The event took place at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur with the present of Jason Lo, CEO of Tune Talk Sdn Bhd and Datuk Danny Ooi, Founder of The Malaysian Book of Records. More pictures below.

Jason said “Our Super Sim is our icon for a reason – It stands for excellence in quality of service for our 3G Data, Voice and SMS, for technological innovation of our product, for thinking big, not following the norm, for challenging the big boys and playing them at their own game. The most important thing, for listening to our customers and staying one step ahead of their needs. This Super Sim is now larger than life and takes to flight as we showcase our icon high above theMalaysian skies. As our coverage is that of Celcoms, we too now mark our territory above the rest.”

“And now we have the Biggest Billboard in Malaysia at 100 feet high. It can also fly so is mobile and will be in your neighborhood soon so if u see a giant Sim card in the sky, come on over for a ride. Join us as we take you high and above the rest. Literally!!” he added.

The hot air balloon will be going to a few states starting from middle December.

When launched back in June, Tune Talk BIS service cost RM28/month and was the cheapest prepaid BlackBerry service at that time. U Mobile later lowered their BlackBerry Prepaid monthly plan pricing, now RM19/month.

With this revised pricing at RM18/month, Tune Talk is again offering the cheapest Blackberry prepaid monthly plan in the country. However note that normal data charges apply(RM0.05 per MB) when non-BlackBerry data service is used, example streaming. Meanwhile, U Mobile offers unlimited data for its prepaid BlackBerry monthly plan.

Watch the video below to find out more.

It all started in August when an anonymous fan called ‘tropicgang’ posted a video on YouTube featuring a beefy puppet character dedicated for Tune Talk’s second birthday. Titled ‘Who Like Confuse’, the video highlighted in a very entertaining way Tune Talk’s single subscription plan that is simple, straightforward and transparent. The video quickly gained widespread attention, earning 5,000 views within a week, and sky-rocketing to over 24,000 views to date.

Who Like Confuse Youtube Video from “tropicgang”:

It caught the eyes of Tune Talk’s CEO, Jason Lo and Chairman Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and after a series of message exchanges on YouTube and Twitter, Jason and ‘tropicgang’ finally met and negotiations began behind closed doors.

‘tropicgang’ has since agreed to create more ‘Mat Tune’ music videos, which will be released monthly from now until December 2011.

‘Tropicgang’ however wants to remain anonymous and prefers to be known by its character ‘Mat Tune’.

Talking about what he thought of the tribute video, Jason said: “Mat Tune broke away from the typical cover song format of a bedroom musician. Tony and I were impressed at its quirky mix of in-your-face humour, original scripting and creative use of puppets.”

“Mat Tune now is building his popularity and career since his “Who Like Confuse” music video became viral on YouTube. We have many interesting things planned for them. Social media has become a key channel of communication and that is why we have decided to hire “tropicgang” a.k.a. Mat Tune. We would like to use this new discovery to engage our fans with content that is relevant to them regardless of whether they are our subscribers or not. You don’t always have to sell people something, have a little fun derr! ” said Jason Lo.

Fans can now look forward to more quirky music videos, fun interaction and surprise rewards with “Mat Tune” by following him on Tune Talk’s Facebook page.

“We do not want to burden the people,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when asked what signal the Government was giving by intervening in the issue involving the 6% service tax for prepaid users.

Muhyiddin, who chairs the committee, said it would be meeting soon to discuss ways to manage the cost of living.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai says he will not agree to providing incentives to telecommunication companies (telcos) for deferring their plan to impose a six per cent service tax on prepaid users.

Commenting on the suggestion by Information Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim yesterday, Lim said such a move was unnecessary at the moment as all telcos in the country were doing well.

“Unless they are not making money, only then we have to think of otherwise,” said Lim.

On September 8, eight mobile operators(Celcom, Maxis, DiGi, Tune Talk, XOX, Salamfone, Merchantrade & IMEtel) announced that they will pass down the 6% prepaid tax to consumers starting September 15, 2011. However, the date has been postponed till further notice after a discussion between the Telcos and Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim early this week.

[Source1]- The Star

[Source2]- Business Times

In a meeting with the mobile operators this morning, the Minister of Communications Datuk Seri Rais Yatim has asked the four mobile operators to postpone the 6% prepaid service tax on top ups and starter packs to a later date.

Eight mobile service providers announced last Thursday that they will pass down the 6% prepaid service tax to consumers.The eight operators are Celcom, Maxis, DiGi, Tune Talk, XOX, Salamfone, Merchantrade & IMEtel.

The move has since received negative response from the public and the Government.

Last week, the Prime Minister asked the operators to review the move as it will burden the consumers while the Assistant Minister of Communications Datuk Lee Kim Shin said the majority of the users had disagreed with the decision.

A survey by newspaper Malay Mail revealed that the public is unhappy with the move- Read “Consumerists want telcos to absorb service charge“.

Also read:

• Analysts mixed on impact of service tax for prepaid user
• Uproar over telco service tax not surprising, says OSK Research

He added the move was not approved by the Finance Ministry as the decision to impose taxes was taken by the telcos themselves.

“The reaction and feedback from the public is that the move by telcos… is unpopular and difficult to accept.”

“So I hope that the telcos will review this move as we are trying to reduce the burden on the people who have to bear the rising cost of goods,” he said.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak is also the Finance Minister of Malaysia.

From Sept 15 onwards, prepaid users and those purchasing starter kits would need to pay an extra 6% as the Telcos agreed they would no longer absorb the service tax, which was introduced in 1998. A customer who purchases a RM10 prepaid reload will need to pay RM10.60, with the 60 sen being the service tax.

The Telcos which will start imposing the 6% service tax are- Celcom, Maxis, DiGi, Tune Talk, XOX, Salamfone, Merchantrade & IMEtel.

