Un-Happy Update

A reader pointed out HERE that Happy has revised its call rates for 2009.

The reader said:

After using Happy for almost a year, I’m extremely annoyed that they changed their rates suddenly on Jan 22, 2009, delusionally advertising them as “new happy deals”. What bullsh*t.

We couldn’t agree more and here are the details.

Happy hinted that the “no-frills” cheapskate mobile service provider was working on new rates.

Happy revealed the revised rates on January 22, and we’re pretty sure many were very disappointed with the crappy “Happier” rates.

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SoyaCincau.com is back!

Our regular readers will obviously have noticed that we haven’t been updated this blog for a very, very long time.

First things first, we’re sorry.

We’ve grossly underestimated the time and commitment it took to deliver a good read on local telco developments on a regular basis. And in the past few months we’ve been bogged down with a lot of other commitments outside this blog that, regrettably, the blog took the back seat.

And even more regrettably, a lot has happened in the industry that we so much want to write, share and discuss with our readers but we can’t because we didn’t have the time.

Once again, we’re sorry.

The good thing about all this is that you learn from you mistakes and we’ve definitely learned our. This new year we’re all pumped up to give you the inside scoops, tips and opinions inside the telco industry.

Our regular readers can expect regular updates from us. For the first timers here, welcome and please fill us in if there’s anything about the industry that you’d like us to talk or find out more about.

We know it’s a bit of a stretch but you’ll know it’s the thought that counts. So we’re wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR! and to our Chinese friends and readers, have a prosperous year of the Ox.

SoyaCincau.com is back!

DiGi Prepaid offers 1 year validity

After Maxis launched its Hotlink 365, DiGi has responded with its Reload Once, Stay Connected for ONE Year offer for a limited time period between 23rd July – 31st August 2008.

DiGi’s offer is simple and gives more value to its customers as it only requires a RM100 usable reload. This means every single sen spent for validity is actual credit or talk time that subscribers can use.

On Hotlink 365, its subscribers are required to pay a yearly fee of RM33 which is similar to paying access fee which subscriber can’t utilise.  On top of the RM33 fee, they would need to top up RM30 within the first 6 months of activation.

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Happy payable thru Maybank2u, now available in Sabah!

Happy, a no-frills prepaid on DiGi’s network has finally introduced direct debit payment thru Maybank2u. Previously Happy accepts only credit card transactions which limits its online subscription audience. Currently, it is estimated that there are 2.7 million credit card holders in Malaysia which is equivalent to only 10% of the population. With this new payment channel, we believe they are now capable to acquiring a larger subscriber base.

At the same time, Happy has also spread its wings about a week ago to Sabah! It was reported that they have been organising roadshows at strategic locations in Kota Kinabalu. As MNP is drawing near, it is obvious that Happy needs to spread its presence around Malaysia in other to secure its footprint in the prepaid segment.

Happy Prepaid: Joy for how long?

Happy says they are the prepaid mobile plan that’s just nice. We say: barely

Happy was launched sometime in December 2007 and it had created some buzz in the telco industry.

Who is this Happy? By now, most of you should have seen its multi coloured advertisements on TV, Internet and newspaper. While Happy is a part of DiGi, it tries to disassociates itself from the big yellow where its advertisements and promotional materials do not carry the DiGi brand. Even their sales channel are limited to their website and selected Giant hypermarkets. We’re wondering why they are not making use of DiGi’s already established dealer channels nationwide.

It is only after you looked closely, you will know that Happy comes from DiGi. In fact, Morten Lundal, the former CEO of DiGi said that Happy is formed by a rebel group in DiGi’s headquarters itself.

The next question is why did they create Happy when DiGi is already a strong prepaid-centric brand? It could be possible that Happy is a limited time experiment by DiGi. In an event where the outcome is not desirable, they could easily pull the plug on Happy without affecting DiGi as a whole.

So what’s the deal with Happy?

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