Last night, Telekom Malaysia (TM) unveiled UniFi, its high-speed broadband services. The RM11.3 billion national high-speed broadband project is the flagship propject of the National Broadband Initiative. The UniFi’s new broadband packages comprises of triple-play services of high-speed Internet, video (IPTV) and phone, with speeds of 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps. The IPTV will be delivered via a 8Mbps connection exclusively, in addition to the data speeds subscribed by customers; comes with 22 linear channels, video-on-demand and interactive services.

Revolution Not Evenly Distributed (Yet)

At the initial stage, UniFi will cover four areas – Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Shah Alam. As of today, there’s 311,000 premises passed and by end of 2010, TM aims to cover 48 exchange areas with a total of 750,000 premises passed (premises passed refers to the number of UniFi-ready premises). By 2012, approximately 1.3 million premises will be passed nationwide – include inner Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia adn key industrial sites across the nation. So, 1(hsbb-enabled)Malaysia has to wait.

With the introduction of HSBB (UniFi), it seems Streamyx users are ‘second-class’ users (categorized as “Broadband for the General Public, BBGP). There are over 1.43 million BBGP customers, to date. To the many who tweet #streamyxsucks on Twitter, fret not! Last year, TM spent 3.6% or RM308 million of its revenue to improve its quality of service. This year, TM planned to spend at least 5%. The end of #Streamyxsucks, as we know it? Doubtful. Is #UniFi the #Streamyxsucks slayer? Maybe “RM11.3 billion” later, we will find out. ¶

Short, Shaky Video of the Launch

Telekom Malaysia (TM) Unveils #UniFi High Speed Broadband to Slay #Streamyxsucks originally appeared on GreyReview on March 25, 2010.

According to the latest global Broadband Quality Study, three Asian countries – South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong – are world leaders in providing top quality consumer broadband services.

The Study is conducted by the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics; sponsored by Cisco. To determine the Broadband Quality Score, the researchers analyzed a total of 24 million records sourced from broadband tests using Speedtest.net (Ookla) during May 2008 and May – July 2009

This year, the study covers a total of 66 countries (and 13 are from Asia); additional 24 countries compared to 2008, plus new analysis on broadband quality in more than 240 cities. In terms of Broadband Leadership score, among Asian countries, Malaysia is behind South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan; ahead of China and India.

Asian Countries and Broadband Leadership, Broadband Quality Score and Penetration 2009

In the Broadband Leadership Matrix, Malaysia is placed in between ‘Leap Frog’ group and ‘Catch up’ group.

Malaysia is among the countries with the slowest download speed; only faster than South Africa, Tunisia, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria and Kenya.

Download Speed, by Country

In terms of Broadband Quality Score, Malaysia is in the ‘Below Today’s Applications Threshold’ category.

Broadband Quality Score, by Country

More about the Broadband Quality Study here.

Malaysian Broadband is ‘Below Today’s Applications Threshold’: Broadband Quality Study 2009 originally appeared on GreyReview on October 2, 2009.

On August 04 2009, Malaysian PM announced the creation of the MSC Malaysia ICON grant programme, with RM12.86 million allocation (under the second economic stimulus plan). The purpose of ICON is spur the creation of local online contents to support Malaysian broadband strategy.

The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), custodian of the MSC Malaysia, will spearhead the implementation of ICON, with the ultimate aim of unleashing groundswell of vibrant and sustainable digital content industry in Malaysia. Currently, MDeC is inviting individuals and companies to submit project proposals for the ICON programme. Malaysians and majority-owned Malaysian companies are eligible to apply for the Grant. But, is it hard to apply for the grant? To answer the question, here’s our not-so-famous 3-step Unofficial Guide.

INGREDIENTS LIST
1. Cool Ideas
2. Time
3. Official Forms: Project Application and Company Information.

DIRECTIONS

Step 1: Ideation (ETA: 1 week to 2 weeks)
Basically, the grant programme covers user-generated (ICONity) and educational (ICONedu) contents, for web and mobile. For ICONity, It can be a project to repurpose existing offline contents for online or web application for community with incorporation of user-generated contents. For ICONedu, educational contents can be for lifelong learning, from young children to senior citizen, and interactive learning tools like games and simulations, among others.

Think. Be creative. What content you plan to bring online? How can you repurpose your existing content? Which community you want to engage with using your content? Can you add more interactivity to your offline educational contents?

Step 2. Creation (ETA: 2 to 3 weeks)
Get the preformatted Application Forms to draft your project proposal. Extend and expand your ideas, in terms of commercialization, technology and financial. Good thing is you’re not expected to produce a thick project proposal! Each section with words limit, ranging from 125 words to 400 words. So, focus on brevity.

Here are the key sections you need to elaborate in the Project Application form, pertaining to your project idea:

• Value Proposition: What are the compelling factors of your idea? How can it benefits the various stakeholders? Also, outline the benefits your project can contribute to the National Broadband Plan.
• Market Target and Business Model: Who’s your primary (and secondary) target markets? And what are the market size and industry projection? Quote figures and market growth stats from reputable sources, if possible.
• Competitive Analysis: List out key competitors and how you can carve unique advantage over their offerings.
• Marketing Plan: Outline your marketing plan here and how you plan to go-to-market plan. Here you are requested to outline what commercialization activities you will undertake after completion of the project
• Content Development: A brief on how you plan to develop content for your proposed project. Also, how these contents can benefit the Malaysian National Broadband Plan.
• Technology Plan: Describe your technology implementation of your project. With words-limitation, a diagram goes a long way in helping the Approval Committee to construct a mental image of what you are planning to develop.
• Project Expenditure: Each applicant can apply up to RM100,000 with maximum project duration of 8 months. The grant money can be used for human resource, awareness/promotion campaigns, activities related to repurposing contents, content hosting and procurement of services.
• Project Activities Schedule: Provide details of your project activities, key deliverables and timeline

For more in-depth details, download the Infopacks for both ICONity and ICONedu. Also, do check out this useful blog posting titled ‘Early Stage Web Product Development,’ which is packed with information related to product design, development and management.

Step 3. Submission (ETA: 1 day)
For official submission, print out 2 hardcopy and 1 softcopy (in CD) together with Company Forms (Form 9, 24, 49). Send to the Secretariat of the ICON Grant Programme (address available in the Application Forms). For queries, email icon [at] mdec [dot] com [dot] my or visit the ICON’s official website.

There you go! Just submit your project idea to MDeC and if it’s approved, you’ll get up to RM100,000 to transform your idea into reality. No processing fee required. No payback. And the Government will not take any stake in your venture once it’s completed. Good luck!

The Unofficial Guide to MSC Malaysia ICON Grant Application (Forms Included) originally appeared on GreyReview on September 1, 2009.