Bulk of fund went to netbooks

By Farrah Naz Karim

farrah@nst.com.my

CYBERJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) revealed yesterday how the RM4.15 billion Universal Service Provision (USP) fund was spent. The bulk was used for the purchase of netbooks. USP division acting senior director Zulkarnain Mohd Yassin said RM1 billion was spent to buy the netbooks as MCMC could not achieve some of the fund's objectives.

The MCMC came under scrutiny as questions were raised over the use of RM1billion from the fund to finance the netbooks when the allocation was meant for developing infra/connectivity in underserved areas, especially rural areas.

USP-funded projects are related to communications and multimedia, such as basic telephony, cellular coverage, Community Broadband Centres (CBC), Community Broadband Libraries (CBL) and People's Internet Centres (PIR).

As at Sept 30, the cumulative contribution from eligible licensees to the USP fund stood at RM4.15 billion.

Of the total, RM629.23 million was for basic telephony, telecommunication towers for expansion of cellular coverage (RM1.87 billion), CBC and CBL (RM573.7 million), Mini CBC and PIR (RM10 million) and 1Malaysia netbooks (RM1 billion).

Another RM150 million was for the expansion of broadband network coverage areas to the communities surrounding CBCs and CBLs, while some RM520 million had been set aside for collective broadband network and Kampung WiFi.

Another RM40 million was for "other collective broadband network projects".

This will leave a cash balance of RM380 million by next year.

Earlier, MCMC chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli gave a welcome address, noting that there had been much interest generated in the press relating to its work as an industry developer and regulator of the communications and multimedia sector in the country.

He was at the briefing conducted by Zulkarnain but was absent during the question-and-answer session.

Zulkarnain said 123,000 netbooks had been distributed under the first phase (2002-2008).

The remaining 300,000 netbooks under the second phase (2009-2011) would be distributed from next month. Students and low-income earners are expected to receive them by February.

A netbook costs RM830, with an additional RM80 for installation of Microsoft software and another RM2 for anti-virus software.

The remaining allocation will be spent in the third phase, where some 500,000 netbooks will be bought.

The third phase will be launched after the study on the effectiveness of the project in the first two phases is completed.

Zulkarnain said suppliers had stated that there would be no hiccups in supplying some 100,000 units a month under the second phase.

He named well-known manufacturers such as Dell, Samsung, Acer and HP. It is understood that the netbook has been rebranded as Idola.

"Logistically, it may be difficult as it will be the school holidays and monsoon season, but we are confident of distributing some 100,000 machines every month and will complete the roll-out in three months."

He said the recipients would be thoroughly vetted, not only by government authorities but also by community leaders and MCMC officers.

About 60 per cent of the recipients will be secondary school and university students. The rest of the netbooks will go to those in the low-income group.

Flanked by four senior MCMC personnel who interjected every now and then, Zulkarnain stopped short of saying there was nothing MCMC could do to ensure recipients made good use of the netbooks instead of selling them for a quick buck.

Report lodged over fake Umno Facebook account

JOHOR BARU: Tebrau Umno Youth has lodged a police report that an individual has set up a Pemuda Tebrau account on Facebook with the Umno logo to spread rumours. 

Division vice-chief Norazhar Abd Hamid said the individual had posted that Pekan was preparing for a by-election because of the failing health of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also the MP for Pekan.

He said Pemuda Tebrau was not Tebrau Umno Youth and that the individual had caused confusion among Umno members and the public.

"We believe this person is trying to tarnish our image," he said.

Programme aimed at bridging digital divide

THE Universal Service Provision (USP) programme, which began in 2002, is aimed at bridging the digital divide between the urban and rural population. The USP fund was established under Section 204 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 to implement network facilities and provide network services in underserved areas and communities.

Regulation 27 of the USP Regulations requires all licensees under the act, except for Content Application Service Providers, whose weighted net revenue exceeds RM2 million to contribute six per cent of their revenue derived from designated services to the fund.

The initiatives under the USP programme are aimed at addressing the digital divide and preventing people living in the rural areas from being further marginalised from the nation's development and information, communications and technology progress.

It began with basic telephony projects. Since 2002, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has identified 462 underserved areas in the country for the purpose of implementing telephony, broadband and cellular access projects.

The MCMC said prior to 2008, the main focus of the USP programme was to build communication infrastructure but due to progress in technology and consumer demand, the shift is towards addressing content, access and application use as well as affordability of communications and multimedia services.

The MCMC said it was strictly guided by the requirements of the Communications and Multimedia (Universal Service Provision) Regulations 2002 in managing the USP fund.

The USP Regulations also require that MCMC publish the USP annual report which details the audited accounts, financial notes and investments under the USP programme.

Web browser pioneer backs new way to surf Internet

REINVENTING THE WEB: Andreessen (left) and Horowitz are betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt. - AP

 

SAN FRANCISCO: The Web has changed a lot since Marc Andreessen revolutionised the Internet with the introduction of his Netscape browser in the mid-1990s. That's why he's betting people are ready to try a different websurfing technique on a new browser called RockMelt.

