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Digi and Celcom Collaborate On Advance Network

digi celcom collaboration Digi and Celcom Collaborate On Advance Network

Digi and Celcom has signed Mou for network and infrastructure collaboration in Malaysia,the first of it kind in Malaysia between large and competing company. Thumbs up to both companies for taking such moves that I’m sure will benefit both parties.

For Digi this timely move will hopefully boost their 3G coverage to all over countries with extensive and wide coverage Celcom network had (if that is part of the MoU). Meanwhile Celcom may gain from the innovative product/package Digi has in it’s offering and probably iPhone in Celcom networks, perhaps?? Just wild guess though, but as someone who use both services, I’m seeing this in positive way on how it will benefit user.

On the other side, the move by 2nd and 3rd largest telco in Malaysia could also be seen as a step taking on Maxis, the largest telco in Malaysia. Maxis is the market leader for years and very strong in almost every segment such as broadband, postpaid, prepaid and now the data services. If the strategic collaboration works well, it could undercut the dominance of Maxis in local telecommunication industry.

Jump to Press Release below for more information.

Celcom and DiGi Sign MoU for Advanced Network Collaboration

KUALA LUMPUR, 10 JUNE 2010: Celcom Axiata Berhad [formerly known as Celcom (Malaysia) Berhad] (“Celcom”) and DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (“DiGi”) today announced plans to explore long-term network and infrastructure collaboration in Malaysia.

The Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) signed between Celcom, DiGi, and their respective major shareholders Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) and Telenor Asia Pte Ltd (“Telenor”) will focus on three collaborative areas, namely operations and maintenance, transmission and site sharing, and radio access network.

The proposed active sharing model is geared towards generating significant operational and cost efficiencies for both operators by removing duplication of base station sites, addressing escalating rental fees, reducing utility bills and transmission costs, optimising deployment of base stations per area, and redeploying equipment between redundant and new sites.

The MoU is among the first such collaboration in the world with a wide and comprehensive scope. This is the first time two major network operators in Malaysia are considering extensive collaboration of network resources. A definitive agreement is expected to be reached before the end of 2010 once both parties have agreed on the long-term economic and operational viability of this collaboration.

This agreement also closely reflects an earlier accord for the sharing of network resources in Bangladesh between Axiata and Telenor Asia, through their respective operating companies Axiata (Bangladesh) Limited and Grameenphone Ltd. It signals the commitment of Axiata Group and Telenor Group to explore initiatives regarding network resources collaboration in Asia that could bring long-term significance in cost savings and environmental benefits.

The MoU was signed in the presence of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli. Signing on behalf of their respective companies were Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, CEO of Celcom; Henrik Clausen, CEO of DiGi; Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, Managing Director/President and Group CEO of Axiata; and Sigve Brekke, Executive Vice President of Telenor Group and Head of Telenor Region Asia.

On the MoU, Mr. Clausen explained, “Maturing mobile markets like Malaysia can benefit from extensive network sharing as a key strategy to drive cost and operational efficiency. These efficiencies will in turn allow us to explore new and innovative ways to provide wider coverage at better costs for our customers, especially in facilitating the strong demand for data services nationwide. This is the main driver behind this collaboration, and we see clear advantages in moving forward together on a long-term, sustainable business model.”

“With higher internet penetration, networks are becoming more data-centric than voice-centric, driving an increased capacity requirement in all points of the network infrastructure. In the long run, it is more practical to explore other alternatives to address this shift in trend. This collaboration is a new milestone not only for Celcom and DiGi, it is also a brand new chapter for the local industry and the country, positioning Malaysia as a pioneer in network infrastructure sharing. Ultimately, we look forward to improved quality of service and increased shareholder value, benefiting both the consumers and service providers” said Dato’ Sri Shazalli.

Admin 11 June 2010 telecommunication , , 2 Comments

Digi Wireless 3G Perfomance at Equine Park Seri Kembangan

While following Engadget’s WWDC 2010 live blogging, I have done couple of testing using speedtest.net Android app  on Digi’s 3G wireless broadband speed that I subscribed through Digi Smartplan.

This is just simple test that I done is short period of time and doesn’t represent the actual quality of Digi wireless 3G over here. But it should give you basic idea how well the connection is in case you’re interested.

1. 3G/HSPA coverage is not stable. I have brief conversation with one of Digi Specialized Store’s staff at Jusco, and they do admit about that. But I still stubborn and proceed with the subscription. After all, I use Blackberry Curve 8520 with Edge connection all this while, so why not trying something new.

2. 3G/HSPA connection intermittently dropped to GPRS or Edge , back to 3G and etc most of the time. You’ll easily get upset with this odd behavior especially when you’re browsing and  all of sudden the connection is broken.

3. I set my smartphone to use 2G (Edge) most of the time to save battery, and surprisingly the speed is reasonably well. But most importantly it is also more stable as I rarely encounter connection dropping on Edge connection.

