If you’ve been experiencing dropped calls or delayed SMS/messaging in recent times, it’s probably because your telecommunication service provider (telco) is currently carrying out recalibration work on their base stations.

Most of these disruptions should be minor and primarily affect 2G customers. However if you’re experiencing prolonged service disruption, what do you do?

Well, the Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) recommends that you call your telco.

Following the spectrum reallocation exercise carried out by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Maxis, Celcom and Digi have been scheduling recalibration work on their base stations throughout the country. These works have been happening since September of this year and is expected to continue until June of 2017.

As the recalibration takes place, users, primarily those on 2G networks, are likely to experience service disruptions like dropped calls or delayed messages. Should these disruptions take place over a prolonged period of time, the CFM recommends that you call your respective telcos at these numbers:

MAXIS: 1-800-82-112 or 123 (from Maxis numbers)
DIGI: 016-221 1800
CELCOM: 019-601 1111 or 1111 (from Celcom numbers)

You can also call the MCMC themselves at 1 800 188 030 for assistance, although you might want to use a landline or someone else’s phone since the whole reason you’re calling the telcos and the MCMC is because you can’t make phone calls.

Have any of you been experiencing service disruptions lately? Let us know in the comments below! If you have other complaints or unresolved issues with your telco, check out our guide on complaining the right way.

This post is brought to you by Celcom FIRST.

The latest iPhone 7 is the most powerful iPhone yet. For the best experience, you’ll need a plan that can keep up with all your surfing, streaming and social needs. On Celcom, you can own the iPhone 7 from as low as RM2,058 with Malaysia’s biggest postpaid plans.

Biggest Plans Ever

Enjoy your new iPhone 7 with the most generous internet offering ever. On FIRST GOLD PLUS, you get 20GB of all-day data and another whopping 20GB just for the weekend. That’s 40GB of internet for only RM98/month. So why settle for 10GB or 20GB, when you can enjoy more?

The base iPhone 7 32GB can be yours for RM2,058 or you can get the bigger iPhone 7 Plus 32GB at RM2,588 with a 24-month contract.

Combine Weekday and Weekend Data

Now you can make most of your data with AnydayGB! You can combine your weekend and weekday data for only RM10/month. That’s a total of RM108/month for 40GB that you can use at anytime.

Unlimited Calls and Messaging

Keep in touch with your loved ones with pure freedom. FIRST GOLD Plus gives you unlimited voice calls and instant messaging via WhatsApp and WeChat. Now you can talk as much as you want without worrying about your monthly bill.

Surf, Stream and Share more on Celcom’s Ultrafast 4G Territory

Enjoy high definition content on your iPhone 7 with Celcom’s Ultrafast 4G Territory. With its new modernised network, you can enjoy even faster downloads, greater stability and a more seamless internet experience. It’s the widest network that you can fully enjoy 40GB of data in Malaysia.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to get the iPhone 7 on the postpaid plan that puts you first.

Celcom has just refreshed its international roaming offering. Formerly launched as WONDEROAM, their new roaming service is now called Celcom Passport which starts from RM18/day for postpaid and RM10/day for prepaid.

1-Day Call & SMS Pass

For those who want to stay connected overseas with just calls and SMS, they have introduced a 1-Day Calls and SMS pass for RM18/day. This gives you unlimited incoming and outgoing calls. According to the FAQ, the outgoing calls is only applicable to calls to Malaysia and within the roaming country only.

The 1-Day call and SMS pass is available in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. To subscribe, you can SMS “Buy DRP18” to 28882 or via the *118# USSD menu. If you’re travelling to a different time zone, take note that Celcom’s roaming validity ends at 11:59PM Malaysian time. The RM18/day pass is applicable for Celcom FIRST Blue, FIRST Gold and FIRST Platinum subscribers.

1-Day Data Pass

As usual, Celcom is also offering a daily data pass at RM38/day. Similar to its WONDEROAM offering, it covers over 160 countries and you can get between 50MB to unlimited data quota depending on its supported country. From our quick check, unlimited data is available in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Nepal, Macau and India. In most countries, Celcom has two roaming partners for better accessibility.

