New Delhi - The country will have third-generation (3G) mobile phone services by the middle of next year, Communications Minister A Raja said on Thursday, signalling the government's keenness to release spectrum for services mired in a regulatory tug-of-war.
Current 2G services are in themselves in the grip of a corporate war over scarce spectrum needed for expansion, while 3G will need another band of spectrum on which data will travel at high speeds to enable advanced services such as video downloads, live TV and stock trading."We are hopeful that some spectrum for both 2G (second generation) and 3G services will be vacated by the end of this year.
I hope that would pave the way for a rollout of 3G services by mid next year," the minister told an industry forum on 3G services in the capital.Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended a policy on 3G mobile technologies in September 2006. Its chairman Nripendra Misra, also speaking to the forum, said it was high time that a clear policy was announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
"I had announced recommendations for 3G in 2006, and a policy should be announced soon. I think it is already delayed," the regulator said.But he indicated that launching services may take longer.He said if a policy was announced now, the process of inviting bids for the auction of spectrum to allocate spectrum will take more than a year, provided it is not stalled by litigation in court."After auction it will take 6 to 8 months in deployment," Misra said.
He said that India is yet to formalise the bandwidth on which the technology would be run. The regulator also said that the manufacturing sector will have to keep the equipment ready.
(Source: Hindustan Time. 25 OCt 2007)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Brazilian government to publish 3G bidding soon...
Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel expects to publish bidding rules for an auction of 3G spectrum later this month, local press quoted the watchdog's president Ronaldo Sardenberg as saying.
Anatel published proposals for the bidding rules earlier this year and in mid-August started studying feedback from sector players. Anatel's private services director Jarbas Valente hinted on September 26 the regulator's licensing team was very close to delivering a draft of the 3G bidding rules to the watchdog board.
Due to board members' schedules there will not be a full meeting until October 9 and the problem is that any board member can ask for a revision of the document, which would take an extra week, according to Sardenberg.
Some operators have said they aim to launch 3G services over existing spectrum and are likely to do so before Anatel auctions the official 3G spectrum, in the 1900MHz and 2100MHz bands.
These operators include Telemig and América Móvil, which plan to launch the service over the 850MHz spectrum that they already have.
Claro's 850MHz system is ready and just needs to interconnect with other networks, but the firm needs to know 3G operating rules spelled out in the 1900MHz and 2100MHz bidding rules before it can launch, Claro president Joao Cox was quoted as saying this week. Telemig's 3G network has been ready since August.
In fact, local papers are convinced that Anatel is under pressure from other operators - Vivo , TIM Brasil and Brasil Telecom - to prevent Telemig and Claro from launching 3G.
According to Telemig president André Mastrobuono, Anatel has yet to authorize activation of the transmission towers, despite having approved other equipment and operating licenses. Anatel has not given a clear explanation, merely citing "regulatory doubts."
(Source: http://www.3gnewsroom.com/3g_news/2007/oct/news_7751.shtml)
Anatel published proposals for the bidding rules earlier this year and in mid-August started studying feedback from sector players. Anatel's private services director Jarbas Valente hinted on September 26 the regulator's licensing team was very close to delivering a draft of the 3G bidding rules to the watchdog board.
Due to board members' schedules there will not be a full meeting until October 9 and the problem is that any board member can ask for a revision of the document, which would take an extra week, according to Sardenberg.
Some operators have said they aim to launch 3G services over existing spectrum and are likely to do so before Anatel auctions the official 3G spectrum, in the 1900MHz and 2100MHz bands.
These operators include Telemig and América Móvil, which plan to launch the service over the 850MHz spectrum that they already have.
Claro's 850MHz system is ready and just needs to interconnect with other networks, but the firm needs to know 3G operating rules spelled out in the 1900MHz and 2100MHz bidding rules before it can launch, Claro president Joao Cox was quoted as saying this week. Telemig's 3G network has been ready since August.
