Tech And Leisure..

1. Previously Celcom offers two types of internet connections which are based on Circuit Switch (CS) data and the recent one is based on Packet Switch (PS) data. Since last year, the CS connection was abandon and there is no more available support for the system. The current PS connection applied through 4 different networks i.e: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/WCDMA and HSDPA.

2. The speed of your internet connection is based on location, what type of signal available and the device/modem you are using.

3. Basicly, there are 5 types of Celcom Mobile Broadband offerings:
a. D68 coupled with voice plan (CEP or minutes plan) -up to 384Kbps
b. D98 coupled with voice plan (CEP or minutes plan) -up to 3.6Mbps
c. Stand Alone D68 -up to 384Kbps
d. Stand Alone D98 -up to 3.6Mbps
e. Daily Unlimited RM6 per day -up to 3.6Mbps

4. Celcom offer widest UMTS/WCDMA and HSDPA coverage in the country.

5. Dont expect to get full 384Kbps or 3.6Mbps. It`s almost impossible. That is the maximum speed of the system under maximum conditions. Usually you will get around 200Kbps-300Kbps for D68 package and around 800Kbps-3Mbps for D98 package. Determine what type of signal is available in your area before deciding to subscribe.

6.Your internet speed will be reduced if there are a lot of Celcom subscriber attached to a certain cell tower. If there is a lot of voice call transmitted to the tower which your connection is hooked, it will also decrease your connection speed due to the tower will prioritize voice call over data transmission.

7.Celcom impose 5GB limitation as a fair usage policy for each subcriber. Once your download exceed 5GB, for D68 subscriber, your speed will be throttled from 384Kbps to 64Kbps. For D98 subscriber, your speed will be throttled from 3.6Mbps to 128Kbps. Your connection speed once throttled will be reseted on your next billing cycle.

8. The connection using mobile networks is much inferior compared to fixed line networks in term of stability and speed. So dont expect you Mobile broadband to replace your Streamyx connection. Mobile Broadband intended for those who are always want easy internet connections while on the move. For heavy downloads and online games, stick to fixed line broadband.

9. Celcom use dynamic IP shared by all subscribers. Dynamic IP is considered as unsecured connections, thus it may restrict you from accessing certain websites which require personal IP such as rapidshare and MIRC. However there is no problem if you want to use Celcom Broadband to access Internet Banking website and perform online transactions.

10. You can share your Celcom broadband internet connections with other computers using dedicated routers.

Recently I managed to test the speed of my Celcom Mobile Broadband D98 Advance at 2 different locations. The first one is at Section 27, Alam Megah Shah Alam and the second one is at Sri Gombak near the Crytal Heights Apartment.

Yes, avoid using or upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 3 specially if you are a heavy user or rely mostly on the wireless internet connections such as wifi and cellular based ISP. Recently a Celcom Mobile Broadband subscriber consult me with regards to his internet problem. He live somewhere in PJ and he said that he suffer a very unstable and slow download. The problem is that he was able to connect to the Celcom 3G/HSDPA network, but whenever he try to access to a website error "page cannot be displayed" will pop up on his browser`s screen. He said that this is the case since a few months already. He even try to PING yahoo website but it seems that the connection was timed out.
Since this subscriber already face this problem quite a while, I suspect that this is not the normal Internet service failure. However I did asked him since when he realized that he faced this problem, and he said that previously his internet connection was OK. However a few months back he upgraded (Operating Systems) his laptop and his PC from Windows XP SP2 to Windows XP SP3. According to him since that day, he can only surf the internet by logging into his company VPN network from his computers.

A quick search on the internet reveals a shocking discoveries. This is not an alienated incident. There are many other cases out there similar to this unlucky Celcom Mobile Broadband subscriber. XP SP3 installation will not only install the upgrades to your Operating Systems, it will also install unnecessary system registry which will create havoc on your root system. For the time being, it is confirmed that the unwanted registry only effect wireless internet connections. Meaning that Fixed Internet Connections got no problem with XP SP3.

If you are one of the unlucky one who upgraded to XP SP3, the solutions available are; 1st by further upgrading your OS to Vista or downgrade your OS to XP SP2, which in the case of our friend here form PJ, duly solved his problem. 2nd continue using XP SP3 and wait untill Microsoft provide a patch, which most of us will love to hate ;)

Have a good surfing day!!

