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I would like to see operator like Digi which induce more competition to our local market than our local operator who just pakat slaughter their customer to get the licennce.

sigh... digi didnt get the license... the other 2 did... hidup malaysia!

Digi has got a thriving biz and needs the licence for it to progress to the next stage. mitv can hardly get off the ground primarily due to funding issues while the other company - god knows best.

Is it unreasonable to speculate that Digi will now have to pay 'rental' for thier licence?

confirmed digi not getting the 3g license http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_bea1cc2e-cb73c03a-1c672480-fb7a2d96

from a secure source, digi suppose plan to invest 800million in the 3g. just wonder how much that mitv and tt dot com willing to invest.

This must be shocking to Telenor and the FDI faith one may have in malaysia

i just spoke to some telenor folks last week in the other part of the world and they mentioned that they were confident that everyone would geta piece of the pie ...but one did say that there was a request to reduce stake further to be "malaysian friendly"

now it's true i guuess...star has an announcemnt on this ...how stupid can the G be ....!

Weep again for Malaysia and the idiots running it!

Could be a blessing in disguise.

3G networks are expensive and the take-up have been slow.

Digi could maintain their competitive edge by keeping costs low on core services, and leapfrog to the next technology (4G?) that might be appearing on the horizon soon.

Here's how Bernama quotes Dato' Seri Lim Keng Yaik.

“Dr Lim said all the three applications — from MiTV, TTDotcom and DiGi — met the minimum threshold in terms of technical, financial and managerial capabilities to be awarded the 3G spectrum licence to roll out the services here."

If that is so, it's hard to understand why DiGi was not given the license.

I have more to say on this at my blog - www.mobileworld.com.my/hotspot/

Well Digi will survive as the underdog. It has churned out good packages for consumers with some very innovative marketing that has made the 2 taikohs take notice.

From my viewpoint, I think there must be some protest from teh taikohs not to allow DIgi to get the license as they foresee that they will lose their market share further. 3G to me is useless and hopeless in the hands of the other 2 telcos and I will never subscribe to the other 2 networks as they have proven to be non consumer friendly. What can MITV and the other company do with their licenses? Another Alibaba transaction on hand soon.

The refusal to grant the license to DIgi without good excuse will scare off more intended investors. Sorry to Malaysian under the rule of jokers and clowns.

Andrew,

4G is still not ratified by Etsi/3GPP or OMA. It's still talk on the air and people are trying to set boundaries of innovations that it should bring to make it worth the move.

Right now, the only thing which is visible in the new 3-5 yrs is super 3G or 3.5G as some may say, which is based on the HSDPA technicalogy & HSUPA. Successfull imeplementation of HSDPA will depend on u having a 3G network as it's an overlay on to of 3G.

The benefits are fantastic, braodband speeds over wireless. Maxis already starting to do site surveys (through one of their vendors) to start HSDPA service in Klang valley...subang & sunway folsk would be the first to benefit

Imagine havin 2MB broadband speed using a 3G terminal card on ur laptop? it's cool..i have seen the demo and samples..during the last road show for maxis ...

it's excellant..and that they only thing i can think of currently ... 2 things can happen now for Digi ...

Telenor may get lost, reduce stake or buy one of the license awardees ....

You have Ali, Ah Chong and Ramasamy. All passed with minimum qualifications in a job interview.

So who do you take? Alamak..pass already can lah... who wants the highest scoring one? No wonder our country never progresses like our neighbour.

lol.

i think Vincent still have some shares in DiGi right?

Yups, what an 'innovative' way to hive off the then debt-laiden Digi to the foreigners, take his more than fair share and now hiving off another struggling company back to Digi which has become a cash cow in the last couple of years.

Thats the way corporate Malaysia works!

Why we must weep for Telenor when they failed to secure the 3G licence? Are you in the committee who oversea the whole process and understand the shortcoming of telenor? Don't know right?

Talk is always easy...

MiTV and Digi has a common factor..Vincent Tan. So what is the problem?

OK JustMe.

Let's say that you were in the committee that oversaw the whole process.

You have 3 applicants.

One is loss making and has no viable business.

The other is a VOIP company and has no experience as a celco.

The last one is a celco that has done very well over the last few years and needs 3G to keep pace with its 2 competitors.

Now which one would you give to?

Hey, wait a minute ... maybe you were really in the committee!

In Bolehland..anything is possible.

