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Maxis Throws Free Modems Until 20th April

4430095525 4d864b464e Maxis Throws Free Modems Until 20th April

Until 20th April, Maxis is offering free USB modem for any broadband subscription through out this period. Maxis is the latest broadband provider to offer free modem, to woo customers in increasingly competitive market. Although few other carriers does offer free modem for broadband subscription, Maxis offering does have few advantages, if you don’t mind to stay within contract.

First  is the low subscription fee, starting from RM48 (normal free RM76) for 1.5 GB bandwidth. It is one of the lowest package in town, if not the cheapest without compromising speed. Compared to some  lowest price package offered by other telco that only offer 386kbps in speed, this package offer the same speed as it’s more expensive package.

The offer is also open to anyone unlike certain telco that only make it available for student. The only downside is, 1.5Gb bandwidth is pretty low for broadband usage in notebook or PC. You can opt for higher bandwidth at 12.0 GB which available at RM178 per month.  For more offers visit Maxis Broadband page.

Admin 14 March 2010 telecommunication , , , , , , No Comments

Mandatory Broadband Facilities In Future?

Federal government looks serious in increasing the internet broadband usage in Malaysia. The latest development including the possibility of amending the existing law so it is mandatory for developers to install broadband facilities in new commercial and residential properties in future. The reason being is internet broadband is viewed as a necessity,  just like electricity and water. They targets to have 50% to have broadband facilities by end of this year.

Every move toward achieving greater broadband accessibility is applauded, but the definition of broadband facilities the minister is suggesting can raise curiosity to certain parties. Does it means built in modem or router in the building? Or broadband services ready in every house? That doesn’t sounds really possible.  One important element in wired broadband, which is telephone port to connect to wired broadband’s modem or router, is already available in almost every building in Malaysia.

Looking at another angle, broadband facility could also mean telecommunication towers or base station to cater for wireless broadband. This will cover broader areas, but this must comes with an agreement from internet provider companies (ISP). Making it mandatory for developers to come out with this will involve not a small amount of capital. Best if group of developers developing in the same areas to works with the ISP to get this ready and offer some sort of reward to encourage the house buyer to subscribe the broadband.

Malaysia is one of developing countries in the world, but not all level of citizens are in sync with the status that we had. Believe it or not, a lot more still prefer Astro (cable TV station) rather than internet broadband. They view Astro as the source of entertainment as well as information,  but not internet broadband which still perceived as a tools to read email or get their office works done. Broadband should be viewed in broader views, but that must comes with much needed speed.

Another important aspect to look at is, the broadband awareness, which is still low in rural areas and small town. Plus the fact that internet broadband especially wireless broadband comes to no existence in certain places doesn’t help much to spearhead the important of internet broadband. This must comes first, as almost half of Malaysian population still lives in this areas. Achieving 50% target is very much possible if every angles are well covered.

Click here to read the full news.

Admin 5 March 2010 telecommunication , , , 2 Comments

Celcom 3G Internet Experience

Choosing the right broadband that suit your need and location is not an easy task. One that works great today may broken the next day or vice versa. I have no brand preference, as long as the service is good enough and worthy, that would be my choice.

I’ve started using Celcom 3G Internet on HTC Magic for almost a week at numbers of location such as Seri Kembangan, , Sungai Besar, Selangor and Teluk Intan, Ipoh Perak. As far as I can tell you, although not all areas are covered by 3G network, I never have the internet connection disconnected continuously. Coverage should be your primary concern, if you’re traveling a lot and need to stay connected at the same time.

In term of download/upload speed, here is the speedtest.net testing which I’ve run few times at few locations. Your result may vary, but  this is roughly the average speed at Seri Kembangan and Teluk Intan, which is quite reasonable for me. Remember, this test was running on smart phone, which tend to have lighter version of website (without javascript, flash and etc), so the load is faster than full version website opened on notebook/desktop.

The frequently visited  websites such Google Reader, Techmeme , Utusan, TheStar, Soccernet load reasonable fast. For new email to  get downloaded into HTC Magic , it is lagging approx. 30 seconds to 1 minute behind my Blackberry device which run on EDGE connection (Blackberry is undoubtedly the perfect device for email).

Watching Youtube videos however far from satisfying, as expected.

The only thing that I wish is that, such speed should be maintained if it can’t be improved, or if it could go faster, that is more than the great bonus to all customers

Seri Kembangan VS Teluk Intan (Celcom 3G Internet on HTC Magic)

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Beside testing the Celcom 3G Internet, I also run the speedtest.net testing on my Streamyx at Seri Kembangan and Teluk Intan using notebook and smart phone as the device testing.

Notebook perform slightly better than smartphone, although the result is opposite when I test it in my hometown, probably just coincidence. This testing is not so accurate as it was done only once, merely to see am I getting what I’ve paid off.

