streamyx - You want it, but you can't have it, cause we can't do it.

By: L33tdawg

Last month I took you though an article entitled Broadband in Malaysia: A hard look at your options, in which I pretty much
did a small running commentary about the current situation with regards to broadband connectivity or the lack thereof. Well
between last month and now, Tmnet has announced the availability of their streamyx package for home users. But get this -
it's not always on. The package starts at RM150 for 60 hours worth of connectivity and RM280 for 120 hours. Anything
further to this is charged at 4cents per minute. Pretty ridiculous when you think of it - it's a DSL connection that is
designed to be always on, but TMnet have figured out a way to enable per minute charges so that pretty much put paid to any
plans home users had of being always connected. This article is yet another rant about how TMnet is totally screwing the
public over with its 'near Microsoft' type strategies. But more importantly, this article is about my experience
with TMNet in getting streamyx installed at my premises, and the amount of trouble I have been going through.

It all started on a bright sunny Tuesday morning - the 11th of September. At this point, TMNet had just announced the new
packages and the increased availability, and wonder of wonders my area was listed. I figured, heck, since the home and SOHO
packages weren't always on, the only other option I had was to go for ADSL 1.0 MBps downstream and 384K upstream with 1
fixed IP address (also known as the Enterprise Package) costing RM1490 per month. Certainly not cheap by most standards,
but hey, I've been waiting for broadband connectivity for quite some time, so screw it - I was going to have it
one way or the other! So I head on down to the House of Internet, to sign up for the package. I fill up the required forms,
submit it and then I'm told that it'll take approximately 5 - 7 working days before the system is installed and
configured. Sounds good so far. I also ask them about the possibility of upgrading or downgrading to a
different package (ADSL or SDSL), and I'm told it can be done -- no problem.

So all's fine and well till I realise that perhaps it might be a better idea to switch to SDSL 1.5Mbps and bring
hackinthebox.org and hackinthebox.net back here where I can keep an eye on em. It makes perfect sense since Uberfusion (the
company that currently provides the bandwidth for this box) are planning on moving all their production servers to DataOne
(a webhosting outfit), and since I don't fancy paying a couple of hundred bucks a month to co-locate my box with DataOne,
it made sense to bring in an SDSL line to my place and have everything under my nose so to speak. So I call up the 1800
help line to find out how I can make the changes - no surprises here, I'm told that I have to go over to the House of
Interet once again and make an application there. No problem - I head on over, and sit down and explain to the guys behind
the desk that I want to switch from ADSL 1.0Mbps to SDSL 1.5Mbps with 5 IP addresses. They look at me like I'm from another
planet - a home user wanting what has been listed as a corporate package?! No way! We can't do that! Which is pretty much
what they told me. You can't switch from ADSL to SDSL. You can only switch from ADSL to ADSL (higher speed and more
IPs). Why? Cause it's too 'difficult' to install SDSL, as it requires a new copper pair to be installed at your
premises, further to this, you need to be a Corporation (i.e. with a registered business address to use the Corporate SDSL
package).

Now think about this for a second -- does that make ANY sense to you? If they can upgrade me from ADSL Enterprise
to ADSL Corporate, WHY can they not upgrade me to Corporate SDSL? I sat there explaining the absurdity of the situation to
the counter clerks, and after much debating they finally agreed that it doesn't make sense and would proceed with my
request. At this point in time, they fire up their little terminal application that they use to connect to their customer
registration system, and start making the application. It doesn't work. Aparently the software does not cater to the (now
considered ABSURD) possiblity that a home user would want 5 fixed IPs and 1.5MBps of data flowing into their house so they
can't register me, and I'm stuck with ADSL 1.0Mbps until 'further notice'. This to me is utter crap - how can you at one
point tell me that it's not a problem to switch speeds either up or down or jump from ADSL to SDSL and now tell
me it's too difficult and that their software doesn't 'support' it?! It's not like I'm asking them for an SDSL package at
half the cost or something - I'm paying the full rates that any other corporate customer would pay, why can I then not get
the same level of service?

If that didn't piss me off enough, it now appears that due to my request to switch from 1 fixed IP to 5 fixed IPs I need to
'reapply' for the service and wait all over again - they're now saying that installation will take from anywhere between 2
and 4 weeks! So let me get this straight -- if I wanted a 1 fixed IP address ADSL line to be installed it takes 5 - 7 days,
but if I want an extra 4 IP addresses to be assigned to me, for a service that's running at the SAME SPEED I need to wait
almost 4 times as long!?

TMNet needs to seriously look into this or they're going to have a bunch of really PISSED OFF customers at their door step.
Streamyx is by all counts a 'new' service, and I think the uptake of the product is going to be slow for the initial
period, but if the level of service the product provides is good and people are happy with it, I'm sure there would be
those looking to expand the capability and either get a faster connection speed or more fixed IP addresses - all of which
translates to more money for TMnet, but this isn't going to happen if they restrict customers and tell them that, we can't
do that, and you're stuck with whatever you applied for.

I just wonder when TMNet will ever learn - I also wonder whether their top brass are aware of the situation the
customer is having to deal with, or whether they're oblivious to the fact that people are not getting what they paid
for what they were promised. One thing's for sure - TMNet is still screwing it's customers over and hoping that nobody'll
notice. Well I noticed, and I'm sure as hell not happy with it.

A very-disgruntled-still-sitting-here-on-a-crappy-56K-modem,
L33tdawg.

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