What is the logic in giving 3G licenses to companies which are not celco providers ?

A friend work in DiGi said they had bought the 3G equipments.

It is not about Telenor or if its a foreign player. Its about developing the industry and if a player can do a better job why deny them the chance?? I feel this whole thing is a political move. Being MVNO itself wont make Digi competitive enough to challenge both maxis and celcom. Consumers will lose out at the end.

Its really pathetic how Lim Keng Yaik structured his press statement. I can only feel sorry for Digi, I had hoped they will give maxis and celcom a run for their money and it looks like it wont happen. Sad day for Malaysian telecommunication industry.

Not a Surprise...
If DiGi needs it, it can buy/rent from the other non-telco twos. remember, this is BolehLand.

Yes, everything is inline with our NEP. Non-telco can also get the telco licenses. Non businessman can a also having 30% of company businessman's shares. Tun Dr M say he failed to removes the tongkat, but I say is a pillar actually, not like tongkat so light and able to moves around. That's how we model our BolehLand.

It is a political decision. Digi will get it indirectly with a cost.
Where in the 'free' world do you get things easy? Ask SIA whether they get 5th freedom rights to USA via Oz. Protectionism is still prevalent. The world may be flat but there are still mountains to climb.

MCMC thinks since Digi has 800million to invest, they can spare some to "bail" out the other two "poor" operators but working with them. Its a win-win !!

Jeff the podcast and chinese blog URL are the same. And it's down.

If my memory serves me right... Digi was invited for a 3G license 2-3 years ago but they turned down and wanted to be MVNO... not 3G Telco. Now they get it!!

If one can remember, past gov still owe Vincent Tan something after AAB revoke soccer betting license and now is the time to pay back lor.

Arhh.. I'm stucked with Digi. I was told I can change my operator (DIGI) without changing my 016 phone number. When can I do it?? DIGI is suck!!!! MiTV ?? New to me :) maybe newbie can do a better job!!! When can I subscribe? where? i was told latest 3G can go up to 2mbps !! True?? love to try.

You have 3 applicants.

One is loss making and has no viable business.

The other is a VOIP company and has no experience as a celco.

The last one is a celco that has done very well over the last few years and needs 3G to keep pace with its 2 competitors.

Now which one would you give to?

***********************

We all know about all this. Most likely the ah=pek in the coffee shop also knew about this. How about the commitment of telenor in meeting all guidelines set by MCMC?

We whine a lot when our local hospital was sold to Singaporean... Then how about this? :p

I don't think Digi buy the node B... Nowsaday, Nokia, Siemens, Motorola, Huawei, Alcatel, Ericsson etc will just come and swap for you for free. Then, you will come to the RNC and onwards, there is where the $ is.

interesting topic, more comments;

Geovanni,
I beleive ppl are upset because an operator with sound financial status, and everythign else it takes to set up a 3G system failed to get the license but 2 startups with absolutely no telco background gets it! That doesnt make sence, and never happens elsewhere ...so unless the G reveals WHY digi didnt get the license... i would still not beleive it was a fair choice

langzi,
Where did u get this info? U friend is a lier :) ... Digi has only requested for information from it's closest vendors, they have NOT secured any equipments for 3G ...they are too busy preparing for something else which will soon be announced..something to do with ur h/p numbers ..

BaganSpu,
Buying bandwidth from maxis and celcom is not a bad idea, since Digi will be able to geta quick start and access. But celcom has proven to be a non trust worthy partner to sleep with, given their past experiance in the last MVNO saga!

madvirus,
Yes, you may be correct, they may get it eventually. you see,we are not sure what was the agreement last time when Maxis & Celcom had requested for the license. Its normal that the first mover gets special protection from competition. This practice happens all over the world. In egypt, after vodaphone came in, there was a MOu that for the next X ammount of years, the G wont allow a 3rd operator. thsi gives the operatorenought ime to increase coverage and get started up to recoup investment. If anyone know if celcom & maxis got any such arrangement with G, please lets us know here,

As for the 2 winners, there would not have been any objection from maxis & celcom becoz they are inexperianced and the startup cost is killer. They have to think of A-Z from site acquisition to tower setup & civil works...it's a killer. It will take them hell lot of money to startup, and hell lot of time to expand service. without a GSM network already in place, they will have to have nationwide 3G coverage which in my opinion is insane. It will be so much easier fro Digi because it already has an existing network. U have to mix both 2G and 3G as the cost is just too high. So for the new comers to take on maxis and celcom, it will take time, hell lot of time.