[Source1]- TheStar

[Source2]- The Malaysian Insider

The Tune Talk app which is yet to be named, will be developed by JMango. The same app developer is currently developing a mobile food app for Room Service Deliveries.

With the new app, Tune Talk prepaid customers will be able to access their account, check balance, subscribe to a service and top up prepaid credit from within the application.

The app will be made available for iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone and Symbian plafform. No details on when it will be available yet.

[Source]- JMango

Postpaid users in the country are already paying a 6% service tax while the mobile operators(Telcos) are absorbing the tax on prepaid. With the new implementation scheduled sometime next month, a RM10 reload for an example will only contain a RM9.40 worth of airtime with 60 sen charged as service tax.

In June 2011, Tune Talk intended to pass down the 6% prepaid service tax to its customers starting July but the MVNO decided to delay it after industry players met with the regulator(SKMM).

A comment made by Malaysian Wireless gathered over 1,000 “Facebook likes” from consumers who disagreed with the move on prepaid tax.

[Source]- TheSun

Jason Lo, the CEO of Tune Talk told Malaysian Wireless that the “Blackberry experience” on Tune Talk will be as good as the one offered by Celcom. “Why pay more when you can save with Tune Talk?”, he asked.

He added that Tune Talk is looking at Auto Reload service where customer’s prepaid account gets reloaded automatically when it runs out of credit. The service will be initially made available for Tune Money customers and soon accept other credit cards as well.

The friendly CEO also mentioned that Tune Talk Thailand is scheduled to be operational sometime in August 2011. In Indonesia, Tune Talk is currently trialling roaming services with XL Axiata. Tune Talk customers in Malaysia who roam on XL Axiata’s network in Indonesia will able to make and receive call at an incredible low rate of RM0.50 a minute(normal rate up to RM9).

Tune Talk’s BlackBerry prepaid service, is now available for only 98 sen (RM0.98) per day or RM28 per month for a full BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) plan, while a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) + Instant messaging (IM) package only costs 38 sen (RM0.38) per day or RM11 per month.

Press Release below.

KUALA LUMPUR, 7 June 2011 – Tune Talk, the country’s fastest growing mobile prepaid service, is set to take the BlackBerry service market by storm with the launch of its lowest rates for the service here today.

Tune Talk’s BlackBerry prepaid service, soft-launched in May 2011, is now available for only 98 sen (RM0.98) per day or RM28 per month for a full BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) plan, while a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) + Instant messaging (IM) package only costs 38 sen (RM0.38) per day or RM11 per month.

All Tune Talk products and services are prepaid-based.

Tune Talk CEO, Jason Lo says: “The rollout of Tune Talk’s BlackBerry service is a significant milestone for us. At Tune Talk, we are continuously looking at ways to improve our services for the benefit of our subscribers, to ensure that they always get the best value for their money. The lowest BlackBerry rates in town that we unveil today is part of our endeavour to not only meet, but surpass the user’s needs and expectations and the BlackBerry service in itself is proof that we really listen to them. It’s about giving our subscribers more options and these are always about the best deals in town.”

“We are pleased to say that Tune Talk is now on par with the big boys in terms of our service offering but what makes us different is in the great value that we provide. As it is, we’re already offering the lowest flat call rates, SMS and data charges; not to mention automatic personal accident coverage and free flight seats via our Tune Talk Points for AirAsia Flights. No other service provider gives you points for topping up!” he adds.

On Tune Talk’s collaboration with Research In Motion (RIM) for the BlackBerry service, Lo says: “We are so thrilled to be collaborating with RIM for this BlackBerry project. The deal in itself is such a recognition for a young service provider like us. The BlackBerry solution comes as an added-value for Tune Talk Mobile Prepaid subscribers who can now enjoy the many exciting business and lifestyle applications. More enhancements are in the pipeline to ensure that our subscribers get maximum value and convenience.”

The BlackBerry solution brings together smartphones, software and services to allow easy wireless access to industry-leading email and messaging, social networking, phone, organizer, web, multimedia and other mobile business and lifestyle applications. Tune Talk customers will now be able to enjoy the freedom and productivity benefits of using BlackBerry smartphones to stay connected to people and information while on the go.

Tune Talk subscribers are able to purchase a BlackBerry smartphone from one of Tune Talk’s exclusive partners. These include the renowned BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800, BlackBerry® Bold™ 9780, BlackBerry® Curve™ 3G 9300 and BlackBerry® Curve™ 8520 smartphone .

Tune Talk charges the lowest flat rate of 16 sen per minute for calls to any mobile or fixed-line operator in Malaysia, while an SMS costs 5 sen each. Data usage is available at super-low charges of only 5 sen per 1 Megabyte while its IDD rates are around 10%-30% cheaper than other operators.

Apart from free personal accident insurance coverage worth RM100,000, Tune Talk subscribers get to enjoy Tune Talk Points for AirAsia Flights that can be redeemed for a seat on any domestic or international flights by AirAsia or AirAsia X.

Tune Talk operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) riding on Celcom Axiata Berhad’s  network, providing a service proposition that meets the consumers’ demand for a simple, value-for-money product with easy accessibility and widest distribution reach.

Tune Talk was recently awarded the ‘Most Promising Service Provider of the Year 2011’ by Frost & Sullivan.

In an event scheduled for today morning, Tune Talk is set announce the following:

• Blackberry Messenger: 38sen/day & RM11/month
• Blackberry Internet Service(BIS): 98sen/day & RM28/month (Unlimited data)

Also, Tune Talk has revised its Mobile Virtual Network Operator(MVNO) agreement with Celcom. Tune Talk will be one of the 1st MVNO in the country to operate on a 3G network(HSDPA).

Official details soon.