In fact, local papers are convinced that Anatel is under pressure from other operators - Vivo , TIM Brasil and Brasil Telecom - to prevent Telemig and Claro from launching 3G.
According to Telemig president André Mastrobuono, Anatel has yet to authorize activation of the transmission towers, despite having approved other equipment and operating licenses. Anatel has not given a clear explanation, merely citing "regulatory doubts."
(Source: http://www.3gnewsroom.com/3g_news/2007/oct/news_7751.shtml)
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Congrat! PCCW has been awarded the country’s fifth 3G license
Hong Kong’s PCCW has been awarded the country’s fifth 3G license.
According to OFTA, the Hong Kong regulator, the fixed-line incumbent emerged as the only bidder for the license to provide mobile services based on CDMA2000 technology.
PCCW will now have to pay a “spectrum utilization fee” of HK$76 million (US$9.8 million) to the Hong Kong government, as well as a so-called “performance bond” of HK$150 million ($19.3 million) to OFTA, before 27 November.
It will not be allowed to launch services before 20 Nov. 2008, although it is entitled to begin work on its network immediately.
OFTA says the license will allow “visitors to and residents of Hong Kong to enjoy advanced CDMA mobile services, including CDMA roaming.”
In awarding a license based on the CDMA standard, OFTA hopes to preserve links between mainland China and Hong Kong.
On the mainland, almost 40 million people are CDMA customers of China Unicom. At present they can use the 2G CDMA service provided by Hutchison when travelling to Hong Kong, but Hutchison’s license is set to expire in Nov. 2008.
The 850MHz spectrum currently used by Hutchison will be reallocated to PCCW when that happens.
Analysts had expected China Unicom to bid for the Hong Kong CDMA2000 license, but the operator reportedly ruled itself out after failing to reach a commercial agreement with a local partner.
CDMA roaming attraction
PCCW must reckon new revenues from CDMA roaming will outweigh the costs of launching a new network.
The operator already runs a 3G business based on the W- CDMA standard through its mobile subsidiary Sunday, which had signed up 130,000 3G customers by the end of June.
Sunday remains the smallest of Hong Kong’s four W-CDMA operators, with Hutchison, CSL and SmarTone catering for the rest of the island’s 1.67 million 3G customers.
With mobile penetration in Hong Kong topping 130 percent, those operators are slashing prices and bundling new services in an effort to attract mobile customers to pricier 3G packages.
CDMA2000 is unlikely to give PCCW any advantage in this environment. Most analysts say W-CDMA has emerged as the dominant 3G standard worldwide, giving it an economies-of- scale advantage over CDMA2000.
And after recent advances in HSPA, W-CDMA appears to have caught up with CDMA2000 on bandwidth performance.
Prepared by Iain Morris
According to OFTA, the Hong Kong regulator, the fixed-line incumbent emerged as the only bidder for the license to provide mobile services based on CDMA2000 technology.
PCCW will now have to pay a “spectrum utilization fee” of HK$76 million (US$9.8 million) to the Hong Kong government, as well as a so-called “performance bond” of HK$150 million ($19.3 million) to OFTA, before 27 November.
It will not be allowed to launch services before 20 Nov. 2008, although it is entitled to begin work on its network immediately.
OFTA says the license will allow “visitors to and residents of Hong Kong to enjoy advanced CDMA mobile services, including CDMA roaming.”
In awarding a license based on the CDMA standard, OFTA hopes to preserve links between mainland China and Hong Kong.
On the mainland, almost 40 million people are CDMA customers of China Unicom. At present they can use the 2G CDMA service provided by Hutchison when travelling to Hong Kong, but Hutchison’s license is set to expire in Nov. 2008.
The 850MHz spectrum currently used by Hutchison will be reallocated to PCCW when that happens.
Analysts had expected China Unicom to bid for the Hong Kong CDMA2000 license, but the operator reportedly ruled itself out after failing to reach a commercial agreement with a local partner.
CDMA roaming attraction
PCCW must reckon new revenues from CDMA roaming will outweigh the costs of launching a new network.
