P1 WiMAX Netbook

This is very interesting because P1 and Green Packet is working on a WiMAX netbook that should be available within next 1-2months.

I did not investigate on this further but I am making a wild guess that it might be the Acer Aspire One WiMAX Netbook or one of the Asus netbook.

Personally I am waiting for a WiMAX mobile device(as small as a mobile phone) to replace my secondary mobile phone, but then the current P1's WiMAX coverage can't offer me mobility, for now.

P.s: Check out the Green Packet website, they are hiding something.

New Green Packet WiMAX Modem

Below are two next generation Wave 2 compliant WiMAX modems(Tower & Shuttle) that GP has unveiled recently at the WiMAX Forum Congress Americas.

Tower is for home use while Shuttle is a USB modem.

More details here

Both modems has been tested on Packet One's WiMAX network, now it is a matter of time for P1 to offer these new modems and also not to forget the Portable WiMAX-WiFi modem.

Green Packet is hungry

Green Packet(GP) is making more loss but nothing is stopping this company from making more investment and going forward. For its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2009, rose by 200 per cent to RM32.377 million from RM10.784 million in the same quarter last year. Read more here.

It's heavy investment in P1 and crazy plans to expand in South East Asia makes me wonder- Does GP have enough money and manpower to do so?

Their newly acquired WiMAX license in Singapore and East Malaysia will require more investments. Especially in East Malaysia when REDtone themself is complaining that it is not easy to deploy wireless broadband there due to its geographical reasons.

I believe WiMAX will require more investment than 3G in Malaysia since P1 will have to spend more money to deploy indoor coverage and this won't be easy. Also, P1 will have to build more base station versus the 3G operators to match their current 3G coverage. These are serious challenges and I hope GP will have enough cash and the experts to get P1 on track.

P.s: Notice the new term "P1 4G WiMAX"? Sounds similar to the term "4G WiMAX" used by YTL Communications.

P1 WiMAX-WiFi Mobile Device

This is so interesting that P1 will soon make available a mobile WiFi device that will allow you to carry it around. What this device does is simple, it receives P1's WiMAX signal and creates a WiFi hotspot for you. In simple word, its a portable WiFi hotspot generator.

Its a real shame that none of the mobile broadband provider has come out with something like this(although the close one is Celcom with its Broadband Wireless Gateway) when 3 out of 4 mobile broadband operator has better coverage than P1.

The current prototype carries a logo of Infomark Co Ltd, a company that develops Mobile WiMAx products in South Korea. The partnership with Infomark is via the collaboration with GCT Semiconductor, which their chips can be found in Green Packet's solution such as the WiGGY.

You can use this hotspot generator for up to 5 hours. No news on when will it be available or the cost.

Green Packet to secure WiMAX license in Singapore

It seems never good enough for Green Packet, it wants more when it comes to WiMAX. The company is securing a WiMAX license in Singapore soon. I believe Malaysia is now famous in the WiMAX world, thanks to Green Packet and P1 WiMAX.

Official news over here.

If you had been following me on Twitter, I broke this news last week.

Mobile Telecom Predictions for 2009

I know this post is extremely late and there has been lots of email since January about this. I apologize for that as I never had the time to write my predictions for 2009.

Here's a very short list on what to look out for in the local telecom industry this year:

Aggressive 3G services

I know that everyone has been saying that it is a year for 3G since it was launched like back in 2005(Celcom in May, Maxis in July and U Mobile in March, 2008). The reality is, 3G has a goal when it was introduced and I don't see that goal being achieved in Malaysia, yet.

3G was created to to offer high speed broadband services on the mobile phone. But till now, I don't see many people out there who are using 3G services and applications on their 3G phone. The only thing that the mobile operators could pride them self on 3G is the wireless broadband services that they are offering, an alternative broadband service to your fixed broadband service.

I am not going to talk about this further, but I hope to see more 3G service for mobile phones this year, such as services that make use of video call, maps/navigation services on phone, enhanced location based services, better online mobile payment, shopping services, music streaming, social networking and thousands of other services when you look at i-mode.

I know that most of these services are available, but I hope to see it coming from our very own telcos and more than 500 content developers in Malaysia out there.

World Economy: Impact on the Local Telecom Industry

I predict that the current world economy situation will have no impact on our local telecom industry. I don't see any reason why people will not SMS or talk less on their phone. That being said, however, people might not change phone as frequent as they did during the previous years.

