How often do you read fine prints or TOS? Let alone installing free softwares, most of us will not even bother to read those great wall of boring texts when we are subscribing something for money. We know there might be some tricky policies in there, but with the intended (I guess) ultra small fonts, boring format and pure black and white, we tend to convince ourselves that it’s fine, no need to read.
As to ease these lazy peoples that wouldn’t bother to read (I don’t read them, too) who intended to get some internet goodness, I’ve compiled the Fair Usage Policy of some most major ISPs in Malaysia. Mind you, some are true shocking, the first one especially.
Maxis Broadband
No joke, monthly usage is capped at 3GB for BOTH upload and download.
Each customer’s total usage per month shall NOT exceed 3GB of data volume transmitted (total upload and download usage). This is to ensure that no individual hogs the bandwidth at all times. (link)
Celcom Broadband
How extreme can 5GB be, I wonder.
In order to ensure that no individual hogs the bandwidth at all times, Celcom reserves the right to implement the Fair Usage Policy. Each customer will still enjoy their unlimited Broadband services at the monthly rate determined. However if it has been detected that a customer has abused the service with extremely high usage exceeding 5GB, Celcom then reserves the right to manage the customer’s bandwidth to ensure fairness to all other customers on the same network. (link)
U Mobile
For our Broadband Service, your total usage per month shall NOT exceed 5GB of data volume transmitted (total upload and download usage). This is to ensure that no subscriber can congest the bandwidth at all times. (link)
Streamyx
No specific amount of allowed data transfer is mentioned. No news is good news. Is no specific amount is good amount? But I guess it will be just anything better than the limits set by the ISPs above.
The Fair Usage Policy automatically identifies the extremely heavy users and manages their bandwidth in order to protect the service of all our other customers. This traffic prioritization policy will protect the quality of service for the majority of our customers when they use the service, while at the same time, still allowing the extremely heavy users to continue to send and receive files with certain restrictions. With this policy in place, we will prioritize Internet activities like web browsing, live streaming, messaging applications and VOIP access while traffic to P2P sites will be given lower priority, due to the high bandwidth consumption of such services. (link)
P1 WiMAX
I wasn’t quite happy with P1′s 20GB limit previously, but now I feel just okay with it. It’s like how you will feel irritated by a crying baby 2 rows back in a jumbo jet, but you will tell God that you’re perfectly alright with the crying baby when the jumbo jet nosedive and the oxygen mask pops in front of you. 20GB doesn’t sound right initially, but it’s perfectly good after knowing Maxis have a limit of a ridiculous 3GB.
Each subscriber’s total usage per month shall not exceed 20 gigabytes of data volume transmitted (total upload and download usage. (link)
I’m now wondering if it’s only Malaysian ISP who have ridiculous bandwidth limit. How do these fair usage policies looks like in your country, if you’re not in Malaysia, and if your ISP have any of those?
I feel lucky that I went back to Streamyx when I had terminated Maxis Broadband for the awful service before a week trial ended.
Streamyx is still the best of the worst.
Wimax is chasing up pretty close, but Streamyx, like you said, is still the best of the worst
how about DIGI broadband using the handphone as modem?
Thx for tracking down the T&Cs. Folks really need to read the fine print.
BUAT PROPOSAL KAT CELCOM TU, MEREKA DAPT TERIMA PENDAPAT ORANG RAMAI BERBANDING MAXIS, MINTA 30GB LIMIT SEBULAN PUN TAK MENGAPA
Actually Fair Usage Policy is and will be the in thing in the future. FUP will usually apply on wireless broadband as the network capacity won’t expand as fast as the usage by users. Hence, wireless broadband actually serves the need for those who prefers mobility. This means people who does not do excessive downloading and uploading. If you are into downloading/uploading and pretty much static in your home, then definitely fixed broadband would be the best deal.
Among international company has done it includes T-Mobile , British Telecom and O2. Even some companies have started to go on a volume based broadband – subcribe to XGB and pay a monthly fee. South African broadband has always been on the volume based model.
I am not Malaysian, but find myself working here… Malaysia prides itself on being a “Multi Media Super Corridor”, but I see nothing multimedia, or super about Malaysia broadband infrastructure and a 5GB cap is, quite frankly, absurd and debilitating. The salt is only rubbed into these wounds when the provider, i.e. Celcom, Maxis demand a premium rate of 98RM per month.
