Berhad is a
Mobile Phone service provider based in
Malaysia . It was started in the year
1995 . It uses the dialling prefix identifier of "012", "0142" and "017". Their mobile services are provided over the 900 & 1800 MHz
GSM band and as July 2005, the 2100 MHz
UMTS band.
Maxis provides a variety of mobile communication products and services. They offer
Prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans,
Global Roaming ,
MMS ,
WAP (over both
GSM and
GPRS ), Residential Fixed Line services,
Broadband Internet plans, and as of early 2005,
3G services to both pre-paid and subscription customers.
For business customers, Maxis offer
VSAT services (satellite based communications) and
BlackBerry based mobile services besides regular services. Maxis also provides an online Music store for its customers to download multimedia content.
Maxis' most popular service is its pre-paid brand, that currently serves over 6.3 million customers in Malaysia. They are currently heavily promoting a new IDD 132 service, which offers discounted calls to landlines in selected countries, at a rate of 20 sen (roughly 6 US cents) per minute which is, at certain times for many subscribers, even cheaper than a local call.
Maxis is currently involved in a price war with its competitors (particularly
DiGi ) in the pre-paid SIM market which has driven its Hotlink starter pack prices down to RM 6 (about USD$1.2).
There are several high profile celebrities who have signed on as spokespersons for Maxis. There are big names such as
Siti Nurhaliza , all the
Akademi Fantasia 's stars, along with many other local celebrities..
It is allegedly linked to some content providers that is siphoning money out of the users' pocket. As the evidence could only be found in monthly bill's statement, it is reluctant to provide such service for its prepaid customers. Such intent is unknown for all.
In
2002 , Maxis purchased Timecel, a rival mobile service provider, from TimedotCom Berhad. Prior to the purchase, Maxis offered phone numbers beginning with 012, and TimeCell 017. Now, subscribers can choose between the two. In 1999, Maxis introduced the popular pre-paid brand "Hotlink", which currently has 6.3 Million customers.
On April 27, 2007, an offer was made to buy out Maxis and privatise the company in preparation for expansions into the
Indonesia n and
India n markets. The deal was offered by
Ananda Krishnan , who pledged Maxis
RM 17.46 billion (
US$ 5.1 billion) in exchange for all remaining shares of the company. The offer is to be formally made by
Usaha Tegas , a company owned by Krishnan, on May 3, 2007, while the
Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange suspends trading of the company's shares until May 3.
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Maxis Communications is part of
Ananda Krishnan 's business empire. In
1996 , the company launched Malaysia's first two
Satellites ;
MEASAT 1, 2 and 3. A fourth satellite, MEASAT 1R, is currently under construction.
Saudi Telecom Company bought 25 % of Maxis
Maxis officially launched its 3G service on 1st July 2005 (the 3G datacard service was soft-launched earlier in February 2005). The 3G service is avaialble in selected regions of the country since nationwide coverage does not make economic sense (due to the high
CAPEX involved). The main coverage areas are:
- Klang Valley (including large part of Kuala Lumpur & Selangor) - the initial launch in July 2005
- Penang - Dec 2005
- Johor Bahru - Jan 2006
- Kuantan - Sept 2006
Maxis appears to be adopting a "thick coverage" strategy for 3G. This means 3G service will be rolled out only in areas where data traffic is heavy, or with strategic importance (example,
Putrajaya which is the government's administrative centre). The rest of the country will be served by 2.5G (GPRS; nationwide coverage) which is progressively being upgraded to 2.75G (
EDGE or E-GPRS).
The key "shouting points" for Maxis 3G appear to be:
- Video Call & Videomail
- packet-switched video streaming services (including live channels, Video-on-demand & video clip downloads)
- Traffic Check (Maxis claims to have 50 video cameras installed around Klang Valley, Penang & Johor Bahru)
- Full-track music download
- 3G datacard
In Sept 2006, Maxis launched
3.5G (
HSDPA ) as part of the "wireless broadband modem" service which is targeted at "mass market consumer/home" users (instead of business or corporate). Maxis is progressively upgrading its entire 3G network to 3.5G capability. As of Dec 2006, the entire Penang island, and part of Klang Valley/JB/Kuantan are already 3.5G-capable.
Maxis is the largest
Mobile Phone Operator in
Malaysia . But it does face competition from
Telekom Malaysia 's (TM)
Celcom and also DiGi.
Maxis Tower
Maxis
