Just got my unlimited broadband connected with advertised download speeds of 2Mbps and upload speed of 500Kbps. Service provider is TM (Telkom Malaysia) Streamyx with the unlimited 2Mbps Blockbuster Package. Where the package includes a free DECT Cordless Phone and Wifi Modem. For the latest Block buster promotions click here
From the day I applied for the connection it took 4 working days before a TM technician came to the house to setup the Wifi modem and to activate the line. It took another 24hrs for the connection to be upgraded to 2Mbps from my original 512Kbps. Best thing about it was that the upgrade didn't disrupt my 512K connection which is very important. The login name and password were the same as the 512K connection. So the transition you could say was seamless. So in total it took 5 working days to get my 2Mbps connection.
PERFORMANCE
Performance of the new connection has been quite good where I get 90% of the advertised speed. So with 2Mbps connection its enough for most everyday needs like web surfing, streaming videos and downloads.
Speed test done with a local server and the second test was done with a server in the US.
With this connection I am able to stream youtube for 2-3 computers but some tweaking is need on the computers before you are able to do that if you are from Malaysia. Email me if you want to know how I did it.
Sopcast, TVU Player and TV ants streams reasonably well, but out of the 3 mentioned I think TVU player was the most stable. For those who doesn't know what the 3 programs are they are just programs which you install on your computer and you are able to watch FREE streaming tv online. You can download the programs for free here: http://tvuplayer.en.softonic.com/ Sopcat and TV ants link is on the same page but 3/4 down the page. Just scroll down 3/4 of the page and you will see "Programs similar to TVU Player" just click the dowmload Sopcast and TV ants.
Internet radio also streams well with only 1-2 sec breaks every 2hrs or so. The site I stream is from the US.
So the last few things I did for tweaking was to optimize my router modem to the proper MTU. I used Command Prompt (Start>Run>CMD) and "ping google.com -f -l 1467" where 1467 was the MTU number and I tried number up and number down until I got the fastest response with no fragmentation.
Then I went to http://www.dslreports.com/tweaks and used the online tweak tool. I also downloaded Dr.TCP to do the adjustments. http://www.dslreports.com/drtcp Dr.TCP only work for Windows XP or older and not for Vista and Win 7 as Vista and Win 7 uses a dynamic TCP stack which auto tunes by its self. You can Google "vista tcp tuning modes" and read more about it and do your own tests.
All in all I find that I'm satisfied with my connection and its good enough for most circumstances except when you are downloading large files like movies. In any case it beats having a 512Kbps connection. The "always on unlimited connection is really nice to have when you are trading the stock market online. Something one should get if they are considering trading stocks online.
So how are the free products performing?
The DECT cordless phone is working well and currently no problem with it except I don't really like the fonts and the type of screen used.
The Innocomm Wifi modem? Haven't really used it. Its currently shelfed for emergency use only when my TP-Link wifi router or Aztec modem dies on me. Why am I not using it? Well basically all my computers are using wifi to get connected and the Innocomm Wifi moden doesn't allow me to "dial my connection" using wifi. It only allows you to dial a connection or disconnect it when you are hooked up to the Wifi modem using LAN cable. That is a real pain. The GUI page for all setting and functions for the modem also isn't really good and user friendly. That's why its only a backup.
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