3G is coming for real

3G is coming for real in Malaysia, and it is catching many off-guard.







courtesy of

so r we ready ? I mean Malaysian?

The focus:
Their business channel to promote 3G is video call, where using appropriate 3G phones (Nokia 6680,Sony Ericsson 2800, Motorola A1000), you can do video conferencing with other people. Of course, both parties must have 3G phones and subcribed to it.

Current promotion. Subscribers get to enjoy as low as 15 cents per minute for video call. This promotion will be extended up to June 2006. So, they are estimating that the market will really pick up in one years time. It also mean that in their experience, a marketing champaigne needs 1 year in order for its concept to be fully acceptable. This is quite a long time isn't ? No matter those advertising guys are making so much.

Maxis will not be suffering bandwidth bottleneck as well even though now is the right time(for everyone) to do video call because it really caught many off-guard. Think about it, had we been informed last year (30th June 2004), I would have already secured a 3G phone already, and I might be experimenting with the video call now.

Maxis also prepared a 3G portal for users' benefit. (we are expecting other developers to come up with similar portal soon, there could be plenty of projects for content management system). Those having hands-on experience with IBM Websphere or other App. Server might want to get ready for such revenue making. One of its main function is for user management and file storage, where you get to send MMS to its server for media storage. Of course, it is also providing blog services, real time traffic video streaming and etc.

The people:
Are the end user ready... not yet, we are off-guard but yet excited.

Those who really needed it now are foreigners like students, professionals and labours where getting access to entertainment at home is usually a bit tough. For many to register a fixed phone line is usually a bit tougher because they are required to pay deposits. And for those construction labour, hey ..this is their way out.. and also, they can count on free VOIP services to communicate back home. It also comes with many channels of media entertaintments such as Astro, CNN, CNBC and etc. (They can kongsi money to buy just one 3G phone and can watch many things at their 'kongsi') I felt so happy for them finally.

Hype?:
However, despite all these excitement, Maxis haven't been very informative about the charges and rates. Logically, everything should be flat rate for activities happening around the 3G area. Nevertheless, the government is crying about the low penetrations of broadband users in Malaysia, only 1% and is now determined to bring down broadband subscription service to RM45 monthly. This will be great. But is the Telcos going to follow such trend because such initiative will kill their existing lucrative revenue of GMS network for telephony service? This is similar to Redtone's strategy on SIP initiatives, because their PSTN market is even more lucrative now.

At the moment, what we know is that registration fees is confirmed at RM25.

perhaps they have a better reason for doing that.. which is to keep off information from competitors and just to give them headache, so that they lost-focus. (This is a very good corporate strategy)



But it is good news that Maxis actually expects full adoption in a year time. Thus for those budding content developers such as mobile games and etc, you got one year to get yourself ready. Also there is good news for you guys where Celcom Malaysia is rolling out a software development kit based on Microsoft's Connected Services Framework. Using this framework, developers would find the learning curve easier to deal with telco related problems and as for the telco, they get to open up secure connection for its databases.

thanks for visiting my tech blog :)
-------evalet-------------
1. what opportunities are there for 3G?
2. how cheap can broadband be ?
3. how to develop mobile application ?
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