The operator already runs a 3G business based on the W- CDMA standard through its mobile subsidiary Sunday, which had signed up 130,000 3G customers by the end of June.
Sunday remains the smallest of Hong Kong’s four W-CDMA operators, with Hutchison, CSL and SmarTone catering for the rest of the island’s 1.67 million 3G customers.
With mobile penetration in Hong Kong topping 130 percent, those operators are slashing prices and bundling new services in an effort to attract mobile customers to pricier 3G packages.
CDMA2000 is unlikely to give PCCW any advantage in this environment. Most analysts say W-CDMA has emerged as the dominant 3G standard worldwide, giving it an economies-of- scale advantage over CDMA2000.
And after recent advances in HSPA, W-CDMA appears to have caught up with CDMA2000 on bandwidth performance.
Prepared by Iain Morris
Congrat! PCCW has been awarded the country’s fifth 3G license
Hong Kong’s PCCW has been awarded the country’s fifth 3G license.
According to OFTA, the Hong Kong regulator, the fixed-line incumbent emerged as the only bidder for the license to provide mobile services based on CDMA2000 technology.
PCCW will now have to pay a “spectrum utilization fee” of HK$76 million (US$9.8 million) to the Hong Kong government, as well as a so-called “performance bond” of HK$150 million ($19.3 million) to OFTA, before 27 November.
It will not be allowed to launch services before 20 Nov. 2008, although it is entitled to begin work on its network immediately.
OFTA says the license will allow “visitors to and residents of Hong Kong to enjoy advanced CDMA mobile services, including CDMA roaming.”
In awarding a license based on the CDMA standard, OFTA hopes to preserve links between mainland China and Hong Kong.
On the mainland, almost 40 million people are CDMA customers of China Unicom. At present they can use the 2G CDMA service provided by Hutchison when travelling to Hong Kong, but Hutchison’s license is set to expire in Nov. 2008.
The 850MHz spectrum currently used by Hutchison will be reallocated to PCCW when that happens.
Analysts had expected China Unicom to bid for the Hong Kong CDMA2000 license, but the operator reportedly ruled itself out after failing to reach a commercial agreement with a local partner.
CDMA roaming attraction
PCCW must reckon new revenues from CDMA roaming will outweigh the costs of launching a new network.
The operator already runs a 3G business based on the W- CDMA standard through its mobile subsidiary Sunday, which had signed up 130,000 3G customers by the end of June.
Sunday remains the smallest of Hong Kong’s four W-CDMA operators, with Hutchison, CSL and SmarTone catering for the rest of the island’s 1.67 million 3G customers.
With mobile penetration in Hong Kong topping 130 percent, those operators are slashing prices and bundling new services in an effort to attract mobile customers to pricier 3G packages.
CDMA2000 is unlikely to give PCCW any advantage in this environment. Most analysts say W-CDMA has emerged as the dominant 3G standard worldwide, giving it an economies-of- scale advantage over CDMA2000.
And after recent advances in HSPA, W-CDMA appears to have caught up with CDMA2000 on bandwidth performance.
According to OFTA, the Hong Kong regulator, the fixed-line incumbent emerged as the only bidder for the license to provide mobile services based on CDMA2000 technology.
PCCW will now have to pay a “spectrum utilization fee” of HK$76 million (US$9.8 million) to the Hong Kong government, as well as a so-called “performance bond” of HK$150 million ($19.3 million) to OFTA, before 27 November.
It will not be allowed to launch services before 20 Nov. 2008, although it is entitled to begin work on its network immediately.
OFTA says the license will allow “visitors to and residents of Hong Kong to enjoy advanced CDMA mobile services, including CDMA roaming.”
In awarding a license based on the CDMA standard, OFTA hopes to preserve links between mainland China and Hong Kong.
On the mainland, almost 40 million people are CDMA customers of China Unicom. At present they can use the 2G CDMA service provided by Hutchison when travelling to Hong Kong, but Hutchison’s license is set to expire in Nov. 2008.