Gecco,
No & Yes. No as in the standard 3G bandwidth is 384kbps only ..but with HSDPA overlay, u can get up to 2/5 or even 10MBps wireless broadband.

Dont worry, maxis like always has already embarked on looking into this. We'll see first generation (1-2MBps) HSDPA trials in klang valley soon, hopefully :) . Untill then, we can get only 382Kpbs which is not too bad since everythwere with 3G coverage is a "hotspot"

The only hinderance for ppl to use 3G data card to access net is the cost of terminal cards, which should slowly come down. The industry expects this card to cost around 100USD within the next year. FYI, maxis used to sell it's pcmcia cards with sim at Rm1400, not sure current price.

In General, having personally worked on a few 3G greenfielders startups all over the world, i must say, the 2 winners will never make a full telco cellular operators without tie ups with incumbants. For nationwide pure 3G networks u r talkng about 2-3Billion USD.Even the incumbents are progressing slowly city by city, do you think the new comers will start with nationwide ceoverage/??? ahhah no way man!

As for number portability,
It will only happen ones the G makes it a law...like in any country....no operator will do that in fear of loosing customers...

also, there isnt enough numbering plans to support both the new operators unless they re-use existing numbers. One of the un-used number is already slated for shared access as the number of subscribers in malaysia surpasses the available numbers for the 3 incumbant. In the meantime, telenor is too busy all over the world..making good starting up new 3 g networks....

cheers

Just to add, does anyone know the details of the license? What is the bandwidth and how much spectrum? W-cdma?

Do they also get a GSM bandwidth? My gutt feeling tells that if this is justa pure 3G license with no license to opeator normal GSM nodes, then these 2 incumbants will only use the spectrum to provide non mobile services. Wella good options is to set up at all towns and have a HSDPA overlay and u have wireless MITV and high speed TV in ur house :) ..this is a viable business case for the 2 winners...in this case..they may (i can be wrong) not offer mobile services.

Goks,

Actually langzi didn't get it all wrong. If Digi get the 3G license, siemens will be the one who will supplying them the 3G equipment as i heard that they have some agreement on this. But only 'if' Digi get the license. And I want to make it clear again, I just 'heard' it from a source. :p

BTW, why Digi cannot get the license... Just like why individuals who doesn't have any background in automotive industry being awarded thousands of APs... :p

Don't worry, Digi will get the license anyway... :)

Goks,

It's purely a spectrum, somewhere from 1920 to 2125MHz (spectrum allocated for Digi, correctly me if I'm wrong). Basically you get the bandwidth, you can broadcast and make use of it. And this is where WCDMA comes into picture, that is what we call 3G. You almost got it right, MiTV might use it for broadcast. This is the future! Yeah, watching World Cup live from your Dopod... :)

Basically 3G is very powerfull. You don't really do internet surfing and video call only... you can DO MORE! So that's why Digi is not only the candidate deserving this license.

Remember when Maxis running out of spectrum? They have to acquire Timecell. So... :)

We already have 2 3G operators who still struggling to make an impact. Why we need the 3rd? Competition looks like the only reason. Other than that??? Please comment.

about the spectrum... i shouldn't say it's allocated for Digi...

i mean the bandwidth.

To me, the Corrupt Tai Ko don't want DIGI to be able compete with the other two service providers. ( One of them is theirs). DIGI is doing well with 2.5G ahead of its' competitors. Imagine them with 3G.

Similarly, how not to let Perodua cars live? Kill Daihaitsu in Malaysia. (This is OK because Daihatsu is not our product. In DIGI case, it's cannibalism).

sorry, typo mistake:

how to let perodua live? Kill Daihaitsu in Malaysia.

beefstew... maybe you should know more about what happen in the evaluation before mentioning the word 'corrupt'.

Geovanni,

i do know what 3G is and the bandwidth of w-Cdma spectrums. This is my bread and butter leh!

What i wanted to know is the exact piece of the spectrum for the 2 licensees. U DONT get the entire WCDMA spectrum la..u get a few Mhz of it ...wat la u :) also...u have 3G over UMTS...who knows which was the one awarded...i've not been following up on this la..one mroe thing...Digi does NOT have any spectrum allocated for it...u have to get license first and part of the license award is the spectrum itself...

