Unifi Mobile

unifi Mobile is a Malaysian converged telecommunications, broadband and 4G service provider. Originally known as Packet One Networks (P1), the company was founded in 2002 and is a subsidiary of Green Packet Berhad.

Unifi Mobile
Private
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded11 February 2002
Headquarters
Malaysia 
ProductsMobile Telephony Services
Mobile Broadband
Fixed Voice
Fiber
SIP Trunking service
Wireless Internet Leased Line
NextSMS
Number of employees
600+ (2014)
Websiteunifi.com.my/personal/mobile 

Overview

In March 2007, P1 was one of four companies awarded 2.3 GHz spectrum licenses by the Malaysian Government to deploy 4G WiMAX services throughout Malaysia. In August 2008, P1 became the first company to launch commercial WiMAX services in Malaysia.[1]

In March 2014, Telekom Malaysia (TM) Berhad bought a 57% stake in P1 for RM 350 million.[2] TM is to invest RM 1 billion in P1 over the next four years.

In April 2016, the company was officially re-branded as Webe Digital Sdn. Bhd.[3] May 2017 saw the announcement of webe's latest CEO, Moharmustaqeem Mohammed,[4] replacing Azizi A. Hadi who had just taken over from founder Puan Chan Cheong [5] nine months earlier.

In January 2018, TM relaunched it mobile service as one unifi Mobile brand. unifi Mobile basically is a prepaid plan featured with no expiry as long the user stayed active. unifi mobile LTE network consists of 850 MHz FDD-LTE (Band 5), 2300 MHz TD-LTE (Band 40) and TD-LTE 2600 MHz (Band 38). unifi mobile utilizes its TMgo 850 MHz LTE band 5 spectrum (refarmed from CDMA 850 MHz), and Celcom provides domestic roaming on 3G and 2G. On the 2.3 GHz WiMAX and 2.6 GHz LTE bands.

Frequencies used on unifi Mobile Network in Malaysia
BandFrequencyFrequency WidthProtocolNotes
402300 MHz (2360~2390)30 MHzTDD-LTE20 + 10 MHz CA
382600 MHz (2575~2595)20 MHzTDD-LTE
5850 MHz (869~874 ; 824~829)2 x 5 MHzFDD-LTE
  • Uses Celcom 2.6GHz (band 7) for some in-building coverage.

Milestones

Packet One was discontinued as a company after Telekom Malaysia's purchase.

Its W1MAX product offering is still in existence although it now focuses on LTE as webe.

WiMAX

P1 W1MAX
  • P1 W1MAX is presently a fixed portable broadband service that runs on the 2.3 GHz WiMAX spectrum and 802.16e 2005 standard, which is known as Mobile WiMAX. It enables wireless broadband access up to 30 miles (50 km) from the base station.
  • P1 W1MAX offers three type of modems:
    • P1 W1MAX DS300 Shared Modem
    • P1 W1MAX DV230 Shared Modem that integrates WiMAX, 802.11 b/g WiFi and voice functionality into one device.
    • P1 W1MAX DX230 New 3-in-1 Modem that integrates WiMAX, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and voice.[14]

WIGGY
  • P1 W1MAX's On-the-Go Portable Modem is called WIGGY.[15]
  • P1 W1MAX offers three packages:
    • WIGGY 129 which has speeds up to 3 Mbit/s;
    • WIGGY 89 which has speeds up to 1.5 Mbit/s.
    • WIGGY 58 which has speeds up to 600 kbit/s
  • The WIGGY is also available in prepaid.
  • Initially, the WIGGY was advertised to offer speeds of up to 10Mbit/s. At the time the package was offered, it was the fastest wireless package offered in Malaysia. However this package was quickly pulled when the company received backlash after many of the subscribers found that they were unable to achieve the 10Mbit/s speed.

WiMAX for Embedded Devices
  • P1 W1MAX also offers WiMAX subscription for Intel powered Netbook and Notebooks that are WiMAX ready.

Awards and Accolade
  • Malaysia Book of Records 2008 - Malaysia's first WiMAX Telco
  • Red Herring Asia - Winner Most Innovative Private Technology Company 2008
  • HWM EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS 2009 - Best WiMAX Service Provider
  • PC.COM - Top 10 Tech Brands for 2009
  • PC.COM - Best WiMAX Service 2009
  • MSC Malaysia APICTA - Winner Best of Start-Up Companies 2009
  • FROST & SULLIVAN TELECOMS AWARDS 2010 - Most Promising Service Provider of the Year
  • The Effectiveness Awards (EFFIE) 2010 - Gold winner for “Sudah Potong?” or “Cut Already?” Campaign
  • The Global Leadership Award 2011 - Winner of Internet Category
  • Golden Global Brand Award 2011 - The Best Enterprise Brand of the Year 2010
  • GoMobile Awards 2012 - Best Home Wireless Broadband

4G WiMAX Network

P1 occasionally advertises its network as a '4G' network. However, this is primarily a marketing gimmick because at the time of writing, WiMAX does not meet the ITU's specification of 4G which requires attaining a download speed of 1Gbit/s for tabletop transceivers and 100Mbit/s for mobile transceivers. However, P1 isn't alone in this misleading marketing gimmick, two other WiMAX-based ISPs, Yes 4G and Asiaspace Dotcom AMAX, also market the technology as 4G.

The fact that the upcoming WiMAX Release 2 a.k.a. IEEE 802.16m specification does adhere to the 4G specifications and is officially recognised by the ITU as a 4G system only further adds to the confusion.

For that matter, no current LTE network meets the ITU requirements for IMT-Advanced networks. The new LTE-Advanced 3GPP rel 9 and WiMAX 2 IEEE 802.16m systems have yet to be commercially deployed. However, most WiMAX and LTE networks should be upgradable to the 'true 4G' versions, there have yet to be a WiMAX company upgrade to 'true 4G' version at this point of time. Aside from Digi Telecommunications aims to be the first to roll out LTE network by 2013.

References
  1. "TM succeeds in acquiring P1 stake". The Malaysian Reserve. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  2. "Green Packet aims to widen operating profit". The Star Online. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. "P1 officially rebranded as Webe - Tech News | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. "TM appoints new webe CEO | SoyaCincau.com". Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. "Azizi A. Hadi appointed webe CEO, CC Puan now a non-executive director". Digital News Asia. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. "Alcatel-Lucent gains P1 WiMAX deal". wimaxday.net. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  7. "WiMAX Global Providers". intel.com. Retrieved 12 May 2008.
  8. "Malaysia's First WiMAX License Holder, Packet One Networks, Enhances WiMAX Launch Readiness". oracle.com. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
  9. "P1 Awards USD28m WiMAX Contract To ZTE" (PDF). p1.com. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  10. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/30/business/6575149&sec=business
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. http://www.telecoms.com/34957/p1-signs-high-speed-broadband-deal-with-telekom-malaysia/
  14. http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/6/business/20100806160550&sec=business
  15. "WiMAX on the go". thestar.com.my. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
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