Here’s something I bet not a lot of people know about. Because if word got out, I betcha TMNet will crumble soon. One of my business network members was complaining about how his Internet connection was up and down. Worst part is when he sends an email the connection goes down.
Anyway, he related his connection problem to you know who and was left frustrated in the end – as usual. Later he found out from another friend, you has the right as the subscriber to demand a daily refund whenever the connection is down for more than 24 hours. Each day is supposedly around RM10. During this time of turmoil, RM10 is enough to fill a quarter pertrol in my MyVi.
Now I’m wondering, is it really worth our time and money to stick with TMNet. Though I may not be paying RM88 per month, RM1056 per year is a lot of money. Think of the fuel savings one could have if we didn’t subscribe to such a crappy service. I would’ve gone back to Jaring if they weren’t promoting their wireless service so much. But many providers now have gone wireless because who d’you think owns the wired lines? Right.
Therefore, besides wired broadband and current WiFi technology what other possible services are there? Despite WiMAX being plastered all over The Star recently, what prices can we expect from this new service?
Let’s make a quick check on the current prices. Time Broadband’s best package (448kbps) is priced RM138 monthy excluding one-time setup. Then, there’s Airzed offering RM188 for their lowest Wimax package – unavailable yet. The other player in the Wimax market I hear about in the newspapers as often as YTL was P1. There’s nothing on P1’s website but I’m sure like any business, you’ll have to go head-to-head. Which means it’s lowest is either going to be RM150 or RM200.
Ideally, I find the government should take this opportunity to expand our broadband reach and increase the Internet penetration rate overall. WiMAX allows them this opportunity and I believe the government should subsidize the subscription required. Maybe work on a 1-2 year promotional plan with P1 since they’ve launched Wireless@KL.
If that happens, I’ve a hunch the price can challenge TMNet’s RM88 per month package. And the general Malaysia population will have Internet usage. What do you think?
Hi Danny, how do you go about getting this RM10 refund? I think tmnet owes me close to 200 by now for a broken 2nd streamyx line at my house. Thanks!
According to my member, you’ve got to write in or something like that. Then you have to followup. It’s a tedious process and trust me, not really worth your time. :(
looking forward to healthy competition among broadband ISPs in Malaysia…. i’m still waiting for something more than 1Mbit line… which even if at a premium… i’ll consider it.
when i talk about more than 1Mbit i mean something along the lines of 4Mbit or even 8Mbit would be great… (don’t give me an 8Mbit line with a disclaimer of AT BEST EFFORT)
So far i’ve been lucky as the adsl packages that we’ve got has been pretty reliable and speedy, but everyday i hear of people complain about dead internet and crappy internet lines. hope TMNet raises it’s service level instead of just grabbing as many new subscribers as possible.
Hi Danny, I totally agree with you about the current situation of our internet service providers especially the one who monopolized it, TMNet. I’m starting to lose my confidence in them and was looking for alternatives for the past few weeks. It’ very inconvenience for me to make online transactions or to send emails to my clients. And I hate that.
Hey danny, with regards to a more superb internet service provider, I was doing some webwork for aidass. check out aidass.com
THey use satellite technology, utilizing the Ku Band frequencies. But oh well, Astro pegang alllllll the satellite frequencies la, even the ones they do not use pun!
So this super fast internet service, which they can guarantee your speed (no such thing as best effort) is a superb technology from Ukraine. Now they are starting their business in Manila, they cant do it here. Too many business politics.
I was in Manila during their initial test. Damn weh. 4MB dedicated, steady for one hour. laju laju. Its not 4mb connection but 100kb at best effort. This is real 4MB. I was downloading youtube videos macam, dont need to even pause for it to load.
Sayang lah, they can’t do it here. Well, cannot blame Astro, if I Astro also I’ll be scared cause the next thing that can happen is, I start broadcasting a TV/entertainment station using the satellite technology.
And they even have better rain/thunderstorm contingency plan.
Just for you to know :)
Fath:
We’ve lost in confidence a long time ago. But besides them, who else can we rely on with an affordable rate in this time of need now. :(
Ikram:
Very true, indeed. If we had a dedicated 4MB line we’d all be like the West. Instead of the TV, we’d all be watching Internet videos most of the time. However, I believe with a more open mindset they can definitely improve the market. Just maybe they won’t be the only satellite around. :P
p.s: The website you provided isn’t working.