FRIDAY, JUNE 01, 2012 – 14:13
by Cynthia Blemin

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KUALA LUMPUR: Seeking to capture a bigger share of the growing local smartphone usage market, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd yesterday unveiled a prepaid data plan with reloads starting from RM10 — claiming it to be the cheapest yet.

Its RM25 starter-pack comes with 100MB of downloads and other freebies valued at RM45, plus zero commitment.

Internet and services head Praveen Rajan said DiGi’s goal is to move prepaid customers using the older phones onto smartphones, adding that the market is starting to see entry level smartphones at the lower range of about RM400 and RM500 with limited features.

The DG Prepaid Smart Plan reload value starts at RM10 for 100MB data with 20 minutes of call time, 20 SMS and 20 MMS. The 1.5GB package reload is priced RM100.

With over 5.3 million mobile Internet users, he said DiGi has seen some 22% of its customers having switched to using smartphones in the fi rst quarter of this year compared to 15% last year.

TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012 – 16:48

Making knowledge more accessible to everyone without any data charges

SHAH ALAM: Customers of DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd are the first in Malaysia to enjoy free mobile surfing when accessing Wikipedia Zero — an ultra lightweight site with text-only content to provide faster mobile browsing experience — on the DiGiLive Zero portal.

This latest initiative to drive relevant mobile content among Malaysians is a result of a global partnership between Telenor Group and Wikimedia Foundation announced on Feb 28 this year.

With access via the Opera Mini browser, customers can surf the contents of Wikipedia Zero without any data charges until further notice, said DiGi Internet and services head Praveen Rajan.

The DiGi-Opera Mini browser has a unique compression technology that gives users up to 90% faster surfing experience — enabling customers, including non-smartphone users, to enjoy the full mobile Internet experience at a faster and more affordable way.

“We applaud the Wikimedia Foundation to make information freely available on the Internet and on mobile platforms. We share their goal of making knowledge more accessible to everyone.

“With Wikipedia Zero available in hundreds of languages including Malay, Chinese and Tamil, DiGi is now able to reach out to more communities who prefer to read in their native language.”

This initiative is part of the Wikimedia Foundation’s mobile strategy, which focuses on reaching the billions of people around the world whose primary opportunity to access the Internet is via a mobile device.

The foundation aims to remove barriers to accessing free knowledge, of which cost and accessibility are two of the biggest.

By GABEY GOH
bytz@thestar.com.my

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PETALING JAYA: With current 3G coverage at 50% of the country, DiGi Telecommunications has set a target to expand that to 70% by year end.

Rajan: "We've found that many customers, especially first-time smartphone owners, are afraid to access the Internet via their devices. So what we've done is offer a safe channel for them to begin their exploration"

“For example, in many areas outside Kuala Lumpur, it is (the slower) EDGE-only coverage, so there is a need to upgrade,” he said.

Asked how the coverage expansion would tie in with the expected rollout of (the faster) Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, Rajan said the company’s focus is on delivering consistency in wireless broadband speeds and user experience.

“Internet access is now treated like a utility, in the sense that when it works, nobody complains. Most customers are not concerned about what technology underpins the network. They just want it to be fast,” Rajan said.

Intended to spur increased usage of mobile Internet, DiGi also has a DiGiLIVE Zero initiative, where users can access selected sites via the Opera Mini browser for free.

“We’ve found that many customers, especially first-time smartphone owners, are afraid to access the Internet via their devices. So what we’ve done is offer a safe channel for them to begin their exploration,” he said.

Sites on the list include Facebook and group-buying platforms such as LivingSocial, MilkADeal and DealMates.

Rajan also said that DiGi had no plans to launch its own app store, preferring instead to work with existing stores, such as Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

“We would much rather facilitate discovery of content, and embark on direct partnerships with others to offer access to such content for customers,” he said.

To illustrate, he pointed to a global agreement signed between DiGi’s parent company, Telenor Group, and search king Google Inc late last year.

Under the agreement, Android users on the DiGi network will be able to access and download a suite of apps from the Android Market in a store-in-store concept and pay for it via operator billing.

Operator billing is a form of micro-payment operated under financial regulation, where a consumer’s mobile account is charged for any purchases made for content, goods or services online via a mobile phone.

Rajan said there are still some challenges to be overcome before further expansion of operator billing for online content can be had.

“There many factors to consider, such as regulations for monetary transactions in different countries,” he said, adding that the maturity of the market also plays a part in the levels of demand.

“The Government could do more to ease the process and expedite the development of such payment channels to spur transactions. However, it is starting to ramp up its efforts, so we expect the situation to change in due time,” he said.