Hello everyone,

I'm actually looking to get a portable wireless broadband. I've been doing some survey on the 3 broadband - Celcom, Maxis and U Mobile. However, i could not get much infor, and i must admit that i'm a noob when it comes to pc and connectivity. So, i'm hoping that anyone here could give me some infor to guide to choose a good wireless broadband service that is more value for money for me.

My work actually requires me to travel quite often, most of the time, to remote sites like Kelantan, Ipoh, Taiping, Melaka, Penang and of course, KL area. I'd be logging in webpage, checking and entering data (for my work) at these sites. I was checking through Maxis page and see that they have no coverage (or maybe bad coverage) in Kelantan area. I'm not too sure. I also see that people is recommending Celcom broadband if I'm to use it in remote area. You see, i do not have streamyx at home, and i dont do any heavy downloading like BT and things like that. I'd be surfing the net for infor and maybe some downloading of some files and things like that and of course, for my work, I'll be logging in to data webpage and checking data and entering data into the page. Of course, i intend to use my portable wireless at home (when i'm at home, in KL) since i do not have a streamyx. As such, i hope people here could help provide me which infor regarding the following:

1) Is there any other service provider for wireless broadband (portable), other than Celcom, Maxis and U Mobile?
2)Which broadband has a wider coverage. Maybe explain their strong point in terms of coverage in KL and remote area.
3) Is the coverage of the broadband, the same as their mobile phone coverage? I'm actually using maxis mobile now and i find that sometimes, when i'm at home, in my room and also in HUKM or Puchong, there is no line (or low signal). Does this mean that Maxis wireless broadband will have the same problem at this spots?
4) How is the speed of these wireless broadband? I know that the speed would not be as good as a landline, like streamyx of things like that. However, could you just roughly give me a proportion of the speed compare to streamyx 1Gbs? (i've decided that i want a portable wireless broadband as my main aim is to be mobile)
5) Which is the one that is more value for money, considering my usage and application? What are the package/ promotion available?

Thanks for viewing and reading through and providing me your 2 cents. If there is any topic that is discussing about this, please feel free to provide me the topic. Thanks.

***you need not answer to all my questions. Just give me your 2 cents worth in order for me to make my own decision.

U Mobile only KL coverage(don't recommend). You still have Digi-Edge


yr most important is remote access coverage.

yes

depend on location, user peak at cell tower. speed are variable slow>fast>slow

my recommend still go for celcom(RM68) or digi(RM66). btw i don't own/use any wireless broadband.

reason recommend celcom/digi < no contract. unhappy just disconnect the service.

if you having good speed with celcom, u can upgrade later(when the speed is stable down).

Well U Mobile only covers Kuala Lumpur (most parts of KL to be exact). Your other option would be DiGi EDGE



I would say Celcom. Honestly , there are lots of places they have covered. Even the place doesn't have UMTS/HSPDA Coverage , your modem/phone will use GPRS/EDGE. Slower speeds (dial-up) but you are still connected to the internet. Mostly around in West Malaysia , most of the places are covered. I would say 90% of them are covered with cellular reception. Hence you shouldn't be facing any problems. Unless you are working somewhere say in the middle of a jungle or off shore island. Then you'll face some problems




They are using the same network. Yep , if you phone is unable to get a good reception then you'll be facing the same problem. You can connect but however your signal will be weak for 3G/HSPDA. You would face lots of disconnection , slow speed and other stuff



You cant' really say/determine the speed of wireless broadband. It varies and its not a constant. For example , if you subsribe for streamyx 512kbps , you'll know that you'll be hitting 75-80% of the advertised speed for local link all the times expect for when they are messsing up something , for wireless its not consistent. This second you may get 3Mbps , but the next minute you'll be getting 200-300Kbps. Speed in a tower will be shared among users. The more users that there are in a particular tower , the slower your speed will be. For HDSPA (3GX/3G+/3.5G) connection , the maximum a cell tower can take is 10. Suppose if they are more then 10 users at a time , the chances are you might not able to get a connection at all or you'll be kicked to UMTS (3G) or worst 2.5G/2G (EDGE/GPRS).





Well , Maxis should be okay to be honest with you. They don't have any sort of contracts and since you are a maxis user (i am assuming you are a post-paid customer) , then you can get the 3.6Mbps package + modem for RM 118 a month. But keep in mind , they'll charge you RM 200 *cough* , if you return the modem less then 12 months. As for celcom , you may get their 18 month package for RM 99 which comes with a USB Modem (which you get to own after the 18 month contract). Me personally , Maxis sucks to the maximum for a power usage like myself. but honestly , if you travel a lot and you want a stable connection then it shouldnt be a problem. For me , I need a connection whereby i am allowed to host games , host my site and run some crazy stuff . With DiGi you might face some coverage problems in remote areas of Kelantan.One more thing , Celcom broadband users are behind 1 Public IP (meaning that they share 1 IP with many celcom users) whereas for Maxis , they assign you a dynamic ip (non-shared ip address) , so that you can use services such as rapidshare

I am an ex-Maxis broadband user !

