TM has announced that broadband (Streamyx) and fixed-line customers in Subang are currently facing service interruptions. The damage was caused by cable theft and it affects over 1,800 customers.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo asserted today that he will not allow any petitions obstruct him from doing his ministerial duties.
Referring to an online petition demanding that he resign as minister after his criticism of monopoly service provider Telekom Malaysia (TM) Bhd, the minister said the petitioners are free to initiate it.
A few days ago, a petition was created on Change.org calling for Gobind Singh Deo, the current communications minister to resign on allegations of making statements that are deemed unfair towards TM. The claims that the statements made by the minister have caused TM to lose RM12 billion in market capitalisation since he took office. The petition has since collected over 23,000 virtual signatures. It could be argued that due to this pressure, the minister has taken a more measured tone when making statements about TM.
Streamyx users have constantly complain about being neglected from the recent broadband price reduction. Now that TM and Gobind are finally talking to each other, hopefully, the public will be getting what they want very soon. Here are several things that need to be addressed in order to bring more Malaysians up to speed.
After several exchanges through the media and social network platforms, Gobind Singh Deo, the minister of Communications and Multimedia has assured that the Malaysian government is prepared to assist the telco to find a solution for Streamyx that will benefit everyone. In his tweet, he added that he looks forward to discuss proposals with TM on the matter by next week.
The Communications and Multimedia Minister has made several of public statements recently especially about TM and it seems there are a number of people that don’t agree with his approach so much so that a petition calling for his replacement has appeared on the popular petitions website, change.org. At the time of writing, the petition has amassed over 4,500 virtual signatures.
Last weekend’s broadband slow down was caused by cable cuts on TM’s fibre network. This affected Streamyx, Unifi, Unifi Mobile as well as other broadband services that tap on TM’s infrastructure.
UPDATE: TM has added that the cable cut occurred due to MRT and Sabak Bernam West Coast Expressway construction works.
UPDATE 2: TM services were fully restored at 10AM. TM has highlighted this issue to the local councils and they will be taking necessary actions against the responsible contractors.
TM’s services including Unifi, Streamyx and Unifi Mobile were interrupted since Saturday evening at 11PM. As a result, customers had to endure slow connectivity for the entire day yesterday. This issue had also impacted Maxis Fibre as they are TM’s wholesale customer.
When Gobind Singh Deo took over as the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, he vowed to increase our broadband speeds while reducing subscription cost by half. In the past few months, we saw fibre broadband subscription rates getting slashed to an all time low. You can now get a fibre broadband plan from as low as RM79/month and 1Gbps can be enjoyed for as little as RM199/month which is a dream come true for most Malaysians.
As I’ve mentioned previously, cheap broadband isn’t going to solve our biggest problem. Fibre connections are limited to selected urban areas and this leaves many Malaysians stuck with slower and more expensive connections.
Earlier this year, TM announced that they will be offering a free Unifi upgrade to a number of Streamyx users. However, there are still a large number of TM customers that are still connected on Streamyx. If you are not sure whether you are eligible for the upgrade, don’t worry, TM’s got an easy way for you to check.
Now is probably the best time to sign up for fibre broadband in Malaysia. You can get a 30Mbps broadband plan from as low as RM79/month, or 100Mbps broadband with unlimited quota for only RM129/month.
Unfortunately, not everyone is enjoying faster speeds at lower prices. There are still more than 1 million TM customers that are still connected on Streamyx.
If you’re planning of terminating your current TM Unifi and Streamyx account, there’s now a new policy which takes effect from August 2018. Before visiting your nearest TMpoint, customers are now required to give TM an early notice.