To enable a daily data pass, you are automatically subscribed once you’ve enabled data roaming on your phone. For better peace of mind, Celcom will block you from browsing the internet if you connect to a non-partner telco. Similar to the 1-Day Calls & SMS Plan, the daily pass expires 11:59PM based on Malaysian time. The daily data pass is available for all Celcom Postpaid and Xpax prepaid subscribers.

1-Week Call, SMS & Data Pass

For those with longer trips, Celcom is also offering a weekly pass at RM138 which gives you 3GB of data and unlimited calls/sms to anyone in the world. This is currently available for 32 countries which are listed here. To subscribe, you can either send an SMS “BUY WRP138” to 28882 or select via its *118# USSD menu. The weekly pass is only applicable to FIRST Gold and FIRST Platinum subscribers only.

1-Day Social Roam Pass

For Xpax, subscribers still get a cheaper RM10/day social roam pass. This comes with 1GB for Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and WeChat, 50MB of high-speed internet plus 50MB of basic internet. It is currently being offered in Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Japan and India.

If you need more, Xpax subscribers can take up the same RM38/day daily data pass. Alternatively, if you just need a short moment online, you can subscribe to their unlimited data roaming that is going for RM6/hour or RM10/3 hours. This is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Philippines. The 1/3 hour unlimited data roaming pass can be activated via the *118# menu.

For more info, head over to Celcom’s Passport page.

This post is brought to you by Celcom FIRST.

The iPhone SE is probably the best compact smartphone you can buy. It gets a top end processor and a 4K-capable 12MP camera in a smaller package. Just because it is smaller in size, doesn’t mean you have to skimp on data.

Now is probably the best time to get an iPhone SE as Celcom is offering it from as low as RM288 with the biggest postpaid plans in town.

From now until 31 January 2017, you can get the iPhone SE at 80% off when you sign up on FIRST Platinum postpaid plan. This is applicable to existing and new customers on Celcom. The FIRST Platinum plan gives the ultimate experience for your iPhone SE.

At RM150/month, the plan gives you a whopping 60GB of data. That’s more than enough for all your web surfing, social and streaming needs. On Celcom, you can enjoy faster and consistent data speeds with its Ultrafast 4G Territory. With its ongoing network modernisation exercise, you can expect stronger connections, less buffering and seamless 4G signal from outside to inside buildings.

Need to talk with your loved ones? Not to worry as the plan gives you unlimited calls and SMS to any mobile and fixed line numbers in Malaysia without worrying about bill shocks. On top of that, you’ll also enjoy unlimited instant messaging on WhatsApp and WeChat.

For non-stop entertainment, Celcom is also offering unlimited music streaming through Yonder Music. Also included is 1 year unlimited access to TV Shows and movies on iflix.

Do note that the monthly data is split between 30GB weekday and 30GB weekend. If you must have it all, you can always add-on AnydayGB at RM10/month to combine both weekday and weekend data.

The iPhone SE can be yours at RM288 for the 16GB model and RM488 for the larger 64GB capacity version on FIRST Platinum postpaid plan. During sign up, there’s a required upfront payment of RM1,400 which will be rebated fully to your bill on the first month. That should cover your monthly subscription fee for the next 8-9 months if there are no extra charges.

For more info, head over to Celcom’s iPhone SE page.

Before 2016 comes to an end, Celcom has revamped its Xpax prepaid offering with its new #NoKelentong. If you hate data restrictions on application, 4G only weekend and offpeak only data, then this is good news for you.

Every month, Xpax #NoKelentong gives you 10GB of Basic Internet (64kbps) and another 10GB of Facebook data. There’s no daily data limit and the extra quota is given to you for free as long as your line is active. There’s also no 4G-only restrictions so you can enjoy the free data on both 3G and 4G network.

Unlike its previous Xpax Turbo, the monthly data plans have no quota restrictions. You get full access to your data which is accessible at anytime and on any app. The data plans start from RM3/day for 1GB of data and for monthly subscribers, you’ll get 5GB at RM30/day and 10GB at RM50/month. Unlimited Yonder music is also bundled for free. These new plans are also applicable for existing Xpax customers.

