Translation: We have another satellite in space now, and that’s a good thing for broadband here. Malaysia Boleh! Soon we’re going to have a bolehnaut and teh tarik in space too, but that’s a different story.

Translation: This can shape up to be a significant challenge to TM Net Streamyx’s market dominance. As you might notice from this Wikipedia link on Maxis, they basically own Measat-3. Although the main purpose of the satellite is to extend the coverage of sister company Astro’s satellite services, it is very likely that the broadband capabilities of the new satellite will be marketed as under the Maxis Broadband umbrella rather than as an Astro broadband thing. Maxis already has very good dominance in the urban mobile telecommunications sector, so getting existing mobile customers to subscribe to a broadband package shouldn’t be too far a stretch, rather than trying to convince Astro watchers to get broadband. This is purely my speculation, and adding credence to it is the fact that Astro did have a short-lived trial of internet services, but no news has been hard since.

Translation: No more coverage issues. No 5KM radius DSLAM limitation. No more not enough ports problems. No more reliance on old copper cabling. Rather than try to depend on the underground, broadband can now come from the heavens above, and anywhere with a clear line of sight to the sky should be able to receive a satellite broadband signal. Bonus: The launch vehicle of the satellite is called the “Proton Breeze M”. No, it’s not a new car model from national carmarker Proton Berhad, but rather, this link should explain it.

Let’s end with two questions:
1. Do you think satellite broadband internet services are already available currently, as of today, right now? Yes or No? (This one I know the answer to. It might not be what you think. Btw, if the answer is yes, it’s not Measat providing it. If it’s no, then no one lah. What do you think?)
2. If satellite broadband were already available here…how much would you pay per month for a good, steady 1-2MBps connection?

I got a bit of a surprise yesterday - a representative from an internet service provider actually called my handphone and told me that they want to add their details to the Internet Service Provider page on RedesignMalaysia. They’re called SmartMalaysia, and they provide satellite broadband services across Asia, and the whole of Malaysia, apparently. Basically you will need to install a satellite dish in your home, which is about twice the size of the Astro dish. Looking at their landing page, it seems a bit pricey (starting from RM350), however, further digging reveals that they have home packages starting from RM150. The representative also told me that they are most active in some areas in Sabah & Sarawak and some rural/obscure areas in Malaysia that Streamyx is unwilling to service.

When I asked how they found about the RedesignMalaysia site, they told me it was through searching on Google. Apparently we’re result #6 for malaysia broadband. Yay!

If it really does what it does, I’m most likely signing up. I wonder why they seem to be rather under-publicised though, given the apparent scope of their service and their proactiveness in calling me. Will be meeting them somewhere over the next few weeks, will let all of you know how it goes. Other service providers - you can call me during office hours at 012-3119141 to add your coverage to the map or your details to the ISP list. Remember, the easier you make it to find your service, the more likely you are to attract customers…

Josh