In reply to the previous message, yes some providers cap in the UK, but competition is fierce so some do not, moreover, an 8Mbps connection is now seen as standard with most providers migrating to 24Mbps, and 100Mbps is be trialled, so soon on the way.
You can heck out UK providers at this site here,
http://www.broadband.co.uk/
So, for example, Talk Talk provide this package,
http://www.broadband.co.uk/providers/talktalk/mytalktalk-with-speed-and-download-boosts/
Yes, that’s right, 24Mbps connection with 80MB monthly limit, all for 15GBP, which works out at 75RM with a direct currency conversion, or 15RM per month if you do a conversion relative to the average monthly wage.
I think the providers in Malaysia offer an appalling service… I could give a very good speculative answer as to why… but I feel we would soon delve in to a deep and heated political debate… but as I said, I’m not Malaysian, so it’s up to you guys… and you are really being taken for a ride…
I think Maxis 3GB is really ridiculous and suck. Celcom not any better with 5GB which is not making sense. Malaysia ISP are all suck. Streamyx by far still the best of the worst. Very sad.
totally agree.
I should have added to me earlier post above… Celcom automatically throttle the line speed once you go over their imposed 5GB monthly allowance… and what do they throttle to? Well, if like me, you pay 98RM per month for their 3.6Mpbs service then they will throttle you to 128Kbps, and if you subscribe to their 68RM 348kbps package then they will throttle you to 64Kbps, see their “fair usage” policy here, http://tinyurl.com/dhduvg
It’s interesting to note that the broadband is defined with a minimum line speed of 256Kbs by the OECD and the FCC has recently revised this to 768Kbps. See here over at wiki, http://tinyurl.com/9lt7x
So by accepted, de-facto, world definition and standards, Celcom throttle their line speed to sub-broadband speeds. This is wholly unnecessary, unprofessional and unacceptable.
In the UK for example, where some ISP packages have monthly limits they too will throttle the line speed, for example if your line speed is 24Mbps, they will throttle to 5Mbps, you see the difference?
To rub more salt into the wounds, less than 30% of the Malaysian population is connected to the Internet, most of which in concentrated in and around the major cities, particularly Kuala Lumpur. The population of Malaysia is currently 25 Million, so thats only 7,500,000 users! This is peanuts compared to other countries, see here for more http://tinyurl.com/zwpfd The figures given here put Malaysia at 59% penetration, which surprises me, so I can only speculate over perceived discrepancies.
Within the list of countries Malaysia finds itself, I would be hard pressed to name a country with as poor a service as Malaysia. Especially considering the relative low number of internet users relative to the rest in the list.
There is no technical reason why Malaysia infrastructures should be so restricted, but as I said in my previous post, if we were to tackle the real reasons then we would soon delve in to a deep and heated political debate. As I am not Malaysian, is for you, not me to debate.
the new DiGi 3G roll-out (at PJ-only tho at this time) specifies 50GB fair usage policy, a big step up to Maxis 3GB and Celcom 5GB.
Here joining extremely irate Maxis users. Will definitely switch back to DiGi once they bring HSDPA to Penang. Maxis sucks!!
I’ve been away for 10 years, lived and worked in different countries east and west, and have returned to Malaysia recently.
I am still SHOCKED at the state of the internet.
EVEN CHINA CITIZENS ARE GETTING A 300% BETTER DEAL FROM THEIR COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT.
Malaysians ARE strangled. That is the price to pay for REFUSING TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM WHEN WE HAVE THE CHANCE.
That is the price of ANTI-COMPETITION MENTALITY.
In 2008, 15 years after MULTIMEDIA SUPER CORRIDOR BOASTING, Malaysia STILL does not have broadband.
MALAYSIA HAS BROKEBAND.
15 years after they brag about Multimedia Super Corridor…Malaysia STILL does not have Broadband.
Malaysia has BROKEBAND.
Broken, because they are STILL afraid of competition.
Competitions from foreigners?
No. The answer is…
Competitions from home. We Malaysians are nice people. We don’t like competition lah.
We Malaysians are FAIR people. Fair use. We encourage you to share. Bandwidth also we must share. You pay, we help you share. You don’t like it, we FORCE you to share.
That is why even late comer China already have superFAST, superCHEAP, superBROAD internet…and Malaysia?
