Maxis, one of the leading 4G mobile operator and 5G-ready network in Malaysia said that its customers may not enjoy a good Internet experience on certain time of the day.
In a media statement that was not sent to MalaysianWireless but posted on its website, the Telco said that “Some customers may not have the optimum Internet experience on some occasional evenings,”
“Maxis has observed that home fibre traffic and daily mobile data volume have increased significantly since the start of the MCO on 18 March, with volume on mobile still continuing to grow,”
Despite claiming that its network is “5G-ready” (Maxis does not have any commercial 5G license in Malaysia, at the time of writing), Maxis points out that Internet browsing, video streaming, instant messaging and collaboration tools accounted for a bulk of the increase in Internet data traffic, with mobile devices mostly used for browsing activities, while an increase in data volume for streaming related apps for Home Internet (including Maxis Fibre) were observed.
YouTube app usage, for example, has generated one of the highest data volumes for Maxis, having increased by a few thousand TeraBytes (technical note: The Maxis network is peered locally and direct with the Youtube/Google servers in Malaysia).
Maxis also said that Instant Messaging and Voice over IP (VoIP) have seen an approximately 50% increase in data volume, along with collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Skype and Google Hangouts, which is driven by working and studying from home.
However the Telco added, “In mitigating this and to ensure a better customer experience, Maxis is increasing its sites upgrade production by 100% and expediting the capacity rollout in meeting the growing demands. Continuous network optimisation to complement the network rollout ensures that customers will enjoy a quality experience especially for commonly used applications.”
Maxis did not reveal the list of areas that are affected by its less “optimum” 5G-ready Internet network and if these affected customers will be compensated for the poor Internet experience. The Telco has been “upgrading” its network for the past 20 years.
Maxis had 11.32 million mobile subscribers as of March 2020, including 8.3 million using the 5G-ready Maxis mobile Internet network.
Meanwhile, in referring to the MCMC Network Performance Report 2019, Maxis said, “While we are humbled by the recognition given to us in the recently released Network Performance Report 2019 by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), we want to keep improving to ensure that our network performs at an optimum level and meets the needs of our customers who depend on us. We have about 800 of our own people out in the field serving customers in our stores and field technicians keeping the network up and running, and we are grateful to them for their dedication. We encourage all members of the public to continue to stay home and stay connected,”
“Maxis has maintained its position as the leader amongst all service providers by excelling in all criteria for four consecutive years.”
[PDF]– Media Announcement posted by Maxis (screenshot)
