Business Times reports that the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture (KPKK) has setup what it calls a Broadband Action Brigade that will comprise of representatives from the ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and local telcos to identify and fix broadband problems faced by individual consumers or firms.

The report says the brigade is a part of the Government’s initiative to boost Internet accessibility in the country, enhance broadband speeds, cut subscription fees and meet the Government’s targeted 50%household broadband penetration by year end. That’s a mighty big ask for the three month old brigade that’s currently being headed by the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf. Right now the brigade meets every week to resolve broadband problems.

At the same time, KPKK has just launched a six-month long broadband awareness program to disseminate information on the benefits of broadband to the public, especially the rural areas to get more Malaysians to jump on the broadband bandwagon. We have to say, the program has a very catchy slogan though – “Get Broadband, Get Everything“.

On top of that Rais said that we can look forward to more affordable broadband fee as the the ministry is currently finalising its study on the subscription fees charged by various telcos to make them more affordable.

The report ended with Rais saying “It will be ready soon. It is not possible for us to standardise the charge by telcos, but we can make sure that it is affordable,”.

The PACIK is not going to like this one bit.

But seriously, ss cheap broadband really the answer to boost penetration? We’re still skeptical.

We tried searching online on how do we get in touch with this Broadband Brigade but we couldn’t find any leads. But if you have a complaint, you can try here and here.

[picture credit]

	MCMC/SKMM
	broadband action brigade, broadband malaysia, broadband penetration malaysia, cheaper broadband Malaysia, Communications and Culture, KPKK, Ministry of Information, skmm

BERNAMA reports that the Government is looking into the possibility of reducing broadband access fee nationwide to ensure that the people, especially those in the rural areas, can afford to use broadband.

Speaking at the sixth Ministerial Forum on Information, Communication and Technology, our minister of Information, Communication and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Internet services in Malaysia can be cheaper. Rais compared local brodband prices with Singapore where broadband providers there can offer 2Mbps line for the equivalent of RM20. Here, the same speed is offers at a hefty RM130 – RM199. Rais said that local operators should look at how other countries within the region, like Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand set broadband prices.

With all due respect to the minister, we don’t think broadband prices are hampering progress of broadband subscription instead it is a matter of priorities. For the majority, broadband can be free in Malaysia for all they care but the reality is they will never use it.

Read the rest of this entry »

	MCMC/SKMM
	broadband malaysia, broadband penetration malaysia, cheaper broadband Malaysia, rais yatim

BERNAMA reports that the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Comission (SKMM) is monitoring three WIMAX operators for not meeting their respective coverage targets.

The report said that all three have failed to achieve the 25 percent targetted market penetration.

Deputy Minister of Information Communication and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said from March 2008 to March 2009, the three companies had failed to achieve the target and can be fined.

He added that the government was ready to withdraw the licences of companies that failed to deliver the target, including Asiaspace Sdn Bhd.

So far nothing has happened.

He also said that athough the target has not been met, all four companies have shown an improved performance since March 2009.

We’re not sure what he means by “all four have shown improved performance” because it has been over a year since March 2009 and YTL still have not managed to convince the public that they indeed have a WiMAX network up and running. AMAX and REDtone are not fairing too well either with very limited coverage and a relatively small subscriber base.

But it seems like we’ve heard all this before. Those with long memories will recall that MCMC had alledgedly issued fines to the same operators for the exact same reason. The only difference is that the statement was made October 2009.

In October, 2009 The Star reported that SKMM issued letters on the fines to YTL e-Solutions (RM1.9mil), AsiaSpace (RM1.7mil), REDtone International (RM200,000) for failure to meet the 25% population coverage by the end of March but the operators have all made appeals against the fines.

We’re not sure if much has changed since then and the only WiMAX operator that’s really moving forward is P1; even then we’re seeing them being plagued with a very unstable network.

[source]
[source 2]

	AMAX, Industry in General, MCMC/SKMM, P1, P1, Players on the Field, REDTone, WiMAX, Yes

The SMS we received from 66300 reads:
Priviledged offer, Google Nexus Phone for only RM215.67/mth on UOB 12 mths 0% IPP. Valid till 30 April 2010. T&C apply. For details call 0323003388.

another variation read:
SMS promo: Google Nexus Phone for only RM215.67/mth on UOB 12 mths 0% IPP details call 0323003388

There’s a thread on LowYat.Net forums about this offer as well.

When we first saw this we thought – “this can’t be true”.

A quick call to UOB customer service 03 2612 8121 revealed that our suspicion was warranted.

The SMS is not true and don’t be fooled. You could end up with a very hefty credit card bill rather than a Nexus One.

Read the rest of this entry »

	Industry in General, MCMC/SKMM, Mobile Devices, Nexus One, SMS Scam Alert
	nexus one for sale malaysia, nexus one malaysia, nexus one uob credit card offer, official nexus one malaysia

The people at MCMC (or SKMM, whichever you prefer) are now looking at implementing a “mandatory standard for the quality of service for broadband wireless access service” and from what we here, this new standard could take off as early as June.

Currently SKMM is conducting a public enquiry to develop a framework of what the standards should be. Now is the time for you – the public – to voice you opinion and set the standard for quality broadband in this country.

So what are you waiting for? Details on the project HERE.

	Industry in General, MCMC/SKMM
	Malaysia Broadband, Malaysia Broadband Quality, MCMC, skmm