Extra Add-ons

If you need more perks, Xpax #NoKelentong gives you more add-ons from RM1/day. You can pick between unlimited calls for one contact (on any network), 1GB data between 1AM to 7AM or 1GB of YouTube data. If you want more, RM7/week gives you free calls for 10 numbers, 10GB of 1AM to 7AM data or 10GB of YouTube data.

The Xpax #NoKelentong prepaid starter pack costs RM10 and it comes with 200MB high-speed data and RM6 of credit. Calls are charged at 30sen/min and SMS at 15sen each. It is available now at over 10,000 outlets nationwide. More details are available on their website.

Celcom is probably the last telco to offer a mobile app for its postpaid customers. With an official app, it would be easier to track on your current usage, billing status and to enable add-ons for your mobile plan.

After having a closed beta program for Android, Celcom is finally pushing their latest app for its postpaid subscribers. You can’t search for it on the Google Play Store so read on to find out how to get it.

The new app is now called MyCelcom Postpaid and it is pretty much the same as the earlier beta version. In terms of usability, the interface is similar to its Xpax app for prepaid customers.

After logging in using your mobile number or OCS login, you can view or pay your outstanding bill, get current data usage and purchase add-ons. It is so much easier than navigating through the *118# menu.

At the moment, this isn’t the final release and the app is only available on the Google Play Store as an “Unreleased” version. From our short usage, the app is quite unstable. If you’re interested, you can download the app here.

Thanks @dinoyong and @KevinNgTK for the tip!

This post is brought to you by Xpax.

Telcos are now giving more internet than before but if you take a closer look, they are often tied with restrictions that would turn you off. Some may only give you more data for the weekends and some may even limit you to specific apps or services that you may not use. Aren’t you tired with all the limitations and restrictive terms in the market?

That’s why Xpax is now offering a simpler prepaid plan that is #NoKelentong. So, what you see is exactly what you get. If you’re unconvinced, here’s a quick rundown of what Xpax has to offer versus the competition.

Get more out from the pack

If you’re a new subscriber, you can pick up an Xpax starter pack for only RM10. It comes with 200MB of high-speed data that has a 7-day validity. By simply staying active, Xpax gives you 10GB of high-speed Facebook access and 10GB of basic internet for free every month. That’s up to 6.3X more internet than what other prepaid has to offer!

More data and More freedom each month

For RM30/month, the all-new Xpax provides you 5GB of high-speed data that you can use 24/7. If you do the math, that’s only RM6 per GB and nobody gives you more data with unrestricted use than Xpax. The closest competitor is Digi Prepaid Live where they offer 3GB for RM28/month, which calculates to RM9.33 per GB. Other telcos may claim to give you more but they are often split for specific apps, weekend only or it’s applicable if you’re on their 4G network.

When you pay for data, why let your telco decide on what you can do with it? Whether it is Spotify, YouTube, iflix, web browsing or gaming, Xpax lets you utilise your 5GB fully with no restrictions.

More data even on weekly plans

For those who subscribe to weekly data plans, Xpax gives you up to 4X more data. For only RM10/week, you get not 500MB but 2GB of high-speed data! Just like the monthly plan, there’s no restrictions with Xpax and you can enjoy the same freedom each week.

Add-ons made easy

Need more calls or data? Xpax lets you add on from only RM1/day or RM7/week.

Whatever you want to do more, Xpax has you covered. For RM1/day, you can get either 1GB of late night internet/YouTube/Facebook/Basic internet or unlimited phone calls to one number. Unlike other telcos, the unlimited add-on is applicable to all networks. To enjoy even more, the weekly RM7 option gives you 10X of the same thing.

The Choice is Clear

Xpax is the only prepaid that gives you more data and more freedom. You get the biggest free internet out of the pack and the most generous data plans in the industry. Best of all, you can use your prepaid at your own terms without any gimmicky restrictions. If you haven’t already, isn’t it time to switch to the all-new Xpax with #NoKelentong? For more info, check out the all-new Xpax.

This post is brought to you by Xpax.

It’s time to kick off the year of the rooster with a dose of double prosperity. Enjoy abundance of data this festive season with Xpax’s Add-Ongs promotion.