Also,
are u sure maxis ran out of spectrum and because of that they got time cell? hmm m....i dont think so..it's purely a business move to overtake celcom ...they even offered to buy digi but telenor not insterested to sell!

Its a known issue most parts of the world that services are the key to proper utilization of the 3G spectrum ...and thsi has been rather slow ... what celcom & maxis is undergoing is normal, many other operators worldwide has this problem..content market has higher grounds to achieve in malaysia..but we're blessed with cheap call rates..."relatively"

Also,
as far as i know ..and the telco vendor industry knows ...there isnt any exclusive equipment agreemtn between digi & simens for 3G...for 2G ..yes siemens (and / or alcatel) was prime vendor...but the game isnt the same now!

siemens or alcatel do not have the biggest market share for 3G comercial implementations ..coupled witht he fact that siemens is yet to have a high quality and proven IP backbone (soft switch) .... but nevertheless i heard they are moving fast on their softswitch.Nokia is only good for giving things free :) hehehehehe

DIGI didn't get the license... could it because of CAPITAL REPAYMENT??

DiGi proposed a capital repayment of RM0.75 sen for every DiGi share. The proposed repayment in cash will be implemented via a reduction of DiGi’s share capital pursuant to Section 64 of the Companies Act. The maximum amount to be distributed to entitled shareholders will be approximately RM562 million.

562Mil x 61% = 342 Mil !!!!
Digi's parent company is taking 342Mil away from Malaysia capital market !!

Smart way to do (I was told they don't need to pay tax for capital replayment)

Giving me a choice... I will get the license 1st then only declare capital repayment... :(

In VoiP industry, The bigger telcos, namely TMB, Maxis, Celcom and DiGi were pushing
ASP licensees into a corner. Their rates were higher than what the
International players were giving. This may not be seen as fair price... Hope the newbie can give VoIP players a room.. (My Redtone shares price can UP UP UP...)

Goks,

Yup, you don't get the spectrum. You just get the bandwidth. That's why I say i'm wrong to mention that the bandwidth is allocated for Digi. Well, shit happens but still early to say that Digi won't get that bandwidth... :)

The 900 spectrum is really limited with only 124 channels and have to be shared by Maxis and Celcom. Imagine you do the cell-planning in urban city with so much of pollution. It's different when you have the 1800 where your planning can be more strategic and also you reduce the unnecessary network quality problem. So this is very essential!

About the siemens deal, of course this is not made known. And I hv said earlier it cames from a source but i found it quite reliable. But then again, I'm not right until they announce right? So hold the verdict first for me... :)

When you come to free stuff, you can't compare with HW.

"In Bolehland..anything is possible."

****************

Yeah, talk is damn cheap. Just shoot the 'bolehland' comment when you are out of bullets...

Hey junk-filter, start your engine... :p

Notice of Person Ceasing to be a Substantial Shareholder Pursuant to Form 29C of the Companies Act. 1965
Reference No CC-051026-54634
Company Name : DIGI.COM BERHAD
Stock Name : DIGI
Date Announced : 26-10-2005
Particulars of substantial Securities Holder

Name : Tan Sri Dato' Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun
Address : 8 Lorong Kemaris 3, Bukit Bandaraya,
Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
NRIC/Passport No/Company No. : 520223-01-5779
Nationality/Country of incorporation : Malaysian
Descriptions(Class & nominal value) : Ordinary shares of RM1.00 each
Date of cessation : 20-10-2005
Name & address of registered holder
1(a) & (b)
CIMB Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd
10th Floor Bangunan CIMB,
Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights,
50490 Kuala Lumpur

2.
Berjaya General Insurance Berhad
18th Floor Menara BGI, Plaza Berjaya,
12 Jalan Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
Number of securities disposed : 35,000,000
Price Transacted (RM) :

Circumstances by reason of which a person ceases to be a substantial Securities Holder : 1(a). Beneficial Interest - Disposal via placement (12,000,000 shares)
1(b). Deemed interested by virtue of his interest in Berjaya VTCY Sdn Bhd - Disposal via placement (23,000,000 shares)
2. Purchase via open market (500,000 shares)
Nature of interest : 1(a). Direct
1(b). Indirect
2. Indirect
Date of notice : 20-10-2005

Remarks
The Form 29C dated 20 October 2005 was received by the Company on 26 October 2005.

Deemed Interest held through:-

1) Berjaya VTCY Sdn Bhd - 4,307,288 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each

2) Prime Credit Leasing Sdn Bhd - 99,343 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each.