The 850MHz spectrum currently used by Hutchison will be reallocated to PCCW when that happens.
Analysts had expected China Unicom to bid for the Hong Kong CDMA2000 license, but the operator reportedly ruled itself out after failing to reach a commercial agreement with a local partner.
CDMA roaming attraction
PCCW must reckon new revenues from CDMA roaming will outweigh the costs of launching a new network.
The operator already runs a 3G business based on the W- CDMA standard through its mobile subsidiary Sunday, which had signed up 130,000 3G customers by the end of June.
Sunday remains the smallest of Hong Kong’s four W-CDMA operators, with Hutchison, CSL and SmarTone catering for the rest of the island’s 1.67 million 3G customers.
With mobile penetration in Hong Kong topping 130 percent, those operators are slashing prices and bundling new services in an effort to attract mobile customers to pricier 3G packages.
CDMA2000 is unlikely to give PCCW any advantage in this environment. Most analysts say W-CDMA has emerged as the dominant 3G standard worldwide, giving it an economies-of- scale advantage over CDMA2000.
And after recent advances in HSPA, W-CDMA appears to have caught up with CDMA2000 on bandwidth performance.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Malaysia Govt targets 15% broadband penetration by 2010
The government has unveiled ambitious targets to boost the global competitiveness of the country by having more Malaysians benefiting from the digital age.
By 2010, it wants broadband penetration to grow to at least 15% of the population compared with 5% now and to boost 3G coverage to five million subscribers.
Over the same period, the government also wants industry players to roll out mobile TV to at least 90% of mobile users and digital multimedia broadcasting to 95% of households.
The targets are contained in the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry’s blueprint known as the Malaysian Information, Communications and Multimedia Services strategy — MyICMS 886 — which involves eight services upgrade, eight infrastructure upgrade and six growth areas.
Speaking at the same press conference, Telekom Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Wahid Omar said: “I think that it is very good that the ministry and the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) are very far sighted.
“We have been consulted on the targets stated in the strategy for the last six months.”
Maxis Communications Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Jamaludin Ibrahim told FinancialDaily that it would spend RM300 million on the development of 3G next year and aimed to increase 3G coverage in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru.
“We have spent over RM200 million already,” he said after the launch of MyICMS 886.
“Maxis will be growing most, if not all, in the Klang Valley, big portions of Penang and Johor Bahru. We will start with that till the end of next year,” he added.
“We are at before inflection point, so (we) haven’t see any big growth yet. I cannot specify any numbers, but we are confident that growth will happen in 2007. You will see some growth in 2006,” he said.
Under MyICMS 886, the government is targeting 300,000 3G subscribers next year. Jamaludin believes that is achievable.
While there are sceptics who doubt whether these targets can be achieved, an analyst said they could be attained.
Citing the example of mobile communications, which have seen the lowering of cost for users amid stiff competition, he said current penetration had even surprised telecommunications operators.
“The existing penetration of over 60% of the population having mobile devices appeared hard to achieve five years ago, but now industry players expect it to reach even 75%,” he said.
The communications and multimedia industry turnover for 2005 was expected to grow 25% to RM30 billion from RM24 billion last year.
Meanwhile, Alfean Hardy reported Telekom’s subsidiary Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Shazalli Ramly as saying that Celcom aims to increase its 3G subscribers by increasing its content services.
Celcom aims to have 40,000 3G subscribers by the end of this year and 150,000 by the end of next year, compared with over 20,000 now. It aims to increase 3G content services to 50 by year-end from 30 now.
“By the first quarter of next year, we hope the 3G services can reach all the capitals,” Shazalli said at the launch of its latest content offering “World of feng shui” involving a partnership with feng shui expert Lillian Too.
Conclusion: Malaysia 3G market is postive.
Thought about the Security Business Using in 3G Technology?