The browser, available now, is built on the premise that most online activity today revolves around socialising on Facebook, searching on Google, tweeting on Twitter and monitoring a handful of favourite websites.
It tries to minimise the need to roam from one website to the next by corralling all vital information and favourite services in panes and drop-down windows.

"This is a chance for us to build a browser all over again," Andreessen said. "These are all things we would have done (at Netscape) if we had known how people were going to use the Web."

Andreessen didn't develop the RockMelt browser the way he did Netscape, whose early popularity waned as Microsoft Corp bundled its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system.

RockMelt is the handiwork of Tim Howes and Eric Vishria, who formerly worked with Andreessen. But Andreessen's seal of approval has been stamped on startup.

The biggest chunk of RockMelt's US$10mil (RM32mil) in funding has come from the venture capital firm that Andreessen runs with his partner, Ben Horowitz.

Andreessen also sits on RockMelt's board of directors, and his advice has been called upon frequently.
"When you are trying to reinvent the web browser, who would you rather run your ideas by besides Marc?" said Howes, RockMelt's chief technology officer (Vishria is CEO).

Facebook's imprint also is all over RockMelt, although the two companies' only business connection so far is Andreessen. He also serves on Facebook's board of directors.

RockMelt only works if you have a Facebook account. That restriction still gives RockMelt plenty of room to grow, given Facebook has more than 500 million users.

After Facebook users log on to RockMelt with their Facebook account information, the person's Facebook profile picture is planted in the browser's left hand corner and a list of favourite friends can be displayed in the browser's left hand pane. There's also a built-in tool for posting updates in a pop-up box.

The features extend beyond Facebook and Twitter. RockMelt includes a tool that shows results from Google searches in a drop-down box that can be scrolled through to peruse the recommended websites in the main part of the browser.

The browser's right-hand pane is reserved for listing favourite websites, with automatic notifications whenever they get fresh information on them.

RockMelt stores each user's preferences on a remote server, making them available on any computer that has the browser installed on its hard drive.

Although its backers hail the browser as a breakthrough, RockMelt is borrowing some technology and ideas from other sources. Its foundation is built on Chromium, the same open-source coding that spawned Google Inc's Chrome browser two years ago.

Another browser called Flock has been trying to tap into the online social scene for the past five years.
No browser has come close to surpassing Internet Explorer, despite various challenges through the years.
Internet Explorer still holds a roughly 60% market share, according to the research firm Net Applications. The Mozilla Foundation's Firefox, which drew upon Netscape, ranks a distant second at 23% followed by Chrome at about 9%.

RockMelt is starting off with a modest goal: it hopes to attract a million users as it extends invitations to people interested in trying the browser. Requests can be made through www.rockmelt.com.
Andreessen is convinced Internet Explorer's lead remains vulnerable, even after more than a decade of domination and repeated upgrades.

"I don't believe in mature markets," he said. "I think markets are only mature when there is a lack of innovative products." - AP

What broadband is about

Google in 'significant breach' of UK data laws

BBC - 3 November 2010

Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham: "I think the important thing was to get the foot in the door for an audit of Google which had to be by consent"

There was a "significant breach" of the Data Protection Act when Google collected personal data via its Street View cars, the UK's Information Commissioner has ruled.

But Google will not face a fine or any punishment, Christopher Graham added.

Instead, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will audit Google's data protection practices.

The move marks a U-turn for the ICO which originally ruled that no data breach had occurred.

Last week the ICO vowed to look again at the evidence, after the Canadian data agency found the search giant in breach of its law.

Its decision was welcomed by MP Robert Halfon, who has been critical of the ICO and of Google, which he recently accused of deliberately collecting the data for commercial gain.

However, he said that action had come too late. 

"The ICO failed to act when it should have done, despite the fact that Google staged a significant infringement of privacy and civil liberties, by harvesting millions of e-mails, wi-fi addresses, and passwords.

"Furthermore, the ICO has already proved that it lacks the technical expertise to audit Google's activity. What confidence can we have in their audit now? People feel powerless."

The ICO said it "strongly refutes" Mr Halfon's suggestion that it did not have "the necessary expertise to audit" Google. 

"We have a team of experienced and qualified auditors who regularly check organisations compliance with data protection requirements."

Mr Graham said Google must delete the data - collected from unsecured wi-fi networks - "as soon as it is legally cleared to do so".

Google has apologised for collecting the data, which it said had been done by mistake. 

'Profoundly sorry'

Google has been the subject of scrutiny from data protection agencies around the world, following news that software in its Street View cars collected personal information.

 

Street View has been under scrutiny in Germany

 

This was revealed following a request from the German data commissioner to audit all the data being collected by Street View cars.