3) Immediate Capital Sdn Bhd - 1,011,761 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each

4) Berjaya General Insurance Berhad - 2,575,000 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each

Total deemed interest = 7,993,392 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each

Total direct interest = 3,800,762 Ordinary Shares of RM1.00 each

Hey you guys

Dug this up from bursa malaysia.

Vincent tan is no longer a substantial shareholder in Digi since october 2005. Telenor holds about 60% of Digi and was told by our "beloved govt" to reduce their shareholding. May be this has a bearing on the award of the 3G license. I'd be bloody pissed if I'm Telenor. The G may want to use Digi as a crutch to help prop up the other two "cripple" company. It's as if our govt beh tahan see other people get rich.

If other foreign companies know about this, they be sneering in disgust and give Malaysia a wide berth when making their investments. It's apalling what this administration can pull off. "Standing in the eyes of the world...." yeeah right!! More like squating...

Question: Given the huge capital outlay one has to put out, ss 3G really that profitable? Are Maxis and Celcom earning or losing money with their 3G services? Hope someone can answer this. Thanks

Patriot,

On the first part of your comment, would u help me check the dates when Telenor reduced its stakes? From what i know, this was done some time ago, before the 2nd round interest in acquiring the 3G license came about. So dont get too frustrated :) . It's normal for government to impose rules like this, try starting up a telco related company without any bumi directors :) see if you can get a license ..ahaha that malaysia mate..live with it..

Secondly on the question of makig money, depends on which market ...if you talk about malaysia, NO ...maxis and celcom is not getting anything much out of their 3G investment..but this will change with time. Much like when GSM first came baout in the early 90ties ... it took so long for operators to break even because of penetration of service ..back then it was about getting ppl to afford a handphone..same problem now ...3G phones are too costly ..u can only expect this to go below the 1K rm mark somewhere late this year or next year. ppl are too used to the cheap stinky monochrome nokia phones ..so why must they change?

Also, not much education about 3G to the public ... our society is not mature enough to graps the 3G advantages..due to various reasons .. one is insufficient data services which is where 3G makes its money ....and second is the operators themselves. ....slow in promoting their services

This will change in the next year or 2 ...i reckon malaysia operators will start milking their investments only after 2007/2008 onwards

this is year is a year of services ... in order to get the best of 3G services, operators need to have IMS or IP & Multimedia infrastructure platform which sits ontop of the 3G network. With IMS on the service network and hsdpa (High speed downlink packet access)in the core and radio networks, u and me can do wonders ...

imagine u can walk anywhere in Klang valley with ur laptop ..connected to broadband of 1-5MB bandwidth ...surfing and watching TV over ur laptop? this is the potential of the technology ..u will have push to talk over normal phone using downloaded java program, instant messaging, like Yahoo ..always connected without worying about paying high gprs charges and also netmeeting like collaborative sessions over your phone to share pictures, music, video ..,etc ...these services are in the roadmap for 3G..but give the operators time to implement the needed platforms in place first ...the setup of 3G network is just the starting point ..hehehe u only get higher mobile surf speed now and video call ....so for everything else...hang on tight!

samples of this technology is evident in mature markets like japan ...

This is must be one of the finest examples of puzzling and non-transparent decisions ever made by our regulators in deciding which company will be far better in pushing the use of 3G in this country.

Just weeks before this decision, the MCMC released a report that shows 3G adoption by the subscribers is lacking.

I would like to ask:-

1. How will MiTV deploy a fully functional 3G network when it can't barely launch its own core product? (On another note, have you seen the picture quality of its transmission? It's horrible!)

2. What will Time, with all of its under utilized nationwide fibre optic network, be doing with so much more wireless bandwidth? Remember, Its webbit wireless broadband service failed.

3. What is the MCMC thinking when it decided to award the licences to 2 companies that didn't have:-
- Track records
- Base stations
- Transmission towers
- Subscriber base
- Marketing muscles

4. What influcence did our Minister Lim have over the awarding of the license? What possible logic can he be postulating?

Questions....questions....questions....

I'm commenting based on my views as a layman not privy to any insider info but such decisions surely open up a lot of questions. As some said above, why give something to someone who is inexperience in the field?