Much has been said over recent years about how appropriate mobile could be for surveillance applications. Now increasing data speeds and a lot of still underused 3G capacity have helped bring to market a number of vendors willing to fill that gap with monitoring capabilities.
According to research by Informa.com, vendors like Wireless CCTV, a designer and manufacturer of redeployable CCTV equipment, the products allow end users to remotely control and monitor live and recorded evidential quality video footage from two separate cameras.Why is the time right for such a product? One good reason, it seems, is frame rate. As the company’s marketing manager Gregory T’Kint, says: “2G networks allowed some kind of real-time monitoring but the frame rate in real-life situations was not always sufficient.
The speed of current 3G HSDPA networks, however, not only allows good quality real-time monitoring at 15 frames per second but also allows Wireless CCTV to add additional data, such as bidirectional audio on the data channel.” That is not to write off the preceding generation, however. 2G networks do allow downloading of evidential quality images from WCCTV devices to any laptop or PC.
This is an advantage when a CCTV operator knows which time sequence he needs, or when law enforcement agents need to be careful not to compromise covert operations. Such agents can easily download the full evidential quality sequences without needing to physically extract the stored data from the covert device. “So, 2G offers some real-time remote monitoring but the major advantage is related to the remote ‘archiving’ of evidential quality images,” T’Kint.
But the potential of surveillance equipment goes beyond law enforcement, as converged video solutions specialist Dilithium Networks can prove. Mitch Lewis, the Senior Vice President & General Manager, service providers business unit and corporate marketing, says that as well as the use of 3G cameras or IP cameras by police departments there are several other areas of video surveillance that have helped drive uptake for this application.
“One,” Lewis says, “is around entertainment, such as broadcasting access to Big Brother shows in Finland and Belgium. Using 3G access, it allows subscribers to view house cameras, interact with guests or casts and view or download related clips.
“The second area is around home security cameras or so-called nanny or pet cams. This is being used today by Singaporean operator SingTel so that subscribers can view various cameras in their house from broadband or a cellular phone using a security code, see their kids at school or check up on their pets.”
Beyond the usefulness of 3G itself, the advantages of using cellular networks for monitoring services are clear. “Cellular networks obviously offer an almost unrestricted geographical coverage,” T’Kint says, and adds: “Cellular networks technology around the globe is pretty much standardised, allowing Wireless CCTV to easily export its solutions on a virtually global scale.” Thus, even though 3G specifically is not yet global the company’s equipment automatically falls back on to GPRS networks, when 3G is not available.
This ubiquity also allows the WCCTV equipment itself literally to be on the move, as proof of which T’Kint mentions the recent provision (together with Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services) of 3G vehicle-mounted systems for the UK Highways Agency Incident Support and Winter Maintenance vehicles.
The Highways Agency also deployed 3G Wireless Domes which do not require fixed cabling and thus can be easily and rapidly deployed. “If the agency in question deploys a WCCTV Dome on a lighting column, power can be taken from the lighting column and no extra cabling is necessary, making this a cost-effective CCTV solution,” says T’Kint.
Dilithium’s Lewis cites simplicity, ease of use, quality of service and known tariffs as the key advantages of cellular but also points out that new 3G cameras take 3G SIM cards. They are also, incidentally, night-capable, as is being demonstrated by 3Italia’s Pupillo service currently being rolled out and utilised in Italy.
This technology doesn’t sit still of course. WCCTV has plans for continuous miniaturisation and integration of additional data to the core video data. The company is also keeping a close eye on 3G HSUPA developments and EV-DO products are being developed to exploit the US marketplace.
(Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/gsm/gsm315102007.html)
According to research by Informa.com, vendors like Wireless CCTV, a designer and manufacturer of redeployable CCTV equipment, the products allow end users to remotely control and monitor live and recorded evidential quality video footage from two separate cameras.Why is the time right for such a product? One good reason, it seems, is frame rate. As the company’s marketing manager Gregory T’Kint, says: “2G networks allowed some kind of real-time monitoring but the frame rate in real-life situations was not always sufficient.
