Maxis to open up network for content developers

According to a reliable source(I can't mention the name), Maxis is in the midst of opening up their network(API). This would allow content & application developers to access the Maxis network up to a certain level using API.

This is wonderful because a direct access into the Maxis network would allow a number of services to be offered, for example location based service, Internet-based mobile service and more.

Expecting this to take place within next few month. Can't wait for this Maxis!

2nd Content Malaysia gathering

Here comes the second Content Malaysia gathering(this was the first one & photos).
It will take place tomorrow, details:

Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Time: 3:15pm - 6:00pm
Location: Centro @ KL Sentral

What's going to happen there?
There will be a registration point for Maxis 1Store at this week's Content Malaysia gathering. In other words, no need to spend time submitting online. Just bring all relevant documnents to the event and we will get you started as a Maxis Developer.

Please help spread the word to developers!

Also "This time we will be focusing on the Mobile World Congress as well as the influx of developer platforms. How should one go about selecting which platform to develop an application?"

Come and discuss the Mobile World Congress and what it means to developers. -What are thoughts on Windows Phone 7, Symbian 3 and Bada operating systems? -What do you think of all the phones that were launched at MWC? -What else did you like about MWC?

If you develop contents, make sure you be there! RSVP on Facebook now...

Content Malaysia is organised by Mobile World and it is made possible by a collaboration with Maxis.

Maxis Network is partly DOWN

At the point of writing, there has been a number of reports that Maxis is having network problem. It is not a nationwide problem(for example only part of Ipoh is down) and appears to have started about 3-4 hours back(6pm).

Here's some screenshots from Maxis users on Twitter:
As normal, I don't think Maxis is going to apologies or notify their customers regarding this issue. By the way, their "IMPORTANT NOTICE" page was last updated in June 2009. Smooth network, am I right Maxis?

Maxis DataRoam Unlimited

Maxis postpaid customers who roam with Singtel (Singapore), HK-CSL (Hong Kong) or Taiwan Mobile (Taiwan) only pay a daily flat rate of RM38 for data/mobile internet access.

DataRoam Unlimited webpage

The first Malaysian App Store- Maxis 1Store

The Maxis 1Store was launched in June 2009, an application store for mobile developers to promote their apps to Maxis users.

However it was not really "open" at that time as it was focused more in promoting the winning entries from the Mobile Content Challenge(MCC) 2009. Plus in my opinion, Maxis 1Store did not really made any huge impact on the mobile industry.

Till recently, Maxis has taken big steps by opening up the 1Store to virtually any mobile developers around the world. As for now, the operator only accepts applications based on the Java and Symbian platform with plans to support Android and Blackberry platforms in the future. Read more here.

However, something very IMPORTANT was missing from the Maxis 1Store website. The revenue sharing details was not disclosed. Its a mistake for not disclosing it as revenue sharing is key to everything for a mobile developer. I can develop and sell millions of app, but if Maxis is taking more money than me, from my apps, what is the point of doing it?

Secondly, Maxis is limiting themself to their own customers when they can always sell those apps to Celcom, DiGi or U Mobile subscribers, that's the the power of an app store! At least this is a good start for Maxis and I hope to see more out of it.

If you develop Java or Symbian apps, check out http://www.1store.com.my/

Maxis Broadband on Twitter

For those of you using Maxis Broadband, you may contact them via Twitter if you face problem with your Internet service or when you are not satisfied with their offerings.

Note that response time may take one day and you may be asked to file up a form here. The Maxis Broadband team will not put any effort in calling you up or contact you via alternative ways(other than Twitter) if you don't fill up the form because they are not interested with your Internet problem.

So far most of their tweets are related to filling up a form and marketing messages. They did not announce the network issues that broadband users faced last week.

http://twitter.com/maxisbroadband

Calling all Content Creators!

If you develop mobile applications or has a mobile service, then you must attend the first gathering of Content Malaysia, a community for Malaysian Content Creators.

This is a Mobile World event and it is made possible by a collaboration with Maxis.

Details as below:

Date: Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Time: 3:00pm - 5:30pm
Location: Centro @ KL Sentral

Make sure that you RSVP on Facebook before attending!

See you there.

Maxis will suspend your Broadband service for hitting the limit

Update 1: Get LESS with Maxis Broadband. If you visit the Maxis Broadband landing page here, you will see the notice regarding this matter. At least now we know that Maxis Broadband does the action first and then notice later. Good job Maxis, I am sure your customers are HAPPY!

