Screenshots

Screenshots made an impromptu visit to talk to the content providers face to face. Some claimed they were given short notice of the function; others acknowledged they had been egged into signing on an agreement with little details they knew therein.

Importantly, most were uneasy that they were put in the company of known rogues in the industry. However, they had to obliged as getting into the good book of Malaysia's biggest Celco is critical to their revenue stream and business survival.

Be that as it may, the potent ingredients that baked red lobsters out of MCMC officials present -- Mohd Ali Hanafiah (Head of Content, Consumers & Network Security), and Azizan Mohd Afandi (Consumer Protection) -- were actually the poster boys of the Content Providers Hall of Shame.

The Maxis show was anchored by Head of product and new business Dr Nikolai Dobberstein, a former employee of McKinsey & Company who first landed in Malaysia in 1996, the time when MSC was a fuzzy grandiose plan and any one-eyed jack could be king for strategy.

MacroKiosk and Nextnation, two content providers, as well as a subsidiary of one of them, who were identified by MCMC as repeat flouters of industry Guideline, were honoured as Maxis elite partners in the ceremony, with the German in tow.

Dobberstein (l) with Maxis Elite ECP partner, CEO of MNC Wireless Berhad (r)

The two companies are Maxis external content providers prominently identified as having scammed unassuming mobile users since mid 2006, where postpaid users showed their itemised bills to protest that they had been charged for SMS content they didn't request for.

However, industry insiders and the CP fraternity pointed to the rampant SMS Spoofing, involving syndicates collaborating with international roaming gateway operators, that primarily target prepaid users.

It was highlighted that the scams affecting postpaid users, who ate given monthly itemised billis for cross-checking, were just the tip of the iceberg as over 80% of the mobile user segment belonged to prepaid.

As prepaid users, except DiGi subscribers, are currently not provided with itemised billing, they are defenceless against SMS Spoofing and are unable to determine if they had been scammed by rogue CPs who charged them for SMS content that they did not request for.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The 18 ECPs put on the Maxis grandstand -- those highlighted in red are companies listed in MCMC's Hall of Shame for industry non-compliance and penalised by having their 3xxxx shortcodes suspended -- in alphabetical order, were:

1 ) Ahead Mobile Sdn Bhd
2 ) Arthatek Resources Corporation Sdn Bhd
3 ) DAPAT Vista (M) Sdn Bhd
4 ) Didadee Sdn Bhd
5 ) Dubaitech Marketing Sdn Bhd
6 ) eCentury Sdn Bhd
7 ) Funmobile Sdn Bhd
8 ) Gen-x Technology Sdn Bhd
9 ) iSentric Sdn Bhd
10 ) Kotaemas Edaran Sdn Bhd
11 ) Macro Kiosk Bhd
12 ) Matrix Internet and Wireless Sdn Bhd
13 ) MNC Wireless Bhd
14 ) Mobile Touchetek Sdn Bhd
15 ) N-Visio Sdn Bhd
16 ) Nextnation Network Sdn Bhd
17 ) Yo Mobile Sdn Bhd
18 ) Zed Mobile Malaysia Sdn Bhd

With the list of Maxis Elite Partners announced, the industry was visibly aghast at the conspicuous absence of a major industry player, AKN Messaging Technologies Berhad, a Masdeq-listed counter.

Maxis-Nagoor fallout?

AKN-MTech, which generated RM8.69 million gross revenue for the nine months ended March 31, 2007 from its Malaysian operations, is an investee- company under AKN Capital Sdn. Bhd. which in turn is a company within the AKN Technologies Berhad group, a Bursa Malaysia main board counter.

The press release from Maxis explained that the Elite Partners were selected based on their good record of promoting high quality or unique content services, strong customer services and consistent track record.

Meanwhile, some CPs Screenshots spoke to speculated that AKN-MTech was dropped from the Maxis elite list as it was more active in 'white label' SMS products and services while Maxis may have prioritised on indigenous ECP activities.

However, an industry insider pointed out that the nature of a 'white label' or pure ECP players does not matter as they both contributed to Maxis data earnings. Under the ECP profit-sharing structure, Maxis splits the proceeds from SMS services roughly on a 50:50 basis, irrespective of whether the partner was a 'white label', or a pure-play ECP, or a hybrid of the two.

Interestingly, both Ahmad Kabeer and Dobberstein sit on the Board of Directors of BPO company, Scicom (MSC) Berhad, being the Non-Independent Non-Executive Chairman and Independent Non-Executive Director, respectively.

Tabung Haji, not mustard

Interestingly, the market is abuzz about the possibility of a fallout between Maxis and the principal of AKN Group of companies founded by entrepreneur, Dato’ Ahmad Kabeer bin (Mohamed) Nagoor, whose name contributed to the acronym AKN.

To date, Ahmad Kabeer Nagoor (AKN) is still being listed on Maxis website as its selected partner via Raqno Solutions Sdn Bhd, also a part of AKN Capital Sdn. Bhd.

Industry players are quoting Nikolai Dobberstein's definition of a Maxis elite partner, that it must have "good record of promoting high quality or unique content services, strong customer services and consistent track record", to infer that AKN-MTech had failed in qualifying for all aspects of the criteria.

Interesting, AKN-MTech has a majority shareholder in Tabung Haji, the official trust and fund manager for Muslim pilgrims in Malaysia.

By excluding AKN-MTech from the elite ECP list, is Nikolai Dobberstein yelling at Malaysia that MacroKiosk and Nextnation, thrice faulted by MCMC for non-compliance, are more halal than a Tabung Haji-invested company?

I could see Ali Hanafiah and Azizan's faces turn red when I spoke to the both of them eyeball-to-eyeball. It mustn't be the mustard that the high-tea served.