From 16 January until 28 February 2017, you can get two times the data for all your social, sharing and YouTube streaming needs. For only RM1/day, you can enjoy either 2GB of Late Night Internet (1am to 7am), 2GB of Facebook or 2GB of YouTube quota.

Need more? Go for the RM7/weekly “Add-Ongs” which gives you a whopping 20GB for either Late Night Internet, Facebook or YouTube. With so much data, you can easily live stream your entire family reunion dinner! To activate, just use the Xpax app or enter the short codes above in your phone’s dialler.

Get double the internet, double the fun and double the prosperity this Chinese New Year! Not on Xpax yet? Grab a starter pack today at RM10. That’s not all, get RM8 FREE credit for Chinese New Year when you subscribe to the RM50 Monthly Internet Plan through the Xpax app. It just that easy!
For more info, head over to Xpax’s website.

This post is brought to you by Celcom

Instant messaging is awesome because you can connect with people from around the world in an instant. But the thing about messaging is that it’s all just text, or communication by thumb, if you will.

However, humans weren’t really designed to communicate with their thumbs. Yea, we’ve got emojis and gifs now, but none of those have the emotional impact of someone’s voice or, better yet, their presence.

So, in view of connecting people this Chinese New Year, Celcom is presenting you with a few festive goodies.

The Chinese New Year is a time of gathering and celebration. You should be able to meet your loved ones, and even if you can’t, you should at least be able to have real, wholesome conversations with them.

Celcom understands the importance of real conversation. That’s why, when you subscribe to Celcom’s FIRST Gold, Gold Plus and Platinum plans, you’re going to get unlimited calls to all networks. If prepaid is more your thing, Celcom’s XPAX also gives you unlimited calls to a selected number for just RM1.

In addition to that, Celcom has also made it easier for you to personally connect with your loved ones by offering their customers RM15 off Grab rides from the 26th of February to the 31st of March. This promotion is valid for two rides per mobile number and is only available for the first 5,000 rides in the promotional period.

With Celcom, there’s no excuse to not talk with your loved ones this festive season. Remind those who matter to you why they matter and have a Happy Chinese New Year, everyone!

For more information on Celcom’s postpaid and prepaid plans, you can head on over to their website.

Fastest, strongest and widest network. You’ve probably heard the same marketing slogans from telcos but which is truly the most reliable in Malaysia?

To ensure that our telcos are up to mark, MCMC had conducted an extensive network performance exercise throughout 2016. Read on to find out which telco is the best for data and voice call quality.

Wireless Connectivity

As a base measurement, MCMC requires at least 650kbps download for sufficient video streaming with latency of not more than 250 ms. The 4G LTE players (Celcom, Digi, Maxis, U Mobile) were tested using Cat 4 LTE smartphones while WiMAX (Yes/Packet One) were tested using a modem.

Among the six wireless players, Maxis is the fastest with an average download speed of 22.89Mbps and consistently delivering at least 650kbps speeds 99.76% of the time. In terms of latency, Yes and Celcom are on top with not more than 250ms for 94% of the time. While Maxis is the fastest nationwide, it is worth pointing out that Celcom is faster in the Klang Valley, doing 24Mbps versus Maxis at 21Mbps.

Among the LTE Players, U Mobile has a lot to improve as it recorded just 11.74Mbps for average downloads with a low 72.95% for its 250ms latency benchmark. Packet loss is also the highest for the orange telco at 3.95%.

Do note that these tests were conducted outdoors on street level and obviously most people spend more time indoors. How well it performs inside a building would depend on in-building coverage and how well its signal could penetrate walls.

Call Quality

Apart from mobile data, MCMC has also conducted extensive tests for voice calls. They have evaluated each telco for drop calls (DCR) and call setup successful rates (CSSR). These are determined by how well it can hold a 120-second call and if it can connect within 20 seconds from pressing the call button.

For its first test routes covering 3,736km around the Klang Valley, Maxis has the least number of drop calls at 0.68% and it also has the highest call setup success rate (CSSR) at 99.53%.