You can also read a related story carried by Mobile World.

_____________________________________________________

The next time when you start surfing with your Maxis Broadband service, make sure you count every single bit and bytes of it, because the folks at Maxis is gonna suspend your Internet service completely once you reached the data limit.

Image credit: Prasys’ Blog

Just last few days Maxis announced the data add on packages, now a number of users are complaining because Maxis has blocked their Internet connection for exceeding the given data limit.

In my opinion, what Maxis is doing is extremely wrong because no notice where given to customers and existing terms & conditions said that Maxis will limit the speed but not suspend the Internet service if a user exceed the given data limit.

From a positive side, doing this will free up the whole Maxis Broadband 3G network but in the same time the add on packages appear to be more expensive than the existing packages!

I will refer this to MCMC soon.

In the mean time, check out this post and also some of the comments in Lowyat Forum.

Maxis Broadband to offer Data volume add on

Starting 4 January 2010, Maxis will offer its broadband users an option to purchase additional data volume.

Two packages:

• XtraMb500- 500MB for 30 days at RM18
• XtraGig1- 1GB for 30days at RM28 (the 1st purchase before 31st January 2010 is free)
  

The additional data volume can be purchased via the My Account portal at https://myaccount.maxis.net.my/wbb/.

I am not sure if Maxis has started charging users once they have exceeded the given data volume of a broadband package.

Mobile Network Status during Christmas Eve

It was the night before Christmas and you probably had problems to make a call, send an SMS or connect via mobile broadband.

There was problem with the Maxis and Celcom network, although I don't expect the Celcom network to go down till the 5th day of Christmas(Celcom has the best prepaid charging system). Surprisingly there were no reports on DiGi.

It is common that the telcos would have a standby team to handle unexpected high traffic during festive seasons. If you faced problem with your telco yesterday, in most cases it means that the network(base station) at your area was congested, or the whole network can't handle million of customers at one time.

Here's a short compilation of tweets from mobile users who were frustrated with their mobile operators between yesterday night till early this morning:

Maxis:
A number of reports on slow broadband speed or can't connect.

http://twitter.com/zaf4124/statuses/7020181246
http://twitter.com/EDyew/statuses/7024171755
http://twitter.com/myloismylife/statuses/7024234972
http://twitter.com/blee008/statuses/7026760038
http://twitter.com/imjunie/statuses/7026911360
http://twitter.com/HayatiRamli/statuses/7027667736
http://twitter.com/sapiensbryan/statuses/7029138912
http://twitter.com/AminAshaari/statuses/7002515417

Celcom:
There were reports that Celcom Broadband was slower than dial up speed(dial up speed is about 56Kbps), and a number of users can't connect. However the service recovered during noon.

http://twitter.com/Danialhamzah/statuses/6998771839
http://twitter.com/luthtextile/statuses/6999812721
http://twitter.com/nyssnisacha/statuses/7001235092
http://twitter.com/derrickveejay/statuses/7002392549
http://twitter.com/AminAshaari/statuses/7002515417

DiGi:
I tested DiGi EDGE, voice and SMS during midnight and all of it was working fine. If you did face problem with DiGi, then it was not a nationwide problem but more to a specific location.

http://twitter.com/ayiE5811/statuses/7022007400
http://twitter.com/jennihsurf/statuses/7018938945


The compilation above is just to show you the on-going network problems yesterday. There could more users out there who had problems but did not tweet about it or most probably they are not on Twitter.

Maxis HSPA+ is too early

Just last Friday I blog that 2 of the 3G operators are HSPA+ ready, Maxis yesterday announced that small part of their network is now HSPA+ enabled. Read the official story here. In my blog post, I said that the best time to launch HSPA+ is probably about the end next year, so is Maxis making a mistake here?

But here's the thing, will this implementation resolve the current network congestion? I don't think so, using Maxis Broadband for the past few days, I still don't get a satisfying BROADband speed on HSDPA.

Let's get to point here, Maxis did not announce:

• the availability of HSPA+ supported devices and when it will be available
• how it selects the trial users and how long does this "trial" goes on
• the exact date or month that HSPA+ will be officially available
• numbers of HSPA+ enabled sites

The only thing you would notice Maxis shouting is this- We are the first to launch HSPA+!!. Sounds very supportive of its customers.
As for the experience, Maxis is promising speeds of up to 10–15Mbps, but that really depends on how much bandwidth does each of its HSPA+ base station has. Unless Maxis plan to use its own FTTH as backhaul for its base station, but this won't happen anytime soon(that's why I said end of next year).