For those who said that the majority shareholder is foreign, well, Telenor didn't asked to be put in this position. Their decison to operate here was purely a commercial decision. Yeah, they invested their money and EXPERTISE here [at a time when the company was on the verge of collapsing burdened by debts] and got good returns in the end, so what? Am sure they are just as willing to cash out if the price is right ala Tony Fernandez. Is anyone obligated to be forever indebted if they made some money here? We reap what we sow, period. And I'm not of the opinion that the Telenor people just 'goyang kaki' here unlike so many of our GLCs! Hint: just look at how they respond to the market as compared to the other celcos.

Unless they can give a good explaination to the rejection, this decision will most certainly send the wrong signals out to foreign investors.

To sum it up, yesterday was not only a sad day at DiGi.com, but for the overall Telecommunications industry, Malaysian business owners and foreign investors. The decision to award 3G spectrum to MiTV and Time dotcom gives hope to those wanting to break into an industry or arena which is not their stronghold; be not weary or heavy hearted, our government will support your endavours! Also it serves as a warning for the incumbents in their own industry not to be so confident even if you have the best interest of the industry at heart and a good plan or preparation. Remember, anything can happen because Malaysia Boleh!

more of what I think here.
http://kalmness.blogspot.com//index.html#114144627946828411

Ok. so the rightful choice is Digi right? Base on what? Did Digi meet all the requirements? Do you know what is the requirement?

Why by not awarding the license to 3G is bad for foreign investor?

Think about it, say, will you award a tv station license to a foreign company?

I thought some of you guys are so pissed when the government sell a hospital to singaporean?

Contradict right?

MiTV needs a new platform. The 3G is a strategic one for them.

Er.. if someone needs to have track record to start something... we won't have anything.

Was Maxis capable last time? Was Digi erect all the towers before they get the 1800 license? No right? So why MCMC award license to Digi? No track-record wat??!

Digi already being given EDGE, so maybe they should try to utilize it and make it a successful one before moving on... If you can't perform, you think MCMC is so stupid to give you another chance?

goks,

Thanks for the input.
As of now, Telenor still holds 61.0% of Gigi. I read from somewhere (I'm sorry, forgot where) that comment about them holding too high a stake. BUt they are not breaking any laws i.e. still compliant to the Listing Requirement's public shareholding spread.

Geovanni,

What pisses me off is that, Telenor, a capable company, which since taking over Digi in March 2004 has brought the company huge profits, a tribute to their business and management skills. The award of the 3G licenses is in effect asking Digi to pay the other two "cripple" companies (with mediocre managment, no doubt) to "help them out a bit". To me this is frank injustice to Digi. Kind of remind me of asking one segmaent of Malaysian community to lend a crutch to another weaker, incompetent community, if you know what i mean. It is injustice. Migt as well turn ourselves into communists!!!

Believe it or not, DiGi did not receive anything official from the govt on this decision.

Geovanni,

I agreed with you.. if someone needs to have track record to start something... we won't have anything. We always complaint that licenses are not given to new comers.. and now we complain license is not given to incumbent.. We always complain.. complain... whatever decision made by G, we complaint.. In Thailand, people protest because Thaksin is selling his telco shares to Singapore's Temasek Holdings. STOP complain.. give him chance to prove himself.. what MCMC can do is to ensure they deliver their promises for the license. Otherwise, take it back in certain time frame.

Guys,

U have reason to say why not to a newbie getting the license ..everyone has the right to it ...but u have to also know the process of getting license .,...

What i really want to know is the reason why Digi doesnt get it? Compared to the incumbant, Digi has every right to seemless migration to 3G .

There may be some reasons ourside Digi's capabilities that eliminated them as an awardee fro the license, i just wanna know what it is .. as i said above ..it can be one of the following reasons;

1) Agreement with incumbants that no mobile 3G operators untill year XXXX to give maxis and celcom time to establish
- This happens all around the world..between telco operators and government

2) The winners business model was catered around services, which the MCMC wants to grow ..this means they wont install any conventional telco..BUT..i wont be surprised if they have a VOIP box in every state that connects over 3G spectrum ..this woul dbe cool!

I can only think of this reason being the fair arguments of MCMC not to give digi the license ...and if it is...DIgi will still get it..once the period of agreement between maxis & celcom is over. This is fair, in the industry!