In general, they should be no impact on our local mobile operators unless they have any business relationship with US-based companies.

WiMAX Heats Up

I have high hopes on P1 to drive the WiMAX and broadband adoption in Malaysia. You will see more WiMAX coverage areas as P1 expands their wireless coverage. On top of this, P1 will be launching their USB modem(MIMO supported) by Q3 this year(about June) and their new fixed WiMAX modem with VoIP support, replacing the current DS 300 model.

P1 does not seem to only focus on providing broadband service but also on content as well. Expect to see more content and services from Ruumz, an online social networking site created by Green Packet, the parent company of P1.

As for the other WiMAX players, personally, I don't expect and don't see much development from them although I must say that I do have a little hope for Asia Space since they are working on Digital Media Broadcasting (DMB) services. It is really interesting to see them trialling the service but I doubt that they could take it further since it involves a lot of investment while they are trying hard to expand their WiMAX coverage.

Asia Space DMB Receiver

It will also be great to see YTL e-Solutions to meet their own deadline this year but personally, I doubt it.

IPTV Services

Well, it is true that IPTV has nothing to do with mobile telecom. The reason I am talking about this is because it could drive the adoption of broadband services in this country. I like what Malaysian based-Syqic has to offer and their partnership with Hypp.TV. I believe that that they are working on a mobile IPTV application. Although they don't have high hopes on it, I hope to see them launching it with a mobile operator later this year.

Other local technology companies working on IPTV services includes MOL, TM , TIME, REDtone, WorldIP.TV and more.

Hope on MVNOs

I have not seen any serious impact from the current MVNOs players yet. When I last spoke to Jason Lo, the CEO of Tune Talk, he said that Tune Talk will be launching the services later this year. I am still trying to get more details about Celcom's investment on Tune Talk.

Another MVNO player appears to have some new developments too. Sumitomo Corporation of Japan has invested RM30 million in Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd. And why would a Japanese company do so, especially during the recession period?

As of January 2009, Merchantrade appears to have over 94,000 active subscribers and this is something positive. Hope to hear more about them this year.

Don't know whether if you still remember Happy, looks like Happy makes you sad afterall.

HSBB to Become Reality

As scheduled, TM should be rolling out the High Speed Broadband (HSBB) for wholesale on second quarter and for retail in the fourth quarter this year.

Speed should be starting from 10Mbps to 100 Mbps for residential customers and up to 1Gbps for businesses for high economic impact areas delivered via fibre optic infrastructure.

More Choices on Mobile Broadband

There has been many talks about 3G/LTE technology competing with WiMAX. I predict there will be more competition in the mobile broadband market once P1 launches their USB Modem. At the moment, only Asia Space offers a WiMAX USB modem, but it has limited coverage areas.

If the signs are right, I see that Celcom Broadband will be focusing more on their 3G broadband offering this year while Maxis Broadband could be coming up with more content and services. Competition between the 3G players will also heat up with DiGi 3G coming into the picture, however, DiGi needs to be aggressive in expanding their 3G coverage this year.

I don't have any predictions for U Mobile as for now. I believe there will be not much impact from U Mobile on the local mobile industry this year, unless if they are able to offer more broadband packages, expand their 3G coverage areas and also launch their much awaited DVB-H services.

NetBook is the Killer Mobile Device

I expect to see more Netbook offerings this year to complement the mobile broadband services. The attractive offerings should be coming from the mobile operators and also the WiMAX operators. If things goes as plan, there should be WiMAX-powered notebook/netbook devices sometime this year.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 with Maxis Broadband is a good bundle but I hope to see something more attractive with complete wireless broadband service(Maxis Broadband is included for the first 6 months only). Also expect to see some attractive netbook offerings from Celcom within the next few weeks.


P/s: If you think I have missed something, kindly post a comment.

Ruumz Launched

Remember when I first talked about Packet One's social networking site about 5 months back? Well the Malaysian based social networking site is now launched.

Here's some of the pictures taken at the Ruumz launch party, last Thursday (15, January 2009) @ Mist Club, Bangsar.

