Saturday, July 19, 2008

Something imminent coming up shore!

2 comments

Since the announcement of licensed WiMAX providers in Malaysia, a fast and furious competition has ensued between the service providers to be the first to roll out WiMAX services to the end users.

The four licensed WiMAX providers in Malaysia, namely Bizsurf, Packet One Networks, Asiaspace Dotcom and Redtone-CNX Broadband have prepared for almost 2 years to introduce WiMAX services to the general public.

WiMAX is a relatively new technology and service in Malaysia, as such nobody can be certain regarding the future of WiMAX. The main concerns are:

  • do the licensed WiMAX providers have enough experience to implement WiMAX services nationwide?
  • will the pricing of the WiMAX services be affordable to a majority of the population?
  • what are the effects of WiMAX to conventional broadband and wireless internet services?
With so much at stake, the licensees will probably adopt one of the following strategies:
  1. Be the first to offer WiMAX services and gain first-mover advantage.
  2. Sit back and let someone else be the first, duplicate the success of the first mover and avoid mistakes made by it.
  3. Be indifferent to other licensees' moves, introduce WiMAX services when it is ready, according to the company's plans.
Of special interest to consumers is the pricing for WiMAX services. Will it be cheaper or slightly more expensive than the current internet services (broadband and wireless inclusive)? I personally think that initially, WiMAX services would certainly be more expensive than the average Streamyx package, I estimate the price to range between RM120-150 per month.

Whatever the pricing may be, it won't come cheap IMHO because there is the cost of WiMAX modem to consider. The WiMAX service providers may charge a 1 time fee for the modem or they may charge monthly subscription fees. Considering the history of the internet packages in the country, it is highly possible that the WiMAX providers would also require consumers to sign a contract, tying them to the service for a fixed amount of time (minimum 1 year perhaps?).

How much do you think WiMAX will be charged? How much are you willing to pay? I am anxious to try WiMAX and willing to pay a slightly higher price if I could be guaranteed to receive a fast and stable connection. What about you?
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I may guess Rm160-Rm200 haha, hope it can be cheaper. We as a blogger, really need a faster network.

BobbyT said...

If the licensed WiMAX providers want to make an instant impact and convert existing wired and WiFi broadband users, they should offer a really competitive price.

RM160-200 might still be good value for the quality of WiMAX services, but that price range will not attract the budget minded users.

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