Poll Result: Have you ported your mobile number?

As promised, here's the poll result of "Have you ported your mobile number? ".

Over a 100 readers voted and below are the results:

• Majority have not ported their mobile number with 45.3%
• 23.6% said YES
• 28.3% said I am waiting for DiGi 3G, then I will decide
• Only 0.9% said I have ported back to my original mobile operator
• and at least 1.9% said Never heard of Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
  

Have you ported your mobile number?

Since mid-October last year, mobile phone users in this country were given the option to switch mobile operator while they get to keep their favourite mobile number.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP) is now about 4 months old in Malaysia. How many of you have switched mobile operators?

An analysis told me that MNP will be quiet after 6 months, while someone from the telco told me that people will port their numbers to "try out" another mobile operator and eventually, they will come back to the original operator.

I am not sure about all these and I hope that YOU will be able to tell me. Please cast your vote below and I will share with you the result.

The poll will close on the 8th March 2008 next week.
Online Surveys & Market Research

Cheaper Phones, Longer Contract soon

Here's another MNP impact, telcos won't be slashing tariff minutes only but also subsidize the phones aggressively.

During a conversation with one of the key person in Samsung, he told me that Samsung has tied up with DiGi to offer bundled packages where users could get a Samsung phone for free or pay for the selected phone for a maximum RM50.

All these comes with a few years contract, which means that if you are tied for a 2 years contract, you need the pay the access fee or the commitment fee for 2 years and it doesn't matter if you use the line or not. And NO, MNP can't help you to switch operator in this case.

It is believed that Samsung is also working with U Mobile and Celcom that will allow these operators to offer similar bundling packages.

At the moment, Celcom and DiGi offers cheaper Samsung phones but has complicated packages and terms.

Only time(within the next few weeks) will tell us if these rumors are true.

MNP is now ON!!

Yahoo!!! I am excited that MNP is now available. The real war has just begin.

12,000 mobile numbers already ported during the past 6 weeks, read this.

It seems that all the operators are not charging any fess for porting, not only that, they are giving out incentives and freebies for those who port in to their network.

So far, DiGi, Maxis and Celcom have announced those incentives and freebies. Nothing official from Celcom yet.

If you plan to port, check out these sites:-

• DiGi- http://digi.com.my/switch (Site Updated)
  
• Maxis- http://www.maxis.com.my/mnp/main.asp (Site updated)
  
• U Mobile- http://www.u.com.my/umobile/(Site not updated)
• Celcom- http://www.celcom.com.my (Site not updated)

DiGi started a big roadshow few hours back in front of Sungai Wang plaza.

Updates will soon be on the Mobile World website, anyway this roadshow will go on for the next 2 weeks.

U Mobile will also have a roadshow on its MNP promotion for three days starting tomorrow in Berjaya Times Square, Ground Floor.

Also do check out what this editor has to say about MNP.

MNP to fully launch on 15 October 2008

Looks like Mobile Number Portability will be fully launch tomorrow.

Earlier it was only limited to 100 porting per day. A fee of RM25 is expected to be charged for porting.

Source

I know quite a number of people that is waiting to move to another mobile operator. How about you? Will you move to another operator?

UPDATE: According to a market analysis, there are rumors that a lot of people are buying "VIP" 018 numbers. There are just waiting for MNP so that they could convert to another operator with these nice numbers.

MNP Impact

Celcom made big changes to their postpaid and prepaid offering recently.

But that's not the only impact from Mobile Number Portability(MNP).

DiGi is said to have big "killer plans" for 3G and there's quite a number of people waiting for DiGi 3G, including me.

One of the telco will be launching unlimited data plan for prepaid users. Isn't that cool?

MNP is also giving an impact to mobile content providers. It used to be difficult to work with the telcos and have a good revenue sharing. Now, it looks like telcos are looking for mobile content providers, such as this one.

Services like mobile banking will be more common soon. At the moment, Maybank2u mobile banking is only available to Celcom and Maxis customers but with services like UNOS, mobile banking can be something common and accessbile by anyone on any mobile operator.

Bluetooth technology has been here for a very long time. Although the mobile operators has failed to utilised this feature, Malaysian companies like Proximate has been able to use this technology and turn it into revenue generating and exciting.

There is a fast changing wave in the industry and consumers will be the one to benefit it.

