BB Trail program aims to increase broadband awareness

Working in earnest to meet the 50% household broadband penetration target by the end of this year, the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture yesterday launched the BB Trail program in efforts to increase broadband awareness and uptake in rural areas.

The five month program beginning July 15, consists of road shows covering more than 500 locations across the country including Sabah and Sarawak.

In a press release made available to us, the Ministry says that:

At every stop, the BB Trail will conduct interactive games and contests related to Broadband, offering all interested participants the chance to win attractive prizes related to the National Broadband Awareness and Promotional Program.

The Program targets all age groups covering students and educators of all levels especially those in institutions of higher learning, entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses, parents, families and the public at large.

Through the implementation of the BB Trail, the public would be able to obtain choice information on how to subscribe to broadband easily, and get to select whichever service providers they prefer based on the different promotions and packages offered.

As of July 7, 2010, over 37% of Malaysian households have broadband connection. This equates to about 2.4 million homes out of the 6.3 million homes in Malaysia.

To achieve the 50% household penetration target by the end of this year, another 1 million homes will need to have broadband connectivity. With just five months left in 2010, about 200,000 homes will need to have broadband connectivity a month. That’s a huge ask and the Ministry has their work cut out.

As of Q4 2009, the country’s household broadband penetration stood at 31.7%. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for the 50% broadband penetration target but it’s looking like the Ministry might not hit it.

Let’s wait and see.

Press release after the jump.

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What’s New at MCMC?: Mandatory Standards for Broadband Quality

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.

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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