I guess government wants more telco players in the market. HongKong has 5-6 players with 7 mil population, subscribers take only 2-3 days to change operator with changing mobile number. Operator care so much to their subscribers, subscribers enjoy so much better service compare to us now. ... for sure current players are not doing good enough to push for ICT usage (Broadband penetration only 1%) As goks said, the 2 winners will never make a full telco cellular operators without tie ups with incumbants. if Digi is given a license, none of the existing telcos will be willing to work with the new comers (looking at how current VoIP providers are suffering :( It is a good match now, new comers need existing network of Digi, Digi needs 3G license from new comers. Digi sang the song of MVNO so loud in last round of 3G license bidding. Maybe it is time for them to prove it. I just hope that more choices better service for us in near future.

Don't worry... Digi will get the 3G license... but not now.
Relet la...

yuging,

in bolehland, everyone can complain... just complain... :p

to much hype with 3G, DiGi has survive with EDGE network and according to a source they are making more profits through EDGE then the other operator.

good point tiredguy. eh, go take some Livita la...

Hmmm, telenor owns 61% of Digi and its listed on the KLSE mainboard. Shouldnt they take the company private under KLSE rules. If digi can get away with this, they are more than capable of getting their 3G network. Regulations are full of loopholes and the best amongst us are the one who are capable of taking advantage of these.

Wow..is Digi making profits from it's Edge? I didnt know that :) ..i wonder what kind of services they are benefitting from .... didnt know we had that many edge users in Digi happyly surfing at meager speeds and active with content services!

It's all a hype :)

Heh Katak, I think the HK model is flawed (from commercial perspective). The market is simply too small to support so many telcos and every one just compete on price.

Of consumers get fantastic deals but commerically it is not viable in the long run. The reason why many of them are still around after losing money for so long is "face". Most of them are owned by various tycoons and they cross-subsidise their telco business. This is also one of the reasons why there is no consolidation despite the fierce competition (nobody wants to be taken over; no face lah).

Why Digi failed to get the 3G license ? I heard that Digi had failed to comply with MCMC's requirement for coverage (2G) after so many years in operation. Don't think MCMC wants to give them another chance. Besides, they shouted so loud they only wanted to become MVNO 2 years ago while Telekom and Maxis were fighting for the 3G licenses. We can only say they get what they wanted.

Put it this way, if MiTV and Times get it, they will be more money spent in the infrastructure, and more jobs to offer. More competition will drive better value to end users too.

Who ever said MiTV and Times can't deliver the work. Will you bite your tongue if they do ?

Come on guys.

For those who argue that it's good to give newcomers a chance to try their luck - probably may want to know that deploying 3G services is not like opening 7eleven or KFC outlets where they can just replicate. Billions are required and do the winners have the track records, expertise or financial capabilities RIGHT NOW? Are people banging at their doors now to provide the expertise and/or financing? Funny isnt it when you have a candidate ready to deploy but chosed otherwise? What can we expect from 2 companies that dont even possess a core business to start with?

As to being foreign owned, thats a matter for the Securities Commission to work out. In all fairness, who approved the shares sale during the financial crisis not too long ago?

Dont this scenario remind you of what a Minister said a few months ago - we'll give you the APs if you proved to us that you have secured the franchise and dealers.

Chicken or egg first eh??

Anyone have problem with Digi network in PJ area this afternoon?? I couldn’t receive and make calls for the whole afternoon… can only send/receive SMS occasional. I was told operator must maintain x% of uptime. How can I, a small little subscriber make a complaint to authority to demand for compensation? I have the same problem with Maxis a couple of months ago.. I had problem with its 3G data service for 2 weeks.. I made many calls for technical support, including upgrading my data card firmware, reset my account… but still not able to get my problem solved. The problem drag for almost 2 weeks and it was resolved by itself. I believe it was network problem but they denied. I wrote to them to demand for rebate on monthly subscription. They rejected. Is there anything we can do?? Please help… Anyone have tried lodge a complaint to authority regarding poor service of operator? Anyone succeeded before?

Application of 3G is no joke. Of course these applicants know what they are doing and all of them had met the requirement too as per claimed by our Dato' Seri. These kind of GreenField players proved to be doing pretty well also in other part of the world. On the other hand, tell me; I've been travelling quite frequently and you know what, I can't get roaming on my Digi phone (thought double confirmed with the customer care prior to leaving the country), it happens almost every trip for the passed 3 months, including now ! Luckily I learned and brought my Maxis. Phew...

Hey Gecco, just head on to the Digi Customer Service Unit in Shah Alam and speak to their folks there. Chances are you will get a rebate(it worked for me). Pointless trying to do it thru their call centre, there all u are going to get are the usual standard responses.