KL Wireless Metropolitan
image credit to Anibal
As most of you might be aware, KL will have its own FREE wireless internet by mid of this year. I had heard about this since last year.
The project
It’s KL Wireless Metropolitan Project, or “wireless@kl”, part of Klang Valley Broadband Push. The vision is to transform Kuala Lumpur into a wireless city using WiMax based broadband. It is free, but for the first 2 years only. No information is provided on how the service will be charged after 2 years time or how much it would be.
The company
This project is a collaboration between Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and is deployed by Packet One Networks (P1), a subsidiary of Greenpacket.
It costs around RM60 million and only RM10 is funded by DBKL and MCMC.
The technology
The project is built using WiMax technology, operating on the 2.3GHz spectrum at a speed of 512 kilobytes per second.
Compatibility
FYI, the current and widely used wireless internet protocol that we are using now is WIFI, so most notebooks and wireless devices nowadays won’t be able to utilize WiMax. The good news is, there are WiMax adapter card around, such as Clearwire Wimax PC card and Airwaves’s 16eUSB USB WiMAX. However, it would cost you a bombastic price to get online.
Except press release on Greenpacket website, I couldn’t find any websites designed specifically to promote or educate and provide
updates about this project, which I think is quite important to us. Most of the information that I had managed to gather
is from local newspaper, news agency and from other blogs and forums.
How about other internet providers?
With the FREE internet service scheduled to start by mid of this year, it should be giving current internet providers running for their money. No more excuse of ‘this is the best that we can come out with’ if you want to win the customers. With the speed of up to 512 kb/s, it provides current 512 Kb/s Streamyx package a stiff competition. Can Maxis and Celcom 3G compete with them? Time will tell.
Btw, if you’re looking for free WIFI around you, lowyat.net has “Free WIFI” thread opened for discussion about this.
bila nak ada nie..tak sabar nak guna
sabar2, tngh tahun nie ada la kot, tapi mungkin kt tngh2 KL je
Sounds like a big project.. i hope that Malaysia will be fully covered by free wireless internet.. but not all places have population, enough the wifi for the big and main city of every state
I hope there will be a quality wireless connection in JB soon
wah.. mesti best! selangor tu include KL ke? hope free smpi biler2 la..
i’m strongly agree with all the comments posted above
wowo good iformasion thank’s ya…
I hope there will be a quality wireless connection in JB soon too