Google discovered that, along with legitimate data about the location of wi-fi hotspots, the cars were also hoovering up personal details from unsecured networks, known as payload data.

Peter Fleischer, Google's Global Privacy Counsel, said the firm was "profoundly sorry for mistakenly collecting payload data in the UK".

Google said it happened as the result of code written by one of its engineers being mistakenly incorporated in the Street View software.

"Since we announced our mistake in May we have co-operated closely with the ICO and worked to improve our internal controls," said Mr Fleischer.

"We are in the process of confirming that there are no outstanding legal obligations upon us to retain the data, and will then ensure that it is quickly and safely deleted."

'Serious violation'

It announced recently that it would appoint a head of privacy and ensure that all its engineering teams followed strict privacy protocols.

New impetus was given to the UK enquiry, which had originally ruled that no significant breach had occurred, following harsh criticisms of Google from the Canadian authorities.

Last month it found that the search giant had breached its privacy laws.

"This incident was a serious violation of Canadian's privacy rights," privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart concluded.

But she said that no further action would be taken if Google tightened its privacy policies.

Backlash

Street View is now available in around 20 countries and allows uses to walk through towns and cities using photos taken by the Street View cars.

Anyone wishing to have an image removed can request this from Google.

But there is a growing backlash against the service, following complaints from people that their privacy was breached when the photos were taken.

In Germany, where Google is imminently rolling out a service, the government forced it to allow people to opt out of the service before pictures went live.

Italy has asked it to give citizens notice before starting mapping operations while the Czech Republic has banned it from taking any more pictures.

Lower prices for Internet services?

 

Lower prices for Internet services?

By LEONG HUNG YEE
hungyee@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Competition in the mobile and Internet business is expected to heat up with the entry of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd's Yes service, and some analysts believe that a price war may erupt.
There's a potential (for a price war).

With YTL coming into the market, the probability is higher, CLSA Securities Malaysia Sdn Bhd head of research Clare Chin said.

She said the new entrant would also raise competitiveness among telecommunications companies while broadband operators would be worried about their margins.

Expectations surrounding the launch of Yes sent shares in YTL Comms' parent company, YTL Power International Bhd, to their highest level in almost three years in early trade yesterday.

The counter ended eight sen, or 3.19%, to RM2.59 but off the intra-day high of RM2.64.

An analyst said the new entrant did not bring in competition automatically. He said telcos would up the ante against each other to woo customers in a saturated market and that was where the competition or price war would kick in.

In crowded markets where penetration (of voice) exceeds 100%, it can be difficult for an operator to distinguish itself from its competitors if it can only offer the same services.

To differentiate, it needs to be able to offer something new and different with better value proposition, the analyst said.

While competition is good for the consumer, it is not so for the local telcos which have spent the last few years battling each other in a price war, where consumers ultimately reaped the benefits in terms of low mobile call and SMS rates.

Every player's nightmare would be a price war, as margins would be pushed lower, hurting revenue, an analyst said.

YTL Comms' Yes 4G wireless broadband service would charge customers nine sen for a minute of call, one SMS or 3MB of data.

And that's before our rebates kick in, YTL Comms said in a teaser yesterday.

According to analysts, at nine sen a minute the service could be the cheapest in the market. However, they prefer to await confirmation from YTL on the price.

Sources said YTL would also be throwing in a rebate as high as 30% for its subscribers.

The more you use, the more rebate you'll get. For example, if you hit a threshold of 3GB, the price will drop and if you hit another threshold at 5GB, the price will continue to drop, the source said.

A simple calculation shows that nine sen per 3MB works out to about RM90 for 3GB, giving users roughly about 2,000 emails.

CLSA Securities' Chin did not discount consumers migrating to the latest network since cellular voice had already reached saturation.

She said consumers may want to choose a service provider that could offer them a better value proposition.
Investors are getting too excited, too early, Chin said, adding that today's event was just a launch and the hybrid TV would only be launched by end-2011.

Analysts said the triple play, which offers television, Internet and telephone in a single connection, would be the next wave that could change the traditional consumption pattern among Malaysian users of telecommunications services.

Apart from coming up with new products and services to steal customers from rivals, they would also have to entice their existing customers to spend more.

Yes is expected to cover up to 65% of the peninsula from day one. The other areas would be covered later.
The company has spent some RM2.5bil for the Yes 4G infrastructure.

The 4G network will be SIM-less with the 018 prefix.

In a report, OSK Research said that YTL Comms would need to capture at least 300,000 subscribers based on the assumption of average revenue per user of RM100 a month, given the steep initial investment outlay and operating expenditure.

Although the prices of WiMAX equipment and devices have fallen by over a third in the last two years, we believe YTL Comms would probably have to provide a steep upfront subsidy to lure subscribers given the stiff market competition as well as high mobile penetration rate, it said.

YTL Comms is also launching its flagship store at Lot 10 in Kuala Lumpur today after the official launch of the new service.