The speed of current 3G HSDPA networks, however, not only allows good quality real-time monitoring at 15 frames per second but also allows Wireless CCTV to add additional data, such as bidirectional audio on the data channel.” That is not to write off the preceding generation, however. 2G networks do allow downloading of evidential quality images from WCCTV devices to any laptop or PC.
This is an advantage when a CCTV operator knows which time sequence he needs, or when law enforcement agents need to be careful not to compromise covert operations. Such agents can easily download the full evidential quality sequences without needing to physically extract the stored data from the covert device. “So, 2G offers some real-time remote monitoring but the major advantage is related to the remote ‘archiving’ of evidential quality images,” T’Kint.
But the potential of surveillance equipment goes beyond law enforcement, as converged video solutions specialist Dilithium Networks can prove. Mitch Lewis, the Senior Vice President & General Manager, service providers business unit and corporate marketing, says that as well as the use of 3G cameras or IP cameras by police departments there are several other areas of video surveillance that have helped drive uptake for this application.
“One,” Lewis says, “is around entertainment, such as broadcasting access to Big Brother shows in Finland and Belgium. Using 3G access, it allows subscribers to view house cameras, interact with guests or casts and view or download related clips.
“The second area is around home security cameras or so-called nanny or pet cams. This is being used today by Singaporean operator SingTel so that subscribers can view various cameras in their house from broadband or a cellular phone using a security code, see their kids at school or check up on their pets.”
Beyond the usefulness of 3G itself, the advantages of using cellular networks for monitoring services are clear. “Cellular networks obviously offer an almost unrestricted geographical coverage,” T’Kint says, and adds: “Cellular networks technology around the globe is pretty much standardised, allowing Wireless CCTV to easily export its solutions on a virtually global scale.” Thus, even though 3G specifically is not yet global the company’s equipment automatically falls back on to GPRS networks, when 3G is not available.
This ubiquity also allows the WCCTV equipment itself literally to be on the move, as proof of which T’Kint mentions the recent provision (together with Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services) of 3G vehicle-mounted systems for the UK Highways Agency Incident Support and Winter Maintenance vehicles.
The Highways Agency also deployed 3G Wireless Domes which do not require fixed cabling and thus can be easily and rapidly deployed. “If the agency in question deploys a WCCTV Dome on a lighting column, power can be taken from the lighting column and no extra cabling is necessary, making this a cost-effective CCTV solution,” says T’Kint.
Dilithium’s Lewis cites simplicity, ease of use, quality of service and known tariffs as the key advantages of cellular but also points out that new 3G cameras take 3G SIM cards. They are also, incidentally, night-capable, as is being demonstrated by 3Italia’s Pupillo service currently being rolled out and utilised in Italy.
This technology doesn’t sit still of course. WCCTV has plans for continuous miniaturisation and integration of additional data to the core video data. The company is also keeping a close eye on 3G HSUPA developments and EV-DO products are being developed to exploit the US marketplace.
(Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/gsm/gsm315102007.html)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
How 3G Born in Malaysia?
FRET not when you're on the go and your WiFi-enabled laptop is out of any WiFi coverage area. Thanks to 3G mobile technology, you can now still surf the Internet wirelessly.
Although users could surf the Net on a mobile telecommunications network before the advent of 3G, it was via a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) connection that is limited to about 40Kbps (kilobits per second).
When Celcom and Maxis announced the availability of commercial 3G networks that offer surfing speeds of up to 384Kbps (seven times that of GPRS), yours truly immediately jumped at the opportunity to test out their services with two separate data cards.
The data cards can be used with almost any laptop with a PC Card slot to provide high-speed Internet and e-mail access.
Celcom uses the E600 data card from Huawei Technologies while Maxis employs the Merlin-U530 data card from Lucent Technologies and Novatel Wireless Inc.
Both cards offer seamless connection to GPRS and WCDMA 2.0 (3G) networks, so if you're in an area with no 3G coverage, the cards will switch to the well-established GPRS networks automatically.
