After a long wait after hearing news & speculations, Maxis is the official telco to sell the ground breaking iPhone 3G. No doubt it has been a long wait since July 2008 when we first started the online petition at iPhone 3G for Malaysia but we’re glad that the wait is over. Maxis offers both iPhone 3G 8GB & 16GB that comes in black and white (16GB version only).

Lets take a look at what Maxis has offering:

Contract Plans

As expected, Maxis offers various contract durations with 6 months, 12 months and 24 months. Obviously a shorter contract period would have fetch a higher price for the iPhone 3G device while a longer contact period and higher commitment fee such as the i-Value 24 months Plan offers the iPhone 3G 8GB version for FREE.

6 months Contract

12 months Contract

24 months Contract

At first glance, we think Maxis is over doing it by coming out with various of plans and packages with different bundles. If you see from above, there are a total of 12 plans to choose from! Getting an iPhone 3G should have been easier and it shouldn’t take a genius to find out which package gives the best value.

In these times where people are getting more hard up financially, the timing of the launch isn’t exactly perfect. The price however isn’t as cheap as speculated before (iPhone 3G under RM1000) and customers would need to pay an advance payment ranging from RM200-RM2000 depending on plan.

However, we do believe that some people out there who are willing to fork out more cash for the purpose of being different. Judging by the sales of unofficial units in Malaysia that costs RM2000-RM3000, this simply proves that people are still willing to spend even for a non-official released product.

iPhone 3G as MNP bait

With no hesitation to capture more people into its growing community, Maxis also added an online booking for non-Maxis subscribers. However you’re porting must be successful before you could claim your iPhone 3G booking. It is known that Maxis will give priority to those who booked the iPhone 3G online prior its big event on the coming 20th-22nd March 2009 at KLCC Convention Centre.

So are you up for it? Visit Maxis iPhone 3G site at http://www.maxis.com.my/iphone

iPhone 3G is finally here – The Star
Official Press Release from Maxis

What is MNP?
If you haven’t heard of it, MNP allows mobile subscribers to keep their mobile numbers including its prefix with them if they wish to switch to a different operator. Currently, there are 4 main operators in the country and the prefixes (010, 011, 012, 013, 014, 015, 016, 017, 018, 019) are fixed with the registered operators.

If a user is a Maxis subscriber bearing 012-1234567, he/she won’t be able to bring this number with them when switching to a different operator. This has become a big barrier for consumers who wish to switch as mobile numbers tend to be a personal identity which many won’t want to lose.

Benefits of MNP
The main key benefits of MNP is that mobile subscribers can take their numbers with them regardless of mobile operator they subscribe to. This will break old traditions and creates a new telco environment where consumers have better freedom and control to change operators if they are not satisfied with their existing telco experience. Due to this new situation, mobile operators would need to improve on their services and package offering in order to sustain their existing subscribers. We believe there are millions if not hundreds of thousands of subscribers who wants to make the switch but aren’t willing to lose their number. Come October, it would be interesting to see how MNP would impact the subscriber figures of each respective mobile operator.

Hurdles of MNP
After knowing what MNP could benefit consumers, we would also need to be aware of the pitfalls or hurdles that would hamper the process of MNP. Firstly, we are still unclear on porting charges that may apply if a subscriber decides to switch from one operator and another. At this point of time, we have yet to hear any confirmation of such charges. According to the The Star, it was reported that the porting charges would be somewhere between RM20-RM25. In addition, it is also mentioned that a 3rd party clearing house called Talian Gerak Alih Sdn Bhd would act as a mediator for mobile number porting.

On implementation, we haven’t seen anything concrete at this point and the validation time which we believe is the porting period is somewhere between six hours to 1 week. Usually for other MNP countries such as Australia, mobile operators could be penalised if a subscriber’s number fails to port to the new operator within the stipulated porting period.

It is also noted that some mobile plans have contracts which prohibits subscribers from terminating prematurely before the end of contract period. Before a subscriber decides to port out, they would need to check with their current contracts if such contract period applies.

Misconceptions on MNP
We have heard several misconceptions on MNP and here are some of them:

1. If I own a Maxis line 012-1234567 and decide to move to Celcom, my new number would be 019-1234567
   It is unlogical and pointless if a subscriber is only moving his last 7 digit number number and losing his original prefix. Besides, this would also cause a conflict if there is already an existing celcom number with that same number.

   After MNP, If you own 012-1234567, your number with Celcom would also be 012-1234567. MNP allows you to bring your EXACT mobile number to any new operator.

2. I can register a 018 with Maxis after MNP! No more prefixes!
   Not entirely true. At this point of time, there is no deregulation on the prefixes being offered. 018 is still issued by U Mobile, 012 & 017 by Maxis, 016 by DiGi, 013 & 019 by Celcom and 014 by various operators depending on number range.

   Perhaps in future, once MNP is implemented fully we might see new registration numbers starting from 01XXXXXXXXX and mobile operator bounded prefixes would be obselete.

With MNP launch around the corner, it would be exciting to see what MCMC and the Malaysian mobile operators would announce in the next couple of weeks to come. Watch this space for more updates as SoyaCincau will give you the latest on the implementation of MNP.