4. Digi 3G coverage is indeed limited. When I travel back to my hometown using the old Klang-Teluk Intan road, most of the time only GPRS connection is available, but anyhow I still able to tweet and update FourSquare. I do hope the connection will getting better as the number of subscriber grows over the time to more places outside of Klang Valley.

digi edge Digi Wireless 3G Perfomance at Equine Park Seri Kembangan

digi edege2 Digi Wireless 3G Perfomance at Equine Park Seri Kembangan

digi 3g Digi Wireless 3G Perfomance at Equine Park Seri Kembangan

Admin 7 June 2010 telecommunication , , , , , No Comments

TM’s Broadband Netbook Package From RM38 Permonth

broadband netbook rm30 TMs Broadband Netbook Package From RM38 Permonth

I’m not sure how I miss this promotion. It started a week ago according to a friend of mine who make me aware of this.

Hold your horse before you’re getting too excited as this offer is only eligible to families with total household income less than RM5000 (city) and RM3000 (rural). Beside TM which provide 200,000 unit of  free netbook for this program, there are 4 other companies to follow the suit.

There are 2 type of netbooks available with each tied to 24 months contract, and lucky us this table summarize the whole payment and subscription fee structure.

Access Speeds Streamyx + Komputer 1Malaysia netbook (For the 1st 24 months and beyond) (RM) Streamyx + HP Netbook (RM)
1st 24 months From the 25th month onwards
384Kbps 38 59 38
512Kbps 53 74 53
1Mbps 68 89 68
2Mbps 83 104 83
4Mbps 88 109 88

source: Malaysia Wireless

You should really go through the FAQ and Term & Condition pages to understand everything before you commit to this program, but here are some essential information you should know.

  • Free WiFi Modem
  • Free Netbook Delivery
  • No Activation Fee (save RM75)
  • No Installation Fee (save RM88)
  • 50% Discount for first month subscription
  • Additional charge for new customer without TM fixed lie
    • Service Deposit – RM75
    • Duty Stamp RM10
    • Internal Wiring RM30 – RM50(first 5 meter) and RM/5 for additional
  • No additional charge for existing TM fixed line
  • Contract Period 24 months
  • RM600 administration fee for early termination
  • Netbook provided by HP (most likely HP Mini 210) or NadiAyu (shown below)

komputer1malaysia 2 TMs Broadband Netbook Package From RM38 Permonth

My Take.

The broadband with netbook package is indeed very good. It is  common that the excuse behind not subscribing to broadband service is because they can’t afford to buy computer (but they can afford LCD TV 32″). Now the broadband comes with netbook and I don’t see any reason why one still without internet connection at home.

I also have some concern with 1Malaysia netbook build quality, but hopefully the company behind it strive the best to serve the customer.  Even notebook from reputable company tend to broke down after the warranty end. To most people who subscribe to this package, this might be their first computer and it could be mishandled in any ways.

384 kbps speed is just enough to surf the net, but it could be little to slow to view videos or pages with high multimedia element.

Admin 6 June 2010 telecommunication , , , , , 44 Comments

TM To Lower Streamyx Subscription Fee? Why It Is a Must?

Sometimes, having 2 communication channels will confuse you. Here in Twitter, TMCorp tweet that the price for all BBGP, the so called broadband category where Streamyx is in, will be revised. The price for all Streamyx packages will be lowered after they’d consolidated all packages and bundle currently in offer.

streamyx price remain TM To Lower Streamyx Subscription Fee? Why It Is a Must?

Meanwhile in TheStar, TM’s CEO stated that the Streamyx pricing will remain as it is, except for 4Mb package which was reduced to RM140 from RM160 before. After Unifi launch, many is expecting Streamyx pricing to be revised so the price is in sync with what is offered by Unifi. But that is not happening, yet.

Looking at the time line where this news was published, and the recent U-turn decision to remove volume cap on all Unifi packages, I have a belief that the Streamyx price will be lowered down later on. Only time will tell when.

Why does TM need to revise Streamyx pricing structure? Simple mathematics will do. If you look at Unifi VIP5 package which is priced at RM149 for RM5Mb, when you divide the price per MB, the subscriber ends up only paying for only RM29.8 for 1MB. It’s cheap right, although that’s not really a valid method to calculate the broadband price per bandwidth. Meanwhile Streamyx 1MB package is charging RM99 (with modem) per month, and as you can see, that’s a huge price difference between the two services.

What does this mean? Poor folks pay higher to get the basic broadband services with little or no add-on, and rich folks pay less to get quality service with generous add-on. You know what kind of people lived in TTDI, Bangsar and Shah Alam.

But, it’s not about fairness that I want to point out here, but it’s back to the affordability of broadband service itself that TM must give higher priority now. Federal aims 50% broadband penetration rate by end of this year, knock the price down, and in return you get more people flocking to your service. Am I right?

4464175488 4b4a1a8920 TM To Lower Streamyx Subscription Fee? Why It Is a Must?

Admin 26 March 2010 telecommunication , , , , , 5 Comments

No Volume Cap For All Unifi Packages For Residential

No Volume Cap For All Unifi Packages For Residential

TM via its official Twitter account has announced that, there is no more data cap for all Unifi packages for residential due to public feedback. But they will monitor the Unifi usage before deciding on higher volume caps or excess volume charge.

That’s quite goods news to consumer and positive sign as TM is now willing to compromise and listen to public opinion , instead of sticking to it’s original plan. Now what, my fellow Malaysian? Let’s request TM to lower Unifi subscription fee!!

Admin 26 March 2010 telecommunication , , , , , , , 1 Comment
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