Malaysians, go ahead and get the experience of speeds up to 21Mbps. Remember this, our current fixed line or mobile broadband(including Maxis Broadband) cannot even give you a decent and stable BROADband speed.

Will the other telco make the same move?

A simple guide to choosing a Mobile Broadband service

Are you not decided on which mobile broadband service to choose? Here's a simple guide for you.
Before you read below, please check out my blog post on "Mobile Broadband is not for Everyone".

Coverage
If you are getting a mobile broadband service for use while traveling, choose between Maxis Broadband and Celcom Broadband. Celcom may have more 3G/2G coverage areas compared to Maxis in Malaysia but Maxis could offer faster speed than Celcom considering that Celcom Broadband has about 3 times more broadband subscribers than Maxis.

Conclusion: Go for Celcom Broadband when it comes to coverage.

Speed
Speed really depends on current network traffic and overall network subscribers. As Celcom has the highest number of mobile broadband subscribers(about 500k), I personally do not recommend Celcom Broadband if you are looking for speed.

You may choose between Maxis Broadband, P1 WiMAX, DiGi Broadband and U Broadband after you consider the options below based on your requirements:

Maxis Broadband- More than 100k broadband subscribers(may not get high speed all the time and in all areas), but it offers the best coverage among the 4 above.

P1 WiMAX- About 100K subscribers and speed is very much dependent on location and signal strength. Coverage is not there yet for mobile broadband but expanding aggressively.

U Broadband- Network is not congested and may offer you speed about 1Mbps at most of the time, but lack of good 3G coverage.

DiGi Broadband- Could offer high speed broadband at the moment but lack of good 3G coverage for mobile broadband.

Conclusion: It is a hard decision to make but if you are looking between standard coverage and speed than Maxis Broadband is recommended.

Price
From a price perspective, all of them (mobile broadband providers) have very attractive packages, as low as RM40. Some packages comes with USB modem as well. Refer their websites:

• Maxis Broadband
• Celcom Broadband
• U Broadband
• DiGi Broadband
• P1 WiMAX

Conclusion: Refer to the ISP websites


Note that experience on a mobile broadband service may vary depending on location and current traffic load that the network is handling. You may want to pick a package that offers a trial period before subscribing.

Video Interview: Maxis 1Store

Here's a recent interview with Maxis regarding its application store called 1Store.

Maxis 1Store is a one-stop Application Store, which allows Maxis customers to explore, discover and purchase content as well as applications that can be down-loaded to their mobile phones.

Video: Interview with Navin Wathan of 1Maxis by The Telecom Channel



P.s: Video might stream very slow on Celcom Broadband and Streamyx, should work fine on Maxis Broadband.

Maxis ends with 42 sen gain on 1st day listing

Also read-‘New’ Maxis aims to beat old

Maxis makes a comeback

Comment by Goh Thean Eu of Business Times

Maxis in spotlight as it stages comeback on Bursa

Maxis Bhd, the country's largest mobile operator, will come under the spotlight tomorrow when its shares are relisted on Bursa Malaysia after two years.

Although its path to a relisting has not been smooth, most investors are expected to put their "issues" aside and try to get a piece of the stock.

"It is hard to ignore Maxis. Fund managers would want a piece of Maxis, as it would be included as a KLCI component stock. They can't afford to lose out," said an analyst who declined to be named as his firm is partly involved in the Maxis relisting exercise.

In the events leading up to its relisting, some institutional investors were reportedly unhappy over the amount of Maxis shares allocated to them. In some cases, they were allocated only 5 per cent of what they have initially applied for.

Sources said insurance funds were given slightly higher allocation, as they are unlikely to sell the shares over the short term.

Maxis will raise over RM11 billion in the initial public offering (IPO), touted to be the largest in Southeast Asia.

Maxis chose to list its shares at a time when mobile penetration is saturated and the mobile market is flooded with new players like Tune Talk and XOX.

Read full comment

Maxis Year End Offer

Not sure how BIG are these deals, but I did not find anything that is interesting in a BIG way. Click above image for more details.

Maxis to Borrow 5 Billion Ringgit

Maxis Bhd., the mobile-phone company conducting Malaysia’s biggest initial public offering, plans to borrow 5 billion ringgit ($1.5 billion) to repay loans to its parent and fund expansion of broadband networks.