In the nationwide tests covering 6 regions, Celcom has the least drop calls with 0.83% DCR while Digi has the highest call success rate (CSSR) at 99.28%. All four telcos have passed their mandatory standard requirement of having DCR (Dropped Call Rate) below 2% and CSSR (Call Setup Successful Rate) above 95% in 2016.

Fixed Broadband (DSL and Fibre)

Despite the arrival of fibre broadband, there’s still a lot of users relying on ADSL connectivity. To gauge broadband performance, MCMC reckons that ADSL subscribers should get 70% of their promised speeds and 90% for fibre broadband services. From their tests, Maxis appears to be the best in meeting those speeds with the least packet loss. TIME broadband which offers faster speeds up to 500Mbps is shown to have the best in latency by recording 85ms or less 100% of the time.

When measured against the mandatory standards of Quality of Service, Maxis has the highest compliance for Fibre at 91.5%, followed by TIME at 71.4%. TM, which has the largest fibre subscription lags behind at 63.0% compliance.

It gets worse for TM when it comes to ADSL. Except for Kuala Lumpur and Johor, TM ADSL (Streamyx) subscribers are having poor connectivity with just 46.1% compliance. The obvious solution is to switch to fibre broadband but its service availability is still very limited. Interestingly, Maxis is doing much better at 84.6% compliance.

You can read the full report over here.

[ SOURCE IMAGE SOURCE ]

This post is brought to you by Celcom

Start the brand new year with an iPhone SE on the biggest postpaid plan in town. FIRST by Celcom offers the best value for mobile internet and you can enjoy as much as 60GB of data per month.

The iPhone SE is still the best iPhone that you can use with a single hand. It gets a crisp 4” Retina Display and it runs on an updated Apple A9 chip for smooth performance. Shutterbugs will appreciate its 12MP main camera that’s also capable of recording 4K videos.

Originally priced at RM1,949, the iPhone SE can be yours from as low as RM188 with FIRST Platinum postpaid plan. That’s 90% off the retail price and you can surf, stream and share more when you’re on Celcom’s Ultrafast 4G Territory.

FIRST Platinum by Celcom gives you unlimited calls, SMS, 30GB of weekday data and additional 30GB weekend data for only RM150/month. If you wish to combine all 60GB for anytime use, you can get more freedom by adding on AnydayGB for RM10/month.

On top of that, FIRST Platinum also gives you non-stop entertainment with unlimited iflix access for 12 months and unlimited Yonder Music. You can also keep in touch with your loved ones with unlimited WhatsApp and WeChat usage.

The iPhone SE offer is tied with a 24-month contract and there’s an upfront payment of RM1,400 which will be rebated instantly to your first month bill. That means that you probably won’t need to pay anything for the next 8-9 months into your subscription. The 16GB iPhone SE is going for RM188 while the larger 64GB iPhone SE can be yours for RM388.

So, what are you waiting for? Get the compact iPhone SE with the biggest postpaid plan in town. For more info, head on over to Celcom’s iPhone SE page.

This post is brought to you by Celcom NewPhone.

A new year deserves a new phone. If you find it hard to keep up, Celcom is making it easier to own a spanking new iPhone than ever before.

For a fixed monthly fee, you can switch to a new iPhone and have it replaced with a new device every 12 months at no additional cost with Celcom’s NewPhone. There’s no need to worry about trade-ins or resale values.

To sign up, just pick up your preferred iPhone 7 on FIRST Postpaid Plans that come with unlimited calls and up to 60GB of data each month. The base iPhone 7 32GB can be yours for only RM135/month on FIRST Gold Plus or RM115/month with FIRST Platinum.

If you’re looking for something bigger, the iPhone 7 Plus 32GB can be yours for RM165/month on FIRST Gold Plus or RM140/month on FIRST Platinum. The monthly instalments are easier on your pocket so you won’t need to fork out thousands of ringgit upfront.

You can also top up additional RM40/month for device protection which covers accidental drops, damages and even theft. Since you’re required to swap your old device in good condition, this would give you extra peace of mind to avoid extra penalties.