Ruumz Logo
James Chong, Chief Executive, ruumzNation Sdn Bhd
The Team behind Ruumz
Advertlets Bloggers
Some pretty girls(ruumate) snapping our pictures and posting it here
And the night goes on

If you are on Ruumz, add me- scamboy.ruumz.com

Enjoy unlimited 1 month free music download at MusicRuum, normal music download charges applies(up to RM2) with DRM protected.

Packet One Social Networking site- Ruumz

For those of you who did not know, I asked Michael Lai about Ruums few months back when I interviewed him in this video.

Ruumz is expected to launch by the end of this year, which is like 4 months from now. Here's what you get to know when you read Telco Talk Malaysia- Ruumz

Ruumz is a social networking site from Packet One. Based on the current website that is being built right now, it is expected to offer photo, music downloads, mobile downloads, videos, movies, radios and personalized page.

As for now- http://www.ruumz.com is registered under Packet One Networks Sdn. Bhd and the domain will expire in January 2009. The site was created in January 2007 and updated in April 2008. In other words, Green Packet has been working on this project for some time. See here.

At this moment, Ruumz is on invitation basis only and it is in Beta.

I am exited too see what Ruumz could do when it is launched. Finally, Malaysia could have a proper social networking site that could match the top ones in the world.


http://www.ruumz.com/

Free Internet in Sunway Pyramid

Now you can surf for free in Sunway Piramid, thanks to P1. Sadly, the free WiFi service only offers speed up to 128Kbps.

The project is called Wireless@Sunway. This WiFi service does not use WiMAX as backend but Wireless@KL does.

More info and other coverage areas here.

P1 to delay WiMAX launch

Packet One will be delaying its WiMAX launch that is scheduled this month. Look like no WiMAX for Malaysians till then.

P1 is currently trialling the service with selected users. Are you one of them?

More updates soon on the Mobile World website.

MOL Wings

MOL AccessPortal Berhad will soon launch a service called MOL Wings.

Here are some info taken from its soon-to-be launched website:

What is MOL Wings?
A service that aggregates billing and payment collection for wireless internet service providers leveraging on the MOLePoints payment platform.

EXPERIENCE TRUE MOBILITY
Enjoy payment and access mobility across more than 50 wireless zones as long as you have a MOL account. MOL is all you need for wireless freedom.

PAY AS YOU USE
Pay conveniently using ONE single Payment Currency – MOLePoints. Simply top-up your account at over 100,000 physical and virtual payment channels across 63 countries worldwide.

ONE PASSWORD TO REMEMBER
Just ONE account and password to access any wireless zones linked to MOL Wings.

AFFORDABLE & FLEXI ACCESS PLANS
You pay exactly on how much time you use.

SIMPLE WAYS TO SIGN-UP
Just register as a MOL member, top-up your account with MOLePoints, subscribe to an access plan which best suits your needs and start surfing!

Watch this video for a better explanation:



Update: Looks like the P1 WiMAX launch has been slightly delayed. The team in P1 has been pretty busy lately, will it be in the first week of next month?

P1 WiMAX Devices(Updated)

Here are some shots of the WiMAX devices that P1 will offer.

(First Generation WiMAX 2.3 Ghz modem)

(USB WiMAX 2.3 Ghz modem)

The first device above is slightly big, but it looks nice, and requires power to operate.

The USB modem is very small, as small as the Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Stick launched by Celcom recently for enterprise users.

Speed offering will be somewhere between 1Mbps to 2Mbps where it will be priced below RM100 around RM80 per month. Lower speed packages are also expected to be available.

As you guys may have known, rumors says P1 will launch WiMAX by end of this month.

Check out this video too.

WCIT 2008 Interview #2

Here's an interview with Mr. Michael Lai, the CEO of Packet One Networks. Among all the other video interview I did, this is the best interview I have had.

Watch this interview to know what P1 has for the Malaysians this June, actually end of May, Ok, end of May is just rumors, but you guys know about rumors that I usually blog on Telco Talk Malaysia, because it usually happens, exclusive for Telco Talk Malaysia readers!!

Enjoy this video.

P1 signs WiMAX deal with Alcatel-Lucent

Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd (P1) has awarded the contract to deploy and manage its 2.3Ghz mobile WiMAX 802.16e network to Alcatel-Lucent.

The phase 1 of the deployment is valued at USD$71 million(close to RM230 million). It will allow P1 to deploy and offer high speed WiMAX 802.16e broadband service to the Malaysians.

More here.

