I was reading Desmond's blog on the 9th Malaysia Plan and how Malaysia hopes to increase Broadband usage among internet users in the country. I think before the country proceeds with this ambitious plan, it first needs to improve the current broadband service. Cuthess is always complaining about how poor the service is and how she is always disconnected whenever she is online. And the supposed 1 Mbps connection speed is never what it is .. you'll be lucky if you get 500 kpbs.
I've only had DSL for a little over a year now and takes the faster connection speed for granted. I was at my in-laws' place this past weekend. My father-in-law is an avid internet user but he is still using dial-up. I was on his computer looking at my blogs ... wow, what the h*@%k?! How come the pictures on my blog take forever to download? And I take pains to make my picture files small, always bearing in mind there are those that are still on dial-up. So I told my father-in-law, "You are SO yesterday! About time you get yourself high speed internet connection!". He didn't understand the part about being "so yesterday". Heheh, I had to explain to him.
Doug was there when I told my father-in-law that, and Doug being Doug, told his father, "Hey, why don't you put up a directional antennas, and I'm sure you can find high speed internet connection in this area and use that!" Haha, cheap-skate that he is, wants his father to "tumpang" somebody's high speed internet connection! Actually, my mother-in-law's laptop with the built in WI-FI card did find a hot spot, but it was encryted with a password so she was not able to get connected. My neigbours can easily use my high speed connection because it is not encryted with a password but Doug tells me that if I see blinking lights on my router, and I am not using my internet, someone is using my connection! :-)
I have seen ads on TV about satellite internet connection. I don't know how good it is, but the neighbour at the end of our private road has one. He did not realize that DSL service was already available in our area when he got his satellite internet service. Anyway, he had to spend quite a bit for the modem and the service compared to what we are paying for our DSL service. When I had to renew my subscription last December, I told Doug to bargain the price to the then current promotion price which was only $16.99 per month! I have to pay $26.99 per month! Sheeeshh! And that is lower than the usual price of $34.99 Today, I checked the latest promotion, it is only $12.99!! What the h*%#@k! Why am I stuck with that old promotion rate?! Oh ok, that low $12.99 per month is only for 6 months ... sheeesss, the games these people play! One must be careful to read the fine print in any of the contracts that one signs with these companies!
Going back to Malaysia's plan to increase broadband usage. I think it is about time the government allows local internet service providers. TMnet and Jaring have had it good for too long and it is about time other people get a share of the pie. It is also time for a fixed ISP rate. Say RM 20 for unlimited internet usage on dial-up. How can you encourage more internet usage when every minute you are online costs you money? If the government allows private internet service providers, I would jump on that bandwagon too! Yes, I'd start my own internet service and also provide subscription wi-fi service! Be as good a time as any to get that bumiputra loan to start a business! :-)
I guess it will be a long time before free WI-Fi is going to be available in Malaysia. Google is gong to provide San Francisco with free WI-FI service for all its residents. Lucky people! And most major cities in the US will have access to free WI-FI service in the next 5 years.
To end off this entry, here's a funny article on how you can steal WI-FI. Hey, Mag, you already know how, eh! :-)
Been there ,done that :)
ReplyDeleteIn Malaysia TMnet will be 4 years old this July 2006. So I am with you on this Puteri. Though I do not know how broadband connection started in the States, but I assume it would also take some time for the service to stabilise to the stage that you are now (like wireless etc). Its still a bit too advance for us here to digest. Its quite sad really. I am as enthusiastic as James & Vynne for the launch of the WaiFM Radio Internet for example. It can lead to some proud moments in the part of the developers' effort. However it is quite surprising sometimes that due to network congestion in my workplace I can't get stable service so I had to stick with radion. Similiarly as I had commeneted in Jame's Uchukeling blog - the larger audience base for WaiFM are our rural folks who are not connected. In the urban setting the older working Dayaks who are WaiFM fans usually have only dial up connection and I do not know how that stable the service is there but if the reception quality is less than satisfactory, they would stick with the radio also.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment anything beyond what we have now - like sattelite,wireless capacity is still in testing or probing stage. Another chicken and egg situation :)
Are you sure TMnet is only 4 years old? In 1998, when I first had my internet account, I signed up with TMnet .. cost me a bomb each month! :-) Spent too much time chatting back then! Heheh. Still waiting for the time when the ISP rate is fixed, with unlimited usage .. every time we go back to Miri, we used my brother's account ... he has to pay more because of us! :-(
ReplyDeleteInternet radio is still iffy .. depends a lot on whether or not the connection is congested. I only listen to radio stations on the internet that are not available locally, or when the radio signal is not strong enough, then I turn on the internet station.
As for WaiFM, it benefits those who are cannot tune in to WaiFM on the radio, like me! :-) If you can still turn on your radio and get WaiFM, I don't see any need for listening to it from your computer!
I don't know what it was like when broadband and other high speed internet connections like cable, and satellite first started. So far I am satisfied with my connection. I've never experienced any disconnection while I am online. The DSL service only became available in our area (rural) a little over a year ago. Cable (tv and internet) is still not available in our area, that is why I subscribed to satellite tv.
Doug tells me usually the reason for frequent disconnection from DSL is poor connection (contact e.g. on joints) with the phone lines etc .. who knows about the quality of the lines that Telekom Malaysia installs!
When Napster was a big hit, I downloaded lots of songs from file sharing ... and that was using my dial up! hahaha, took ages to download.
Here's an interesting entry on Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadband_Internet_access#United_States
Desmond, you should read that wikipedia entry .. very informative! I learnt a lot from reading that entry and the links found there. :-)
ReplyDeleteemm let see it here, actually broadband planning in the next 9 Malaysian Plan is not my very big consent. But their hidden agenda in the next 9 Malaysia Plan. Sorry i' need not disclose my info sources about what i gonna say here. when you observe properly the 9th Malaysia Plan, you noticied that most of the budget goes or relate to Sarawak especially. Here some info that i get, let back to the old PBDS crisis. As everybody knows PBDS were the stronghold for all bansa dayak right and this also include orang ulu. even PBDS at that were in BN but they are strongly opposed the federal goverment planning in utilise all Sarawak resources especially timber and oil. So the plans cannot be carried out and wait for PBDS to be resolve. with the broken wall of PBDS, nothing could stand on their plan. just like what they do to Sabah. Now they could gathered all the resources from Sarawak but yet Sarawakian still to genius to fool. Thats why in the 9th Malaysia plan they provide such planning to cover up the eyes of Sarawakian. for example the broandband plans. Why they choose Sarawak. It is simple, now all peninsular states faces a scarcity in the natural resources (terengganu and Kelantan among those states that become a victim from the federal government plans and the same tactic gonna be used against Sarawak but in a different way).In addition Malaysia is in the economic problem which is need a boost from natural resources comodity. Here, in peninsular Malaysia there is no such internet connection problem. It's very efficient in fact if you choose to have a dial up connection it is very big mistake in fact they will suggest to you an internet connection from 512k up to 1mb (if you wish it for company or business you will get some offer about 2mb connection or special offer fiber optic connection). in addition you could find everywhere the internet connection even in rural area here. WiFi......yes every big city at Peninsular Malaysia have its own area now. if i want to host my own blog or online radio, it is not very big deal. See do you got what i means. the hidden agenda about broadband plans. ....sorry if my English is so poor,damn to Malaysia Education system which required me to have an excellence results in BM
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