NewPhone lets you swap phones every 12 months for free but you can opt for an earlier upgrade by paying an Express NewPhone fee. For now, Celcom is offering NewPhone with the iPhone 7/7 Plus and they will be adding more phone models very soon.

To get started, just visit Celcom’s NewPhone page or visit a Blue Cube centre near you.

Celcom has just introduced Celcom Game Hero, a mobile gaming tournament with a pool of RM1,000,000 in cash prizes. This is the biggest mobile gaming tournament in Malaysia in collaboration with its gaming partner, Techninier Sdn Bhd.

To be in the running, all you’ll have to do is to be a top scorer on the Sky Invasion 3D mobile game. It’s free to download on both Android and iOS. The game is available as a free trial from now until 6 April 2017. After that, there will be a subscription fee of RM3/week.

The game is available for everyone but you’ll need to be a Celcom customer to upload your score to the main leaderboard. Game Hero offers daily war chest prizes which include Xpax reload vouchers. If you’re among the top scorers at the end of the tournament, you could bring home cash prizes between RM1,000 to RM250,000.

The first tournament on Sky Invasion 3D will last for about 4 months and Celcom is said to be organising more tournaments with different gaming genre. For more info, head over to Celcom’s Game Hero page.

First it was the closed beta program for Android, then came the “unreleased” version that was unstable under most circumstances. Now Celcom has finally stepped up their game and officially released their postpaid app that you can download from Google Play Store.

You can now access your profile, track your calls, SMS and Internet usage, get add-ons and more through the app wherever you are.

After downloading the app, you should have instant access to your FIRST plan information and Celcom account profile, be able to track your usage for Internet, calls, roaming and even pay your bills.

If you’re a Celcom postpaid user, this app is going to help you keep track of your account. Just download it from Google Play Store. As for iPhone users, this app is not yet in the App Store, so you will have to wait for now.

In our own experience, not much has changed since beta and the app still doesn’t really work all that well. There are still some bugs in it and doesn’t seem polished for an app that has been officially released. Especially when the release has been delayed numerous times.

Have you downloaded it to your Android device? Tell us your experience.

[SOURCE]

This post is brought to you by Celcom.

Celcom has just introduced Celcom Game Hero, a mobile gaming tournament with a pool of RM1,000,000 prize money up for grabs. This is the biggest mobile game tournament in Malaysia in collaboration with its gaming partner, Techninier Sdn Bhd.

To be in the running, all you’ll have to do is to be a top scorer on the Sky Invasion 3D mobile game. It’s free to download on both Android and iOS. The game is available as a free trial from now until 6 April 2017. After that, there will be a subscription fee of RM3/week.

The game is available for everyone but you’ll need to be a Celcom user to upload your score to the main leaderboard. Celcom Game Hero offers daily war chest prizes which include Xpax reload vouchers. If you’re among the top scorers at the end of the tournament, you could bring home cash prizes between RM1,000 to RM250,000.

The first tournament on Sky Invasion 3D will last for about 4 months and Celcom is said to be organising more tournaments with different gaming genre. For more info, head over to gamehero.my now.

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With faster 4G connectivity and more data for video streaming, you must be wondering which telco in Malaysia has the best video streaming experience. To find out, Google Malaysia has announced a new YouTube Video Checkup tool that ranks each telco by its streaming quality.

By analysing billions of watch viewing results each month, YouTube is able to provide a score for each telco at their respective locations. The scores are based on the telco’s capability in streaming SD and HD content through the YouTube mobile app in the past 35 days.

Each provider can be given up to 5 stars with an incremental of 0.5 stars. At the moment, a telco can only achieve a maximum of 4.0 stars as 4.5/5.0 are reserved for future use such as VR and 360-degree videos. With this new feature, it will not only help the public to track their telco performance but it could also assist telcos in identifying areas that require network optimisation.

From the current results, both Celcom and Maxis scored the highest at 4.0 stars in the Klang Valley.

Meanwhile, in the Sabah and Sarawak as a whole, Maxis takes the lead as the only operator with 4.0 stars.

According to its methodology page, they are getting measurements only from 4G LTE-enabled device that had successful connected to an LTE network. Therefore, the scoring excludes legacy non-LTE device to give a clearer representation of an actual experience with a modern smartphone and plan. LTE phone users that switched to 3G due to limited coverage are included in the rating as well.