So how’s your?

HP DV2 notebook VS HTC Magic (Streamyx 1MB Wifi)

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HP DV2 notebook VS HTC Magic (Streamyx 512MB Wifi)

669666326 Celcom 3G Internet Experience 4242756585 abc3ce6b8b o Celcom 3G Internet Experience

On both

Admin 4 January 2010 telecommunication , , , , , , 6 Comments

Great Deal at Digi Internet 1 Million Bonanza

4101453497 93ed513ec3 o Great Deal at Digi Internet 1 Million Bonanza
It is only on the second last day that I noticed about this great deal. Poor me..

The promotion is in line with the lauch of Turbo 3G service for mobile phones last week. That includes Digi Broadband and DG BerrySmart Plan which each comes with netbook and Blackberry device respectively. Although the price listed is extremely low, I’m expecting a full upfront payment upon signing.

For instance, Blackberry Curve 8900 device is priced at RM99 plus Digi Broadband sign-up (58 x 12), which brings the total of RM795. That is an absolute bargain, but I’m not sure how reliable Digi’s BIS is.

Anyway, there are 2 more days to go and there are still couple of gadgets up for grabs at a such very low price. Blackberry Bold and Nokia N97 Mini were sold out unfortunately.

Admin 14 November 2009 telecommunication , , , , 1 Comment

The Comeback of EPF Computer Purchase Scheme soon?

epf The Comeback of EPF Computer Purchase Scheme soon?

This year, we’ll see the revival of EPF computer purchase scheme if PIKOM and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) successful on it attempt to reinstate the program. The program once called One Home, One Computer that run between 2000 to 2002, allowing EPF contributors to withdraw their EPF contribution money for computer purchasing purpose.

Looking on the current economy situation, the timely proposal is important to boost the IT spending in Malaysia, in the wake of government budget cut on IT spending. This is the win-win situation between the IT industry, citizen and the country as the whole when the increase of computer ownership means, the computer penetration rate will increased as well, which at the same time inject a much needed medicine to the  IT growth.

But how effective this scheme would be? Would the issue that beleaguered this scheme before repeated? Obviously, the biggest obstacle is how to ensure the fund is correctly use to purchase computers. During the first program, out of 750k EPF contributors who withdrew the money , 87k misused the fund for other purpose.  That represent more than 10% loss of money and productivity.

I have few food for thoughts to share about it.

Price. Computer is quite affordable and no longer a luxury item today. Back then, PC priced more than RM4,000, beyond the reach for most peoples. But nowadays, the cheapest Dell desktop and notebook complete with operating system only cost RM1799 and RM1999 respectively. Action: limit the amount that can be withdrew from EPF as low as possible.

Ignorance. When they can buy plasma TV, multimedia set or  refrigerator that cost thousands via easy payment scheme such as credit card of installment, why giving money factor as excuse not to own computer? Action: tighten the rules and filter the candidate so those who really in need are eligible to join.

Legal and piracy. Malaysia is a well known piracy heaven. The more computer in use by consumers, the more piracy is. If the plan get the green light,  opt for branded PC, such as HP or Acer. Usually branded computer bundled with OEM operating system, which is relatively cheaper than the standalone license. Avoid the no-brand-custom-built system which usually require standalone license that pricier than OEM.

No OS because they want to use Linux?? Honestly, I think most users who purchase the computer through the schema is a first timer. Don’t surprise if  they have trouble using M$$$ Windows..

Durability - How many computers bought during that time still survive until today. Not all computer model including from the well-known companies is durable.Set the standard and come out with the list of computers that fulfill the standard so potential buyer have to choose from that list only.

Internet – They now get the computer via the scheme. But what can they do with it without internet connection? It is very limited right?  So rolled out broadband internet available all over the country,make it cheap and reliable. Or bundle the internet with the computer, as long as the charge is acceptable.

Distribution & After sales support

Buy online. The concept of middle party (ODESAJA previouslt) that receive the fund from EPF and purchase the computer on behalf of the end user should be eliminated. This is the biggest hole in the system.

Distributors – To avoid fraud and distribution problem, choose that has already been in the industry for long time, proven record handling mass production, good corporate governance, solid financial background, wide distribution problem and everything that’s good. Don’t form a new & inexperienced entity solely as a vehicle to  execute this plan.

After sales support – After sales customer service support must be strong enough, fully equipped with knowledge and dedicated personnel. I would like to stress this seriously after seeing number of issues arise due to the poor service and the unacceptable and unprofessional respond from the customer support service.  The buyers are usually are the first timer who has zero or limited knowledge. So it is very imperative to have this in place.

That’s it.. any other thought??

source thestar, MIS-ASIA, zdNet

Admin 15 January 2009 Promotion , , , , , , 2 Comments
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