I have been longing for broadband real bad. I HATE the turtlenet provided by my hostel to no end!
Lately Maxis and Celcom have come out with their respective wireless broadband services. But after several rounds of researching on both services, I have been convinced to hang on just yet. Below is my understanding on both telcos’ 384 Kbps wireless broadband services:
Speed & Coverage
Both telcos offer 3G speed of 384 Kbps at RM68 monthly. It is however reported that the speed and coverage will vary in different places. If you have a good 3G network coverage in your area you can transfer data at speeds that are much better than a 56Kbps dialup modem. If you are not in a good 3G coverage area, you can still transfer data using GPRS which will be slower than 3G, but widely available.
Modem
For Maxis, the monthly cost of RM68 per month has covered modem rental, which is at RM18 per month. It has the size of a typical modem; can last for three hours on battery:
As for Celcom, you will need to have either an existing 3G phone or a data card (a data card can cost from hundreds to over a thousand of ringgit):
Both will require a sim card (correct me if I’m wrong).
Bandwidth
Now this is the #1 turn-off factor for me. You can SERVE the net for unlimited hours for both plans, BUT, you are only entitled to a monthly bandwidth of 3GB for Maxis and 5GB for Celcom. This means that you cannot download or upload data more than the given monthly bandwidth. You will have to pay extra in your bill if you do!
No External IPs
Maxis and Celcom 3G don’t provide external IPs to end users, which is like a huge LAN. Therefore users will have problem using P2P programmes and web hosters like rapidshare.de (it only accepts a unique IP at a time).
For Maxis, P2P is only opened during off-peak hours from either 1am to 6am or 2am to 6am according to people who have tested it.
Sign-up Contract
You will be bounded with a 18-month contract for Maxis but no contract for Celcom.
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I’m actually very stunned that there are TONNES of complaints against the Maxis wireless broadband.
I’m not saying Celcom is good — there are of course negative reviews about their wireless broadband service as well, but it doesn’t seem as bad as those against Maxis.