Google has also shared that YouTube is being watched 2 out of 3 times from a mobile device in Malaysia, These numbers are set to grow as mobile usage enjoyed an annual growth of 84% from the previous year. In short, more people are streaming YouTube from their smartphones and this is driven by the increase of high-speed network coverage in the country.

To address privacy concerns, Google assures that data collected for this checkup are anonymised and no personal information is collected or stored for this exercise. Unfortunately, the YouTube Video Checkup feature currently covers our the 4 Malaysian telcos as Webe and Yes are not included in the list. According to the site, the results may vary depending on device, location and data plan. Some other factors may include data throttling and relationships with MVNOs. It’s also worth mentioning that Malaysia is the first and only country to have this new video checkup feature.

Find out which telco has the best YouTube streaming quality in your area over here.

If you’re a Celcom postpaid customer using an iPhone, the official MyCelcom app is finally here. Last month, the blue telco had released its Android version for the general public and now it’s also available on the iOS.

With the myCelcom Postpaid app, you can view your current account status and make payments for your outstanding bill. You are also able to track your current call, SMS and data usage plus you can also buy add-ons for your current plan. Overall, this makes it easier to manage your account without the need of dialling messy USSD codes on your phone’s dialer.

To download, head over to the AppStore. If you’re using Android, you can download your version on the Google PlayStore.

[ SOURCE ]

This post is brought to you by Celcom.

You love to watch HD videos, and you want it fast and buffer free. When it comes to video streaming, you can count on Celcom’s Ultrafast 4G territory for the best experience. If you’re not convinced, YouTube has given Celcom top marks for streaming quality with its new Video Checkup feature.

Available exclusively for Malaysia, YouTube Video Checkup uses a star-based system to rate the performance of YouTube streaming on mobile. At the moment, YouTube is giving a maximum of 4-stars as 4.5 and 5.0 stars are reserved for future use such as VR and 360-degree video streaming.

With 4 stars, you can enjoy HD video streaming with no buffering. Celcom has achieved this rating at 147 locations throughout Malaysia. This covers major towns including Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Alor Setar, Kuala Terengganu, Penang, Melaka, Ipoh, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

To stream like a champion, you’ll need a plan that’s also big on data. Celcom FIRST has the biggest postpaid plans in town for all your internet and video streaming needs up to 60GB per month with unlimited calls and SMS. Celcom FIRST isn’t just great value but it’s also a network you can rely on for all your video streaming needs. For more info, visit Celcom’s website or visit the YouTube Video Checkup site.

Celcom is also offering the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ on their FIRST Postpaid plan. Retailing at RM3,299 for the Galaxy S8 and RM3,699 for the Galaxy S8+, you can pre-order the Galaxy S8 and S8+ from RM2,168 and RM2,498 respectively on a 24-month contract with Celcom.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are offered on both FIRST Gold Plus (RM98/month) or FIRST Platinum (RM150/month) postpaid. On FIRST Gold Plus, you’ll get 40GB of data (20GB all-day + 20GB weekend), unlimited calls and unlimited social chat on WhatsApp & WeChat. If that’s not enough, FIRST Platinum plan gives you a total of 60GB data (30GB all-day + 30GB weekend), unlimited calls, unlimited SMS and unlimited social chat.

The bundled Galaxy S8 pricing are as follows excluding 6% GST:

Galaxy S8

FIRST Gold Plus – RM2,478
FIRST Platinum – RM2,168

Galaxy S8+

FIRST Gold Plus – RM2,808
FIRST Platinum – RM2,498

During sign up, Celcom requires an upfront payment of RM300 for FIRST Gold Plus and RM600 for FIRST Platinum. This amount will be rebated back to your account to offset your future bills. Like other telcos, Celcom is also bundling the Galaxy S8 pre-order freebies that are valued over RM900. This includes a starter kit, a 5,100mAh fast charge power bank and Samsung’s extended warranty and screen protection plan.

For more info, head over to Celcom’s Galaxy S8 Pre-order page. The pre-order is open from today, 11 April until 13 April 2017.