We PAY 2009 $$$ rate for 1995 speed.
When will Malaysian Consumer grow backbone?
Soon India and Myammar also get better broadband.
How?
No shame meh?
i currently using celcom broadband rm68 package and very sick on 64k speed!!!
the so call “fair” usage policy really sux!
if u calculate, u run 384k full speed, ur 5GB bandwidth will run out in just 29 hours!
and if u use 3.6m for full speed even worst! u will run out of bandwidth in just 3++ hours!
really fair huh?
i pay money u let me use for few hours only celcom?
really unacceptable!
if dont have such bandwidth, dont sell such package ma
fair usage, really kns and no eye see.
even though streamyx is best of the worst but unluckily there is no phone line of my area so i only can choose the worse of the worst…
haiz….
fair usage -,-
hey..! celcom broadband not sux.. It’s Fukced..
Just be honest celcom bband.. just use “usage policy” without the “fair”..
i wouldn’t mind if it’s like that.. it just makes people feels like being fooled by saying it fair.. there will be less complaint if they didn’t say “Fastest, Unlimited, etc..” just tell the truth.. just said “Average speed, limited, usage policy of 5GB/month.” then i will not complaint but still i want to use it.
Well, I was refraining myself from putting this point of view across, but as an outsider, an anti-competitive market is usually the result of corruption. I will leave it up to you all to ponder whether this is the case here.
I really feel sorry for you all, and also feel sorry for myself as I have no choice but to use Celcom with no real or useful avenue of complaint!
Maxis is a f**** b**** as***** I pay RM100+ a month but the connection sucks balls…i went to overseas..like japan..i use their wi-fi dam fast..not like malaysia so lau ya 1..what wawasan 2020 la..other country aredy 20 years step ahead thn us
Most developed countries have 25Mbs as standard, most are rolling out 100Mbs, and some are trialling 200Mbps. And behind these speeds is quality and service, not only that but governments are now forcing ISPs to specify minimum data rates rather than “best effort”, which as a measure is really meaningless, but lets the ISP oversell and make lots of profit, I think in the UK the minimum date rate is set to 2Mbps.
Did you know that Malaysia’s internet backbone only runs at 45Mbps, which is hardly cutting edge.
While I am in US, yahoo DSL with no more than USD30.00 for “stable” over 3 Mbps and with no limite of the download and upload, cannot remember how many movie and drama I download earch month…
So, it is unacceptable in Malaysia for this kind of speed an data usage policy..
But in Malaysia, who care about the consumer…
Even the celcom has 5G data usage, still Maxis still on the 3G data usage, this is called backward of Malaysia…
Where is 2020???
I woke up this morning to discover that TM has blocked Rapidshare to the point it’s completely unusable. How unusable? Try 1K/s.
That may be all well and good for the “uncles” and “aunties” who don’t use the internet beyond chatting and email, but what about people who do know how to use the internet? What about users who just like to store their hard disk backup on Rapidshare? Are they going to start blocking off parts of the internet in the name of fair usage?
Bilalah Malaysia naj maju??
at the moment, the limit for Maxis are 6gb. I use both Maxis and Celcom's broadband…the problem with Celcom compared to Maxis was, "sorry, we have to manage your speed, otherwise…pay us another RM20 for another 5 gigabytes of your favourite tv series, mp3's and (err…maybe a few favourite vivid dvd's collections) those classic movies that you cannot get in malaysia, and we wont be bothered". as far as i know, FUP were first introduced in the UK because there are mostly heavy users who clogged the bandwith…I think that is fair usage after all…but here in Malaya? I dont think so! how many laptops were up all day and night (except for mine)? Celcom is great!! they profited from the heavy p2p downloaders…ways and means to make money out of free downloads eh?
the best thing is, their excuse for this FUP is – "a regulation from Suruhanhaya Multimedia dan KOmunikasi Malaya…"
whoever only stays in Malaysia will think Malaysia boleh and nombor satu the moment he or she stepped out and goes overseas then they will open their eyes and really know for sure that Malaysia is not nombor satu dan Malaysia memang ta boleh.!!!!Slow and expensive broadband is one of them Hope for change in people governing us soon if not we will be going backward speed as this is a form of govt subtle controls.I hope the people will make changes in order for Malaysia to move forward.