A debt level of 1.75 times to 2 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization is “optimal” for Maxis Bhd., versus 1.1 times now, Chief Financial Officer Rossana Annizah Rashidi said in an interview in Singapore. Maxis Communications Bhd., the parent for which Rossana is also the CFO, plans to use the loan repayment and IPO proceeds from Kuala Lumpur-based Maxis to fund expansion in India and Indonesia.

“We felt it is more appropriate to have debt because we don’t want to have a lazy balance sheet,” Rossana said in a joint interview with Chief Executive Officer Sandip Das. The company plans to raise the debt within the next six to 12 months, she said today in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Maxis Communications, taken private two years ago by billionaire T. Ananda Krishnan, is raising as much as $3.7 billion in the offering of its local unit next month. The sale would be more than double Petronas Gas Bhd.’s record Malaysian IPO in 1995. The shares are being sold as equity markets return to levels preceding Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy.

“The company is positioned for growth,” Das said. “In some parts of Malaysia, such as Sabah and Sarawak, the penetration rate is very low, at under 40 percent, offering enormous growth potential.”

Source Bloomberg- continue reading

Malaysia’s Maxis Said to Set I.P.O. Price Range

Maxis, Malaysia’s biggest mobile service provider, aims to raise as much as $3.65 billion in the biggest initial public offering in the country, despite a cooling off in demand for Asian listings following China’s flurry of offerings.

Maxis, which will sell 30 percent of its existing share capital in the I.P.O., has set an indicative price range of between 4.80 ringgit to 5.50 ringgit a share, or $1.40 to $1.60, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters on Friday.

The deal comes to market at a time when demand for I.P.O.’s has slightly soured. The South Korean company Posco Engineering & Construction canceled its planned $926 million offering this past week, citing disappointing interest from investors.

In Hong Kong, Evergrande, a developer based in Guangzhou, dramatically cut its fund-raising target to just $828 million, from $2.1 billion.

The share offer by Maxis comprises a tranche of 2.037 billion shares for institutional investors, more than 90 percent of the total, and a retail investor portion of 212.3 million shares. The company kicked off its institutional book-building process for the I.P.O. on Friday.

Continue reading here

New Maxis Broadband Plans

The Maxis Broadband team has taken huge steps with the launch of these new broadband packages as the company has been losing market share far behind Celcom in the 3G broadband market.

Maxis Broadband With Device Packages

Some of the rates shown above are for current Maxis users and after deducting the direct debit rebate. The most interesting package here is the 2GB package at RM48 including a free ZTE modem(not sure if its an USB modem) and 2 months of free usage with an upfront fee of RM168(non-refundable), no contract.

Maxis Broadband No Device Packages

The difference between RM68(after RM10 direct debit rebate) and RM48 package is that the RM48 package is specifically targeted to the 18-25 age group, while if you are not within this age group then you can opt for the RM68 package.

The detailed new Maxis Broadband plans can be viewed here

My opinion:

These new packages are expensive if you are not a Maxis customer and if you don't use direct debit for 12-months, however I think some of the packages are interesting, for an example the three 2GB data limit packages between RM48-RM68 a month.

It is a good move to offer such packages based on data limits. In other words, the more data you use, the more you pay for it. It will also allow Maxis to upgrade the network bandwidth when necessary as they will be no more excuse that customers are hogging up their network. It's a good start for Maxis and I hope to see them improve the 3G network with the launch of these new broadband packages.

No speed details were mentioned in the new packages above, probably the Maxis Broadband team forgot to include those information.

I believe Celcom will follow up with similar packages however they will have to fix the network issues and improve their current broadband user's experience.

Personally, I think the new Maxis Broadband packages are better than Celcom's broadband offering, for now.

Update 1: The 2GB Home Value device package comes with the big, old ZTE MF600 modem.

Note: 3G broadband is an alternative to Streamyx or your fixed broadband, I strongly advice you to retain your fixed internet service if you are a heavy broadband user.

P.s: The first thing to do is to cancel my Celcom Broadband Advance Plan as the experience has been disappointing over the past few months. Hoping that Maxis Broadband will give me a better experience.

Maxis in the News

TheStar wrote four articles about Maxis yesterday.

Check out:

• The big picture (Talking about how Maxis is doing in the market)
• Maxis redialled: The celco pitches its appeal to the public – again (Business)
• Why so small, Maxis? (Business)
• Big question – how much a piece? (Business)