The Galaxy S8/S8+ are now available for pre-order through our local telcos in Malaysia. To sweeten the deal, they are also bundling over RM900 worth of freebies as announced by Samsung Malaysia.

So which telco offers the better deal? We’ve compared the plans from Celcom, Digi, Maxis, U Mobile and Yes, so head after the break to find out which contract plan is suitable for you.

Across the board, all 5 telcos are offering the Galaxy S8/S8+ with 2-3 plan options that are tied with a 24-month contract duration. While comparing, it is best to look at the monthly plans first before considering the device pricing itself. Telcos will offer a lower Galaxy S8 price on their higher commitment plans but we recommend getting a plan that fulfils your actual need. It’s a waste to pay more for something you can’t finish each month and it accumulates over 2 years. You can probably get a better picture of your usage by looking at your recent postpaid bills.

Below is our full comparison which include the postpaid bundles, subscription fees and device price. You can click on each table for clearer viewing. The table also includes the minimum total cost of ownership (inclusive of 6% GST) which is calculated based on 24-months subscription along with the subsidised Galaxy S8/S8+ price. Note that your actual cost of ownership would be higher as you incur additional charges such as calls to special numbers, IDD usage, roaming and etc.

Galaxy S8 Telco Comparison

Galaxy S8+ Telco Comparison

Not shown on the tables above are U Mobile’s extra Video-Onz, Music-Onz, and App-Onz offering. On U Mobile’s Ultimate Device Plan 130, you’ll get unlimited video (Video-Onz) and music streaming (Music-Onz) plus unlimited access to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (App-Onz). Both Ultimate Device Plan 60 and 90 plans are entitled to unlimited Music-Onz and App-Onz too but they get 3GB and 5GB respectively for Video-Onz.

On Maxis, they are the only telco that offers the Galaxy S8/S8+ with RM0 upfront along with 24-month 0% interest instalments on Zerolution. The advantage of this program is the ability to swap phones hassle free every year but you’ll need to fork out more money every month for its upgrade option. If you don’t intend to swap phones, you are better off with the standard contract plans as Zerolution turns out to be the most expensive in the long run.

During sign up, all 5 telcos would require some form of advance payment which will be rebated back to offset your next bills. For Digi and Yes, both telcos would need you to pay an additional 1-month subscription fee in advance. If you’re an existing customer for more than a year with good payment history, both Maxis and Digi will be able to waive your advance payment.

Things to note

Apart from pricing, another factor to consider is coverage as not all telcos will perform the same. The coverage of each telco varies greatly so one could work better than another depending on your area. If you’re happy with your current telco, you might want to consider sticking to them since it works well for you most of the time. Among the 5 telcos, Celcom, Digi and Maxis are more established with its wider 4G coverage backed by their own 3G/2G networks.

For U Mobile, 4G coverage is still quite limited nationwide but they do rely on domestic roaming with Maxis where coverage is not available. On Yes 4G, coverage would be a greater challenge as it operates purely on their 4G LTE network with no backup 3G/2G providers on domestic roaming. According to Yes 4G LTE’s coverage map, it would probably work well with urban folks in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah but currently, they don’t have 4G coverage for Sarawak.

To gauge which telco is better in your area, you can refer to a recent report by MCMC or refer to 3rd party sources like OpenSignal and YouTube Video Checkup. Since you’re going to be stuck with a telco for 24-months, you better pick one that works really well.

If you have decided to pre-order, your last chance to do so is on 13 April 2017. The Galaxy S8/S8+ will be officially available in Malaysia on 5 May 2017 and pre-order customers can get it a day earlier. For Malaysia, we are getting just 3 colour options – Midnight Black, Maple Gold and Orchid Grey.

For those who don’t wish to be locked down with contracts, the Galaxy S8 and S8+ can be purchased outright at RM3,299 and RM3,699 respectively. Apart from Samsung Malaysia, you can also pre-order from SenHeng, 11street, Lazada, Courts and Harvey Norman. Shopback is also offering RM100 cash back when you purchase the Galaxy S8/S8+ from Lazada Malaysia via their link.