MNP is now avilable

PRESS STATEMENT MINISTER OF ENERGY, WATER AND COMMUNICATIONS
ON MOBILE NUMBER PORTABILITY


From tomorrow (29 August 2008), prepaid users may change their cellular phone providers, if they wish, and still keep their mobile phone numbers. For the time being, this service - MobileNumberPortability (MNP) -will be available in the Klang Valley on a limited basis.

In two weeks’ time, post-paid users will also be able to enjoy the service. The nationwide launch of the service will be in October.

MNP takes away the inconvenience associated with switching service providers. Consumers will
no longer need to worry about losing their contacts when changing service providers.

Service providers are allowed to charge up to RM25 each time a subscriber changes his/her service provider. This will give mobile phone users choice and freedom to choose their service providers without the inconvenience of having to change their numbers.

Those who wish to sign up for the service are advised to contact any of the mobile service providers – Celcom, Maxis, DiGi and U-Mobile.

Each of these companies will have five service centres all over the Klang Valley to entertain MNP requests.

Subscribers can refer to the Frequently-Asked-Questions on Mobile Number Portability here, and all of the mobile operator’s websites to find out more about the location of the service centres, MNP in general, the porting process and its benefits.

MNP is about improved service quality, better packages, better customer service and giving consumers choice.

Initially, only individual account holders will be able to change their service companies. Business accounts may do so after the nationwide launch in October.

Subscribers are advised that until the nationwide launch, each service provider will only be able to accept 100 requests per day. However, additional requests will still be accepted but placed in queue for the following day.

Prepaid users are advised to finish their prepaid balances before they change their service providers as any remaining balances will not be refunded. Subscribers are advised not to rush into porting but should first study the various packages being offered before choosing the new service provider of their choice.

(source)

List of the mobile operator service centre that you can port your number

Win yourself a Motorola portable charger

Tell Mobile World on what you think about MNP and why you plan to switch or stay with your mobile operator.

Stand a chance to win a Motorola portable charger that can be used to charge selected mobile phones while you are on the move.

Click the banner on the right and start posting in the Mobile World forum. Register yourself here before you do so.

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.

New Maxis Caller Ringtone "Renewal Fee"

For those who are not aware, Maxis has started charging RM2 every month per Caller Ringtone since Dec 17, 2007.

In other words, if you have purchased a Caller Ringtone after Dec 17, then you will be paying RM2 a month for each Caller Ringtone stored for your Maxis number. For example, if you have 5 Caller Ringtones for your number, then you will be paying a monthly fee of RM10(RM2 x 5) every month or RM120 year.

This is more expensive then the previous charging system where customers pay RM3 to buy a Caller Ringtone and later pay RM3 per month no matter of how many Caller Ringtones they have.

With the new system, customers pay RM3-RM4 to purchase a Caller Ringtone and later has to pay a "renewal fee" every month for EACH Caller Ringtone they bought.

However, Maxis and Hotlink customers are given an option to choose between the old and new charging method.

The down part, customers who wish to remain on the old charging method(RM3 per month for unlimited Caller Rintones) are not allowed to purchase any new Caller Ringtones after Dec 17.

Customers who opt for the new charging method will have to pay the "renewal fee" for all Caller Ringtones(including the old Caller Ringtones purchased before Dec 17, 2007) under their number.

In a media report, "We made it simpler" said T. Kugan, head of products and infotainment business at Maxis' products and new business division. “Just download the song you want and pay the rental fee each month” he said.

The option given are inconvenient as I believe both old and new charging methods are using the same Caller Ringtones system. I wonder how fast Mobile Number Portability will arrive?

Maxis will also offer new packages such as purchasing 3 songs at RM5 in the future.

Read the Caller Ringtones FAQ here.


Last checked DiGi was still charging a monthly fee of RM3 for their Caller Tunes no matter the number of Caller Tunes purchased under its mobile number.

Mobile Number Portability coming soon

With mobile number portability in Malaysia just months away, Telcordia and Unified Communications have joined forces to bring their world-class number portability solution to the country.

In March, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission announced that the consortium of Talian Gerak Alih, Unified Communications and Telcordia was selected to build, operate and manage the mobile number portability clearinghouse in Malaysia.

The proven solution, which will be implemented in the first half of 2008, enables carriers to comply with the country’s timeline for the implementation of mobile number portability.

At the core of the comprehensive solution is Telcordia’s number portability clearinghouse solution.- TelecomAsia.net