What to expect from the year 2008

Here are the list of what to expect in 2008:


Nine Mobile operators

The number of Mobile operators in Malaysia will probably reach nine. Here is the list:

1. Celcom
2. Maxis
3. DiGi
4. Merchantrade-(MVNO on Celcom network)
   
5. REDtone-(MVNO on Celcom network)
6. Tune Talk-(MVNO on Celcom network)
7. U Mobile
8. Time/DiGi
9. XOX.Com-MVNO
   

Mobile Number Portability

The Mobile Number Portability(MNP) is expected to launch by second quarter next year. Although Malaysia is late to offer this service-Singapore started in 1997, Hong Kong in 1999 and Australia in 2001- it would still be an advantage for Malaysia to learn from these countries as MNP has resulted bad damages to the mobile industry in certain counties.

With MNP, you could remain your number while switching your mobile operator. This gives a clear message to the mobile operator that the best services/offering wins the biggest pie of the market. In other words, as an example, DiGi could lead the market overnight although it is cuurently the smallest mobile operator.

WiMAX

Four 2.3Ghz operators will launch their WiMax service this year.

• Packet One- They are expected to sign an agreement with their suppliers this Tuesday and will launch their service between first quarter or second quarter this year.

• Asiaspace- This company has the expertise of building the infrastructure. They plan to launch their service by the end of the year. They will invest RM500 million in the next three to five years.

• REDtone- This company will launch their service in East Malaysia. They will first target business users with speed up to 155Mbps. -Read here
  

• YTL e-Solutions- Not much news from them but they recently joined the WiMAX Spectrum Owners Alliance (WiSOA) . Read more here. However, they are not excepted to launch their service this year.
  

The 2.5Ghz and 3.5Ghz spectrum will soon be taken back by the Government due to poor planning by the related Government bodies, failure of the service providers to commercially laucnch the service and the interference issues with Measat-3.

Do expect WiMAX hardwares this year. Soon, new notebooks with Intel and Mac will carry WiMAX chip on it. WiMAX routers and WiMAX PC cards will also be available soon.

Mobile TV

This year is guaranteed to be a mobile TV year. U Mobile will soon launch its DVB-H service and more phones with mobile TV capability such as DVB-H are expected to be launched in Malaysia this year.

Fibre-to-the-Home(FTTH)

Telekom Malaysia plans to launch its Fibre to the home service by the fourth quater this year. It will offer super fast broadband service up to 100Mbps. Read here.

Android

This Google OS for mobile phone is set to take off on the second half on this year. 34 companies joined the Open Handset Alliance, to develop the Android OS for mobile phone. Read more here.

Through the power of the alliance, it is possible that Android will land in Malaysia this year.

Faster Streamyx

With Telekom Malaysia leading the consortium of companies in building the new undersea fiber optic cable between Southeast Asia and the United States, I believe streamyx will be faster this year. This new undersea cable is expected to be ready on December 2008. Read more.

Smarter Mobile Phones

I believe mobile phones will be smarter this year. As the competition heats up, mobile phone makers will definitely create better phones. This will include mobile phone with advance connectivity, better interface, more features and better capabilities.

Credit Card inside your mobile phone

Soon, mobile phones will have Near Field Communication(NFC) chip in it. With this chip, users can make payments by waving their mobile phone over the merchant’s contactless card reader. Maxis has been trialling this service between their high rank staffs since last year. Trials of this service is also taking place in Australia, read here.


If you think there are more things coming up in 2008, drop me a comment. Also do comment on this article.

Free WiFi from P1

Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd , a subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd, is offering its newly launched WiFi service for free.

Two packages are offered:

• Shared Access

Two packages are available under Shared Access:

1. Hot Zone(WiFi)

The Hot Zone will be free until 17 Feb 2008 where after that users will be charged as below:

-1 Day Plan: RM5
-7 Day Plan: RM10
-30 Day Plan: RM20



No speed information is available. However according to its FAQ:

"Users will be able to enjoy the maximum speeds offered by the P1 access points. The available speeds will be distributed evenly among the number of users associated on to that particular access point"

Create your free account here

2. BIZ Zone

BIZ Zone offers 3 dedicated Hot Zone account with speed up to 1Mbps. It cost RM77 a month with a 1 year contract.

You could register it here.