You can keep track of things by referring to the data card software’s network signal indicator (3G or 2.5G).
But the best indicator for me is when your swift download speed suddenly reduces to a crawl.
Simple installationBoth solutions are easy to install. All you have to do is to install the bundled software – Huawei E600 (Celcom) and MobiLink (Maxis).
Once completed, just slide in the data card (with the 3G SIM card) into the laptop's PC Card slot. The card will then be initiated upon a PC reboot.
Once the software is loaded, you will be greeted with a dashboard-like control panel. If everything goes as planned, you will be able to surf right away.
It is that easy – there is no need to tinker with any settings as the software has all the bases covered. Through the dashboard, you can immediately access the Internet or your e-mail.
Both data cards also allow you to send and receive SMS messages while you're surfing the Web.
However, the Celcom data card offers extra features that the Maxis data card doesn't.
These include an external antenna to boost reception, as well as a microphone/headphone port for connecting a handsfree kit.
This means the Celcom data card allows you to surf the Web, send and receive SMS messages and make a voice call at the same time.
To be fair, Maxis will launch their 3G integrated voice service tomorrow, so we might soon see a Maxis data card with similar features.
The cost of convenience Both service providers claim that their 3G services allow up to 384Kbps for downloads and up to 64Kbps for uploads. I tested the cards in several locations around Klang Valley where the signal strength varied considerably. (Based on year 2005 Survey)
In Shah Alam, where there was only a two-bar reception, I managed to get a mediocre connection of around 160Kbps.
In the more upmarket areas such as Damansara, where the reception was stronger, the speed increased to about 285Kbps.
On average, I managed to get speeds of around 200Kbps to 350Kbps when there was strong reception.
While this is still slower than a streamyx connection (512Kbps), the 3G connection is still plenty fast for the kinds of applications mobile workers are likely to use, and it's certainly a massive improvement over GPRS.
You can even stay connected to the network for however long you want because you only pay for the amount of data you send and receive.
To subscribe to the Celcom 3G network, users have to purchase the data card for RM1,549. On top of that they will have to decide which 3G package (pay-per-use, 3MB and unlimited plans) that they want to subscribe to.
Conclusion: The main draw of using a 3G network connection is its speedy Internet connection via a mobile telecommunications network.
However, thanks to its high cost, only mid- to high-end users would find this an acceptable business expense.
E600
Pros: Headache-free installation, speedy broadband connection; can make voice callsE600
Cons: Pricey
Merlin
Pros: Easy installation; fast broadband connectionMerlin
Cons: Pricey; cannot make voice calls.
Malaysia gets new 3G operator - U Mobile
Local mobile operator U Mobile has officially unveiled plans to launch its 3G mobile services, expected to go live within the next two months. Speaking to the media at the official launch and re-branding of the company, Kenneth Chang, executive director of U Mobile, said its 3G mobile network is up and running and currently available in the Klang Valley and other major cities across the country. Formerly known as MiTV Networks, U Mobile received its license to operate a 3G network from its parent company MiTV, in March 2006.
3G licenses in the country are issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). MiTV and another local player TTdotCom, beat out then-leading contender, DiGi Telecommunication, in a hotly contested 3G spectrum license bidding exercise. Asked how many 3G subscribers U Mobile is targeting to bag in the next 12 months, Chang said: "It's too premature to announce this, but we are targeting segments which we believe are currently untapped. "The surveys we've done show that consumers are looking for a new player to offer them new services, and we know what they need and how to price it," he said. Chang also revealed that U Mobile has signed a domestic roaming agreement with Celcom, which launched its 3G services in May 2005.
Domestic roaming allows subscribers from one network to select another when there is no network coverage available in the location they are currently at. "This agreement allows our subscribers to roam onto Celcom's network [in areas where] there is no U Mobile network coverage," Chang explained. "However, this does not preclude U Mobile [expanding] our own network as we will be busy improving our coverage." "Our service is very close to being launched commercially," he said. "We have already completed our interconnection with Celcom and we're now waiting to finish up with Maxis and DiGi, after which we will be fully ready to go live." Uphill 3G climb.
