet to reload.
In my case, I used Grab Pay (Grab the rideshare app), and that workaround worked.
However, you can consider getting a travel eSIM for Malaysia instead.
Most of them have generous data allowances for the country, and even unlimited data plans are available.
I write about the best travel eSIMs for Malaysia in my Best Malaysia eSIM buying guide.
I even tried many of them extensively for my Malaysian eSIM review series.
Hotlink Malaysia SIM Cards at Penang International Airport
Hotlink by Maxis used to be the largest prepaid brand in Malaysia.
But after Digi Malaysia and Celcom Malaysia became DigiCelcom, HotlinkMaxis took the second spot instead.
After luggage claim and customers, walk through the sliding door and take a right turn – walk towards the Communication Center.
Take an immediate right turn to find the Hotlink store.
When I arrived at 23:50, the Maxis store had already been closed for about an hour (its opening hours are from 7:00 to 22:00).
On departure day (from Penang to Manila (MNL), Philippines, via Taiwan (TPE)), I went to the store during opening hours to find out what it has to offer to you.
Hotlink sells two types of plans: High-Speed Internet (data-limited) and Unlimited Internet (throttled).
These three High-Speed Internet plans are available:
| Price | Data 1 | 5G Data 1 | Local Minutes | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 MYR | 10 GB | 10 GB | Unlimited | 7 days |
| 29 MYR | 20 GB | 20 GB | Unlimited | 30 days |
| 40 MYR | 30 GB | 30 GB | Unlimited | 30 days |
1 when you are in a 5G NR area, your 5G data allowance will be used. If you have exhausted your 5G data allowance but are still in a 5G NR area, data will be used from the “general” data allowance. If you are in a 4G/LTE area, data will be used from the general data allowance
Followed by these three Unlimited Internet Packs:
| Price | Data | Local Minutes | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 MYR | “Unlimited”, 20 GB @ 6 Mbps | Unlimited | 7 days |
| 45 MYR | “Unlimited”, 100 GB @ 6 Mbps | Unlimited | 30 days |
| 55 MYR | “Unlimited”, 100 GB @ 12 Mbps | Unlimited | 30 days |
As highlighted in the table, the plans are not truly unlimited – 20 GB for the 7-day plan and up to 100 GB for the 30-day plans.
The salesperson will tell you these caps exist only if you ask about them.
Moreover, he did not tell me about the lower cap for the 7-day plan – perhaps he did not know.
Be aware that these plans are slightly more expensive at Penang Airport than anywhere else.
Up to 8 MYR (1.70 USD) more expensive – see the screenshots below:
Anyway, the plans sold at the airport are available as SIM cards only – not as eSIMs.
And the store accepts cash (MYR) only.
Because I arrived in Penang too late, I could not buy a Hotlink SIM card at the airport.
Instead, I went to a 7/11 near my Airbnb and paid 10 MYR for the SIM card.
SIM card registration is mandatory in Malaysia (and all other Southeast Asian countries).
This means you must show your passport when buying a Hotlink SIM card at Penang airport or a Hotlink/Maxis store.
If you buy your SIM card from a reseller, like 7/11, you can self-register using the Hotlink app.
You now have your Hotlink SIM card!
I am unsure if you get 5G NR access with the unlimited plans.
Even if you did, your speeds would be restricted to 6 Mbps or 12 Mbps.
The High-Speed Internet plans have 5G NR access, and the speeds can be ridiculously fast.
The best result I got was 886.16 Mbps – one of the highest I have gotten in Southeast Asia (top three for sure).
Note that if you buy your SIM card from a reseller, like a convenience store, you cannot recharge online with a non-Malaysian or non-Singaporean debit- or credit card – you will get an error.
You can buy physical top-up cards from resellers or use an online wallet to reload.
In my case, I used Grab Pay (Grab the rideshare app), and that workaround worked.
However, you can consider getting a travel eSIM for Malaysia instead.
Most of them have generous data allowances for the country, and even unlimited data plans are available.
I write about the best travel eSIMs for Malaysia in my Best Malaysia eSIM buying guide.
I even tried many of them extensively for my Malaysian eSIM review series.
TuneTalk SIM Cards at Penang International Airport
Tune Talk is a Celcom Malaysia MVNO.
It is the mobile brand by Air Asia (yes, the airline).
After luggage claim and customers, walk through the sliding door and take a right turn.
Enter the Communication Center.
TuneTalk store will be in front of you.
Officially, this store is open from 7:00 until 23:00.
However, the employees were still actively selling SIM cards at 23:55.
I hope they were getting paid overtime 🫠.
Anyway, TuneTalk sells three SIM cards:
| Price | Data 1 | Social Data 4 | Local Minutes | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 MYR | 15 GB 2 | Unlimited | 20 minutes | 15 days |
| 35 MYR | 35 GB 2 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30 days |
| 50 MYR | Unlimited 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30 days |
1 5G NR access
2 +10 GB @ 256 Kbps after exhausting your data allowance (super slow)
3 hotspot data limited to 6 GB
4 for Facebook, Instagram, Line, Snapchat, Twitter, WeChat & WhatsApp
I did not buy a TuneTalk SIM card because I no longer review MVNOs.
I spend that time testing and reviewing travel eSIMs instead.
SIM card registration is mandatory in Malaysia (and all other Southeast Asian countries).
You must also show your passport to get a TuneTalk SIM card from the Penang Airport store.
Once your SIM card has been registered, you can use it immediately!
TuneTalk does not sell eSIMs (yet).
However, you can get a travel eSIM for Malaysia instead.
Most of them have generous data allowances for the country, and even unlimited data plans are available.
I write about the best travel eSIMs for Malaysia in my Best Malaysia eSIM buying guide.
I even tried many of them extensively for my Malaysian eSIM review series.
Should You Buy a SIM Card (or eSIM) at Penang International Airport?
I recommend getting a SIM card at Penang International Airport (PEN) because most plans are sold at roughly the same prices as regular stores. Go with Digi or Hotlink for the fastest (5G) network experience. Or TuneTalk for the cheapest plans.
Most Malaysian mobile operators sell SIM cards at Penang Airport (Digi Malaysia, Celcom Malaysia & Hotlink by Maxis), while U Mobile and Yes Malaysia do not.
Moreover, TuneTalk, a Celcom Malaysia MVNO, also sells SIM cards at the airport.
Digi Malaysia, Celcom Malaysia & Hotlink Maxis sell SIM cards and eSIMs within these price ranges:
- Digi Malaysia: 25 MYR – 120 MYR (five options)
- Celcom Malaysia: 15 MYR – 80 MYR (seven options)
- Hotlink: 13 MYR – 55MYR (six options)
- TuneTalk: 25 MYR – 50 MYR (three options)
All of these mobile operators, except for Maxis, sell plans for the same prices as at their stores (no premium).
Maxis does overcharge you for its plans by up to 8 MYR (5 MYR is the average).
But 8 MYR is about 1.70 USD, so it is not that expensive.
As mentioned, I recommend going with Digi or Hotlink if you want the best (5G NR) experience in Malaysia.
The fastest speeds I got with these SIM cards were 756.70 Mbps and 886.61 Mbps, respectively.
Yeah, those are blazing-fast speeds 😳.
Digi and Celcom have merged but still sold separate SIM cards and plans at the airport (and in Penang).
However, my Celcom SIM card has no 5G NR access at all (even though it should).
If you do not care about 5G, worry not; Celcom has the best 4G/LTE network in Malaysia.
In other news, Celcom is the only
With that being said, I recommend buying a SIM card at Abu Dhabi Airport.