MIA = missing in action. Maxis promised earlier, during the Hotlink brand refresh and even before the brand refresh, that prepaid Blackberry Internet Services (“BIS”) is coming to its Hotlink network. While the monthly premium BIS has made an appearance (and I can’t see many sane people opting for this super-duper expensive plan, honestly speaking), the rest of the packages (Blackberry Social, Blackberry Messaging, Blackberry Weekly Premium) were supposed to make an appearance come October 20th. It’s now 20th October, and I just checked – nothing. The Hotlink prepaid BIS menu is still the same (see screenshot below).
Now, I don’t know about you, but I think it’s fair to say that we expect more from Malaysia’s biggest celco. I expected them to be the first movers in the industry. Looks like they dropped the ball on this one. Celcom has come out with their XPax prepaid BIS service last week, on 10th October. Celcom has also made the RIM Blackberry Curve 8520 available for sale, at a lower price than Maxis Hotlink, with no commitments.
So, that makes it Celcom 3, Maxis 0. Still no word on when Maxis is going to start selling the Curve 8520, which they have been making a lot of noise over. I hope the vessel is not empty when it berths.
Tags: blackberry curve 8520, celcom, hotlink, maxis, prepaid blackberry internet services, xpax
i agree with you. I’ve been waiting for the prepaid BIS for the whole day today and no news. Did they forgot to mark it down on their calendar?!
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 20th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
@where is my BIS?!, system problem? System date not updated? People not updated? People’s brains not updated?
[Reply]
aiya , maxis got th golden rich bowl of iphone , BB for them just a decorate to his product…….5-10 year ago , i got lot of friend swiching from Celcom to digi and maxis ………but time is changed , lot of friend now with maxis and no happy with me , like me 1. maxis broadband is not stable 2. my reception in my area is poor , i have been telling maxis 9 years ago…….
3. in my area , lot of business man because of maxis poor reception , they are getting other telco , to prevent wife suspicious not picking the call and no connection ………..but most of them already MNP there..
i can say , celcom line is getting better….
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 10:34 am
@andy, well, every celco will have their own problems, so unless one is giving you really really bad service, switching to another may just give you a whole new set of problems!
[Reply]
Maxis suck! enough said..
[Reply]
maxis ceo Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
maxis 3g signal is getting weaker & weaker, duno y. maybe they need viagra.lol.digi signal is full bar always.
[Reply]
yah, i agree too. they really sux.now digi is catching up.has 3g even 3.5g
[Reply]
boonboon Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 9:20 am
im waiting for my 20th messenging bis. wher ????
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 10:45 am
@boonboon, MIA. Still MIA as of today.
[Reply]
Jessie Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 am
@boonboon no need ask lar, i’d checked. Even the phone is not ready, how the bis ready ? Sigh…
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:47 am
@Jessie, I think Maxis wishes to launch the prepaid BIS services in conjunction with the availability of the Curve 8520. Bear in mind that even for pre-registered customers like me, we can only collect the 8520 from October 31st onwards, and not this Saturday itself.
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 10:41 am
@maxis ceo, well DiGi still doesn’t have 3G attached to a voice line. And they don’t offer BIS, only BES.
[Reply]
hkboey Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Bro, certain Digi subscriber have their line activated with 3G on voice line already. I think its still on trial basis thats why not all subs get it. I have 5 digi prepaid card and 2 are activated!
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
@hkboey, yeah, I was aware of that, but if it’s not available to everyone, it’s not available! There is no need for DiGi to be elitist on this!
[Reply]
maxis ceo Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm
yes, me too. got few digi prepaid sims, ony 2-3 sims can videocall. they r slowly openup to certain prefix no.
[Reply]
maxis ceo Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm
how knows. maybe in future they might hav bb bis prepaid.
[Reply]
[...] say: No thanks. I’ve already gotten mine almost two weeks ago. As I said in this post, this time, it seems that Maxis has totally dropped the ball on this one. They’ve allowed [...]
boooo!
i want my BIS social!!
urghhh
(
[Reply]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by niterider, Amos Lee. Amos Lee said: RT @deswsj: RT @niterider: {N} Maxis Hotlink Blackberry Internet Service MIA http://bit.ly/3VYtK [...]
yeah man… that’s not a good sign! go for xpax blackberry. lol.
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
@saimatkong, suffered any billing screw ups on your XPax using the BIS yet?
[Reply]
Yeah! what’s up with maxis? Wanted to sign up for blackberry service with hotlink but how come i was told that i cannot sign up to the service because i must buy the blackberry curve 8520 phone? I already hv an older blackberry model why can’t i use the service for it? Still blackberry right? Why must i buy a new blackberry?
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
@Jesh, I was not aware that one needed to buy a Blackberry in order to use the Hotlink prepaid services. I thought it was just a matter of slotting the Hotlink SIM card into *any* Blackberry, then selecting the option you wish to purchase from the USSD (*100#) menu. The remaining 3 packages are only going to be launched this Saturday, so check again then.
[Reply]
said the blackberry service is out on the 20th and when i go to get it on that date, it says that the phone will only be available after the launch on 24 October so must wait until then. This Saturday.. and its at pavilion only! Hello! Im not at pavilion! Its soooo far for me! Why make it so ma farn for your loyal customer!
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:45 am
@Jessie, why not just buy the Celcom package instead? It’s already in the market for the past week and a half, I’ve been using the 8520 happily since October 11th…
[Reply]
Jessie Reply:
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Really considering it now!
[Reply]
Da Alpha Dog Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
@Jessie, no need to consider or think further. If you really want it, get it from Celcom.
[Reply]
i suppose 3G service in MY s not yet up to the standard..that’s why I don’t need a 3G phone now! is a total waste of money lol!
[Reply]
i can understand your feeling , for malaysia 3G services ,you can choose at least 4 telco , certain place certain telco is good , you need to try it ( subscribe the prepaid to test first )….as compare to the other country like HK and Singapore we may not the best , but if you compare to CHINA we are much better , CHINA this year just started the 3G….when i am in CHINA , i am only using EDGE……..
for me i still need a 3G phone , usually 3G phone with more feature…. but you can choose and set the phone to use the 2G only ( save your power )…
if u want more feature phone on 2G , the more choice is phone from china , can be very good one or bad one….
[Reply]
Prepaid Internet is also good for people with credit problems. Most monthly Internet service plans require a credit card for billing. Prepaid Internet cards, however, can be bought with cash
[Reply]