More areas to get UniFi soon

TM has just issued a release saying that it will expand availability areas for UniFi to include Penang, Johor and more areas in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor from July 1

Specifically, TM will extend UniFi to Kulim Hi-Tech Park (Kedah), Bayan Baru (Penang), Senai and Permas (Johor) industrial areas and residential areas in Wangsa Maju, Sungai Buloh, Melawati, Kepong, Cyberjaya, Putrajaya and Damansara.

Currently, the UniFi FTTH service is only available in four urban areas within Klang Valley – Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Bangsar, and Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.

TM claims that UniFi can now serve over 375,000 premises in its coverage areas with over 3,200 customers currently using the service. By the numbers, it looks like UniFi’s uptake is worryingly slow considering that the service has been available since March. With just 3,200 subscribers, you’re looking at just over 1,000 subscribers a month, less than 40 subscribers a day.

With over 375,000 premises within the service’s availability areas, the total number of subscribers on UniFi is less than 1% of that number.

We’re not sure what’s going on here. Is it that Malaysian’s don’t want or need high-speed broadband or that TM’s not promoting the service enough.

We suspect it’s a bit of both further compounded by security risk UniFi customers are exposed to when using the service.

More alarming, TM has spent a whooping RM2.3 billion on UniFi to date. If you do the math, with just 3,200 subscribers using the service right now, that equates to a cost of about RM7.2 million per subscriber.

Fast internet is definitely not cheap people.

[press release]