Who said Celcom no contracts?? All got contracts!

In case of celcom, the RM68 package DOES NOT INCLUDE A MODEM. So you have to cough up RM500 or so upfront for the modem. The RM99 includes the modem and has a contract for 18 months or it's RM350 penalty.

Maxis also telling white lies in broad daylight, no contracts yeah, but charge RM200 for "Handling Fees" if cancelled within 12 months....bigger liar than Celcom.


I've just done a survey of Maxis , Celcom, Umobil today in detail.

so, Matirx, from your survey, which do you think would be a good choice?

I heard about Izzi too. Anybody could comment about it?

sorry, maybe i was not clear with my word.

Modem + Data = contract
Data only = no contract



btw you can get 3G modem as low as RM400, garage section.

they have two. you can register for their unlimited data plan (D68/98) which comes without contract ! (same goes for maxis' Unlimited data plan). But maxis requires you to subscribe for their voice plan whereas for celcom you don't have to !




izzi is sort of a 'fixed line' replacement solution and its not a mobile broadband. You can't take that into consideration

This is what i gathered, so far:

Celcom:
1) D68 - need to buy modem; RM68 per month. Can someone tell me the speed? is it 512kbps?
2) D99 - with modem, own the modem after 18 months. Speed 3.8Mbps, RM99
** Celcom provide wider coverage in Malaysia. Am i right?

Maxis
1) RM118 - what's the plan? RM118 per month if i'm a Maxis postpaid user, Speed is 3.86Mbps.

Digi
1) Edge technology - RM66 per month, what's the speed offered?
***How's the coverage for Digi? is it wide?

Izzi - it's fixed line.

Please comment if what i i summarized above is not correct.

miyoko,

1. celcom d68 (rm68 monthly) and d98 (rm98 monthly) both dont come with free modem and both no min contract.

d68 max speed is 384kbps while d98 max speed is 3.6mbps (if you are in hsdpa coverage).

if you subscribe the plan with free modem, d68 is rm99 per month, while d98 is rm129 per month. both then got min contract 18 month.

2. maxis rm118 actually is rm138 per month. rm20 discount promo is for maxis postpaid user only, for 1st 18 months.

min contract is 12 month . max speed is 3.6mbps (if you are in hsdpa coverage). you get free usb modem from maxis with this plan.

3. digi rm66 max speed at their website claim 384kbps. but edge speed so far i test max speed is 267kbps. no free modem.

4. izzi - its not fixed line, but need to use their modem and coverage only at klang valley, same as u-mobile (modem is free). but not suitable for you who need to travel all round malaysia. so, this 2 is out.

i did subscribe to all maxis/celcom/digi coz i sometimes travel a lot also. but digi terminated already. now using maxis and celcom (switching depends on coverage).

Erry,

Thanks for your information. It is really helpful! another additional question, how do i check if a certain area is hsdpa coverage for celcom and maxis?

your welcome miyoko.

the easiest way to check hsdpa coverage is by using hsdpa / 3.5g mobilephone and look at the signal bar.
see attachment of n95 below. got a 3.5g icon under signal bar.

or, use hsdpa modem and a notebok. install the modem application/software, and it will show the network type there.

celcom 3g have widest coverage. the problem is conection. some place celcom 3g slower than dial up. test first.

celcom d68 have 5gb limit/month than speed trottle to 64kbps till end of month.

to test hsdpa conection u need using it. my option luxury datacard display 3g when download change to hs.

maxis have widest edge coverage than digi. problem with maxis is contract.

this is coverage speed flow from fastest to slowest:

celcom: hsdpa > umts > gsm
maxis: hsdpa > umts > edge > gsm

hsdpa: 3.5g (max 3.6mbps)
umts: 3g (max 384kbps)
edge: 2.5g (max 267kbps - depends on hp/modem)
gsm: gprs (max 64kbps)

if out of 3g coverage area, celcom will go down direct to gprs. my experience, speed from 300+ kbps can go down as low as < 10kbps. huhu
while maxis, if out of 3g coverage area, it will go down to edge speed first (same speed with digi), speed can get around 180kbps. better than grps

maxis broadband min contract is 12 months. maxis broadband simcard need to use with modem supplied by maxis. cant use on other modem or hp.

I understand better of the different wireless broadband available, but yet i could not make decision. because, being greedy, i would like to choose the one that offers the best service. however, based on my preferred application and usage ---> wide coverage because i need to travel to many places, i think Celcom would be a better choice for me.

Fat16,
you mentioned that Celcom celcom d68 have 5gb limit/month than speed trottle to 64kbps till end of month. does this apply to D98? additionally, the 5gb limit/month is the download, right?

does maxis have such limit?

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Added on June 22, 2008, 3:30 pmI have been reading a lot, it seems like people is complaining both maxis and celcom. saying that connectivity and also speed is bad. Some says that Celcom cannot even connect at all for few months, and some replied that Maxis worst. ok, seeing the situation like this, my next question is, how is both's customers service?

Is Celcom's customer service handled by TMnet? I've had very bad experience with TMnet customer service before. But so far, my maxis customer service is not bad.