I have written quite a number of posts about wimax in Malaysia recently, and finally I get to try it out myself last Sunday after being invited to visit P1’s Flagship Centre.

It is basically a short tour around P1’s (Greenpacket) building and a short session of discussion to gather our opinions about the new service. The building looks very new, with sign boards still undone and all the brand new furnitures, doors etc.

This is Billy Lee, P1’s technical officer, showing us the temporary directory:

Our first destination was the Data Centre, which is where the entire network is being monitored. At the time of the visit, there is only one person in there, and he was surprised by us. Everyone rushed out the lift and start snapping.

We then head to a place Billy call as the “Wellness Centre“. Basically it’s a place for P1’s staff to relax and fool around. Not as cool as Google’s office, but you wouldn’t go wrong working there with their massage chairs, PlayStation 3s, pool table, foosball, sleeping room, reading room, and a well equiped gym.

TVs ready, but PlayStation 3s are not ready:

Foosball and pool:

Gym:

Sleeping room with beds not ready yet:

Massage room with massage chairs not ready yet:

Auditorium:

After the tour, we are back to the Flagship Centre.

P1 Flagship Centre

The wimax modem and USB modem. The bigger modem is not that big after all, at least much smaller than what is in my mind all these while. The USB modem on the other hand is said to be launched by Q1 2009.

Computers are available for users to test out the wimax connection:

Before we start the discussion session, we’re served with food and drinks. The curry chicken is good:

There are four representatives from P1:

• Kenny Wong (Chief Marketing Officer)
• Christina Tang (Director Brand & Marketing Communications)
• Billy Lee (Technical Officer)
• Chong Chee Kong (Assistant Manager - Online)

P1 do monitor suggestions and feedbacks from the online community, and according to Billy, the 20GB Fair Usage Policy is one of the main concern from their users.

Billy said that the purpose of the fair usage policy is to ensure fairness among its users. It is a priority based policy, meaning priority is given to users who have not reach 20GB usage, while users who have reached their 20GB usage will still be able to go online, but with less priority.

Meaning you will only experience lower connection quality when

1. You have reached the 20GB limit
2. There are other users who have not reached the 20GB limit online as the same time as you do

Unlike Streamyx, P1 does not discriminate P2P or Bittorent users. Instead, they will only strip priority from users who have reach the 20GB data limit, therefore workarounds like VPN will not work in this case.

Billy educating us on the Fair Usage Policy

Another question that puzzles most of us, what’s the difference between a personal package and a business package? Same speed, different pricing.

Billy said that the main difference for the time being is their support. Business users will be given priority when solving issues than a personal user. In future, P1 might be adding more services and values for its business users. Unlike what I’ve been thinking all these while, business owners can also subscribe to a personal package for its company, the choice is there.

Kenny told us that they are very passionate and driven in being a big player in the industry and provide excellent services to its users. Time, that’s what he’s asking for.

Well, action speaks louder than words. I believe if P1 can provide excellent services, they will win Malaysians heart in no time, especially with the lousy connection by Streamyx most Malaysians are using now.

Thanks Danny for most of the photographs.