View the coverage for Shared Access here

• Dedicated Access

Dedicated Access also known as Priority Broadband is a Wireless Internet Leased Line service that is dedicated for business. Priority Broadband offers dedicated connection to the Internet with bandwidth speeds ranging from 512Kbps to 45Mbps.

View the coverage here

Green Packet buys a new office

Green Packet Bhd is getting a new "home" in Petalling Jaya.

The soon-to-be Green Packet headquarter is a a 12 storey purpose-built office building that will cost Green Packet RM39 million-reports Theedgedaily.

"The property is located at Section 8, Petaling Jaya and has two basement car park levels with 126,676 sq ft floor area and 100,000 sq ft of lettable area." says the report.

What to expect from Green Packet on WiMAX?

Packet One, a subsidiary of Green Packet, one of the 4 WiMAX 2.3Ghz licensee, has been interviewed by Business Times. Below are the 7 questions with Michael Lai, CEO of Green Packet International Sdn Bhd.

Michael Lai

QUESTION: What is going to differentiate your service with others?

Lai: We will go to market with fixed voice first, then it will later move on to nomadic and then mobility. But with YTL and all, same competition but of course you will compare price, service, speed and the other usual attributes.

QUESTION: What sort of offerings can the consumers expect from Packet One?

Lai: We will go beyond price with content, with entertainment. If we are just going with connectivity then we can just do fixed broadband. So you can expect to see lots of new content from us.

QUESTION: What are the current limitations within Malaysia's broadband industry?

Lai: One is having one big player. But with the other players growing, the landscape for broadband is going to be different. It is already changing today.

QUESTION: Can consumers expect much lower pricing?

Lai: When GSM was started it was expensive. Just like any initial technology, it will be expensive first. Then the prices will come down as the cost of investment is offset.

Mobile is still expensive to a certain amount but consumers don't complain due to the convenience. Which is why we should pay closer attention to the benefits it brings.

However, competition should reduce price. Definitely you'll see that but it's a matter of how soon it will happen.

QUESTION: So, do you see a price war?

Lai: It really depends on what space the player in the market wants to play. Based on what we talked about in terms of the promise of WiMAX, price is just one component. Like mobile, if it's about price, the usage numbers would not be more than fixed-line users.

QUESTION: One worry is reliability. Would you be able to deliver a reliable alternative? How was the trial?

Lai: The trial was pleasant and we could easily get a speed of 1Mbps. We will try our best to deliver but we do not wish to over promise. We will work on the quality and make tweaks along the way.

QUESTION: Will it not be a rush to roll out next year?

Lai: The target has been set. We are doing rollout in phases. It doesn't happen overnight but we will provide as much coverage as fast as we can. We want to ensure that the quality of the network is there.


Related Articles:

• KL becomes "wireless city", soon
  
• Green Packet sets to roll out Wireless Broadband
  
• DiGi and Green Packet might join forces
  
• Green Packet all set for broadband wireless service
  
• RM500 million on broadband says Green Packet
  

KL becomes "wireless city", soon

Kuala Lumpur will soon be covered with 1,500 WiFi hotspots starting middle next year.

A a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between DBKL,MCMC and Green Packet(Packet 1). The phase 1 of the project will cost RM60 million where RM50 million will come from Green Packet and the rest by MCMC and DBKL.

The project is called the "KL Wireless Metropolitan project".

It is similar to what Singapore has been offering to its citizens since last year. Although this new WiFi service will be using WiMAX as its backbone, wouldn't that be too late to offer full WiFi coverage now?

By mid next year, WiMAX will be offered by 3 telcos in Peninsular and 1 in East Malaysia. Plus, WiMAX hardwares(routers, PC Cards) and notebooks with WiMAX capability will be offered very-very soon.

The KL Wireless Metropolitan project has three phases, where 90% of the Klang Valley population will be covered with WiFi by 2010.

The wireless broadband service will offer speed up to 512Kbps and will be free for 2 years.

I hope this initiative does not end up like here.

WiMAX roll-out is a joke

The Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik has announced that the WiMAX roll-out has been delayed till next year.

The earlier plan was to have at least 25% coverage at the given area with at least a minimum 1Mbps speed at affordable rate.

The reason of the delay was due to the fact that the Government wants all WiMAX operators to share the cost and infrastructure of rolling out the service.

What might be next?

Source: Business Times