A quick info for all Malaysian Internet User, TM Bhd just issued a notice with regards to disruption of its Internet services since 18 February 2009 due to circuit fault on the Asia Pacific Cable Network 2 (APCN2) between Kuantan - Katong in Singapore and Shantou - Tanshui in Taiwan linking Malaysia to the United States (US). Normal services will be resumed on 5th march 2009.

This problem will effect Malaysian Internet users disregards of what ISP you are subscribing. Expect slow downloading on popular webpage such as Facebook and Friendster.

To read the notice please click here.

For these past few months I have been testing Yahoo Messenger (YM) using Celcom Mobile Broadband D98- this is due to the fact that a lot of Celcom Mobile Broadband customers face difficulties in accessing YM. For further information, please refer to the details below:

Windows: XP SP2
Modem: Hua Wei E220 (Firmware upgraded to support 7.2Mbps)
Carrier: Celcom Mobile Broadband Advance D98 data Only (Max 3.6 Mbps)
YM versions: 8.0 and 7.0
Location: Seri Gombak and Celcom Headquaters in KL
IP address: 203.82.91.34
Band tested: GPRS, WCDMA, HSDPA


Conclussions:
Connection is not stable for the time being if you are using the YM software. Sometimes the connection is OK and sometimes its the other way arround, but most of the times the connections was failed. However when I tried to access YM via Yahoo web messenger and 3rd party applications like Meebo, it seems that the connections is OK all the time.

Sollutions: Downgrade or Upgrade YM versions is not the answer. Better use the web version or use 3rd party applications like meebo.com.

The recent China Mobile Phones are Bluetooth enabled. A few days ago I managed to play around with my sister`s phone and I found these info about the bluetooth functionn on the phone:

Below are the server address (Outgoing and Incoming) for some of the popular emails provider in Malaysia:

1. Streamyx
Incoming Mail (POP3): pop.streamyx.com
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): roam.tm.net.my @ smtp.streamyx.com
* Do NOT tick SSL
* Advanced Options : Tick Outgoing mail needs authentication (not SSL)

2. TmNet Prepaid
Incoming Mail (POP3): pop.tm.net.my
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): roam.tm.net.my
* Do NOT tick SSL
* Advanced Options : Tick Outgoing mail needs authentication (not SSL)

3. Jaring (Prepaid/Postpaid)
Incoming Mail (POP3): mbox.jaring.my @ pop.jaring.my
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.jaring.my
* Do NOT tick SSL
* Advanced Options : Tick Outgoing mail needs authentication (not SSL)

4. Gmail (POP)
Incoming Mail (POP3): pop.gmail.com
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
* Select SSL
* Advanced Options : Tick Outgoing mail needs authentication

5. Gmail (IMAP)
Incoming Mail (IMAP): imap.gmail.com
Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): smtp.gmail.com
* Select SSL (Both incoming and outgoing)
* Advanced Options : Tick Outgoing mail needs authentication

Recently, a friend of mine ask me to test Internet connection using China brand Mobilephone (on celcom 3G carrier) as a modem. So if you are interested in this matter, please continue reading:

China Brand Mobile Phone ( after this will be referred as CBMP throughout the post), can be used as a modem either by using USB cable or using Bluetooth DUN connections.

1# I tried to use the phone using a USB cable using driver and software ( http://mt6227-driver.blogspot.com). Please bear in mind that CBMP used as a modem linked by USB cable got no official support from the manufacturer. Therefore if you try to do this, no guarantee that it will work and if anything happen to your phone (minimal risk if ever present), please dont blame me or the manufacturer. Do this at your own risk.. However the interesting point I want to share here is that I already tested it and the connections was failed. Eventhough after I Installed all the relevent driver and software, my Windows XP SP2 still failed to communicate with the modem (It was detected though as MTK GPRS Phone)

2# I tried to use Bluetooth DUN connections, and the connection was successfull. Just pair your phone with your computer, and once DUN`s driver is installed, you are ready to go.. Pls refer screenshots below:













The last screenshot shows 115.2Kbps which the maximum bandwith speed available for this china mobile phone (for actual speed, I recommend speedtest.net as a third party bandwidth tester) .

If your connection failed, go to control panel>phone and modem>Modem>highlight Bluetooth DUN Modem and select properties>Diagnostic>Query Modem. Once your query modem success, select advance and under the extra intialization command box key in: +cgdcont=1,"ip","celcom3g". Press OK twice to get back to the control panel window and try again to do the connection.