Roaming clouds: Malaysian connectivity issues
Summary: Last week I was in Kuala Lumpur for a few days, moderating the first IT Priorities Roundtable discussion.
Loading... Please wait.Last week I was in Kuala Lumpur for a few days, moderating the first IT Priorities Roundtable discussion.
(Credit: Munir Kotadia/ZDNet Australia)
During a chat with one of the panellists, Chris Cheong, the regional IT director of Lowe & Partners, the conversation turned to cloud computing.
Cheong explained that although the cloud has many benefits, he was weary of implementing cloud projects in Malaysia (and a few other countries in the region) because internet connectivity just wasn't reliable enough.
Cloud computing is "a trend that we should look at seriously in efforts to save money and go green, but I still have some concerns in countries like Malaysia where bandwidth can be problematic", he said.
Unsurprisingly, he was worried about his corporate executives being left without access to critical information.
I got a personal taste of this the very next day, when the otherwise reliable internet connection in the hotel went down for about five hours.
As I rely heavily on Gmail and Google Docs, being without a connection, at any time, is ... well, it's a bit of a nightmare really.
For over a year now, I have taken it for granted that the internet would always be available. If the corporate network, or even my home connection, should fail, I could simply tether my laptop to the 3G connection on my mobile phone.
In KL, my initial reaction would have been to reach for the iPhone but I didn't have a local SIM card and was still roaming on the 3 network. Although that arrangement provides me with a monthly 2GB of relatively cheap data in Sydney, it would cost me $20 per megabyte (yes, megabyte) when in Malaysia.
Now in the past I have achieved 3G download speeds at hundreds of kilobits per second — if I had replicated that for a few hours while roaming in Malaysia, I dread to think what my next phone bill would have been.
Suddenly Chris' concerns about the region's problematic bandwidth seemed very sensible indeed.
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Talkback
So the entire premise for the "reliability" of Internet is based on the hotel's connection going down for a few hours, I wouldn't really call this a credible reporting.
The next time the journalist is in a spotty internet connection situation, I suggest Gloria Jean. Coffee with free internet. The inspiration for better quality articles might flow through.
AK
The opinion that KL's infrastructure isn't yet reliable enough to go fully to the cloud was not mine, it was from the IT director of Lowe & Partners.
As i was only in KL for a few days, i simply reported on my personal experience too. Unfortunately, none of the free wireless services you mention were able to penetrate the walls of my hotel.
I'm pleased you found my blog post amusing.
Thanks for clearing it up. I find it such a refreshing thing that IT directors in Malaysia are willing to sabotage business coming into their country in such a blaze fashion. Must be a new fad.
As for the free wireless, most of them are in shopping centres and coffee vendors. Even hotel lobbies. Its definitely a change from having to pay the Telstra tax everywhere.
As a business traveler, I have worked from the terminals at KLIA for free, hotel lobbies in KL and Penang. At Starbucks, Gloria Jean and various other locations without incurring any charges. (These are not unsecured wifi mind you. You can get a ticket for free and use them. )
Perhaps on your next trip, this suggestion would help you overcome any Internet "emergencies" that might occur to Malaysia's "unreliable" Internet. :)
Also, although there are many wireless players in Malaysia that have liberalized that landscape, many feel that the incumbent fixed-line operator here is still very much a monopolized business.
For many companies, which use private connections, SLAs committed by a service provider could mitigate such issues. But on the public Internet front, reliability is still an issue in Malaysia.
This of course brings to the fore the debate about private vs public cloud computing, and which is the true "cloud." But that's for another day. Suffice to say, I do believe the key concern in Chris' comments is that will his people be able to access critical information whenever and wherever they need it, via the public infrastructure, if he were to implement cloud in his organization, and if the service is reliable at enterprise-grade levels.
Lastly, while there are many hotels that do give Wi-Fi services, most are not free of charge. Cafes are free, but then again, you'll have to contend yourself with a expensive cup of mocha just to use their Wi-Fi...
Edwin Yapp