However, new entrants such as U Mobile, will face significant challenges in its bid to capture Malaysia's 3G market, according to some industry analysts. "The situation for 3G is very different now to what it was two years ago, as costs are much lower and 3G handsets are no longer a major barrier," Nathan Burley, research analyst at Ovum, told ZDNet Asia in an email interview. "[New market] entrants need to build scale, and few have managed to gain significant market share following launches in established markets [in the region]," Burley noted.
Janice Chong, ICT practice telecom research manager at research house Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, said U Mobile is expected to face significant challenges in building its subscriber base from scratch. "Amid Malaysia's high mobile penetration rate, acquiring a customer base would prove to be a costly exercise, particularly when constrained by limited network coverage, diseconomies of scale and the lack of financial flexibility compared to the [other] major mobile carriers," Chong said in an email interview.
She added that without a proven track record, U Mobile is expected to face teething problems such as network coverage and interoperability issues, billing issues, and readiness to address customer complaints in an effective and timely manner. According to Frost & Sullivan, the number of 3G subscribers in Malaysia grew from 431,000 in December 2006 to 700,000 in June 2007. Chang declined to reveal how much U Mobile has invested in its 3G and mobile TV networks, noting only that the company has "invested hundreds of millions of ringgit into our networks".
By Edwin Yapp, ZDNet Asia
3G licenses in the country are issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). MiTV and another local player TTdotCom, beat out then-leading contender, DiGi Telecommunication, in a hotly contested 3G spectrum license bidding exercise. Asked how many 3G subscribers U Mobile is targeting to bag in the next 12 months, Chang said: "It's too premature to announce this, but we are targeting segments which we believe are currently untapped. "The surveys we've done show that consumers are looking for a new player to offer them new services, and we know what they need and how to price it," he said. Chang also revealed that U Mobile has signed a domestic roaming agreement with Celcom, which launched its 3G services in May 2005.
Domestic roaming allows subscribers from one network to select another when there is no network coverage available in the location they are currently at. "This agreement allows our subscribers to roam onto Celcom's network [in areas where] there is no U Mobile network coverage," Chang explained. "However, this does not preclude U Mobile [expanding] our own network as we will be busy improving our coverage." "Our service is very close to being launched commercially," he said. "We have already completed our interconnection with Celcom and we're now waiting to finish up with Maxis and DiGi, after which we will be fully ready to go live." Uphill 3G climb.
However, new entrants such as U Mobile, will face significant challenges in its bid to capture Malaysia's 3G market, according to some industry analysts. "The situation for 3G is very different now to what it was two years ago, as costs are much lower and 3G handsets are no longer a major barrier," Nathan Burley, research analyst at Ovum, told ZDNet Asia in an email interview. "[New market] entrants need to build scale, and few have managed to gain significant market share following launches in established markets [in the region]," Burley noted.
Janice Chong, ICT practice telecom research manager at research house Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, said U Mobile is expected to face significant challenges in building its subscriber base from scratch. "Amid Malaysia's high mobile penetration rate, acquiring a customer base would prove to be a costly exercise, particularly when constrained by limited network coverage, diseconomies of scale and the lack of financial flexibility compared to the [other] major mobile carriers," Chong said in an email interview.
She added that without a proven track record, U Mobile is expected to face teething problems such as network coverage and interoperability issues, billing issues, and readiness to address customer complaints in an effective and timely manner. According to Frost & Sullivan, the number of 3G subscribers in Malaysia grew from 431,000 in December 2006 to 700,000 in June 2007. Chang declined to reveal how much U Mobile has invested in its 3G and mobile TV networks, noting only that the company has "invested hundreds of millions of ringgit into our networks".
By Edwin Yapp, ZDNet Asia
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