Maxis Communications or Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It is one of the oldest and largest
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...
s companies in the country. Headquartered in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
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,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, it provides a variety of communication products, applications and value added services for consumers, large enterprises as well as small & medium business owners. Maxis uses the dialing prefixes of "011 12000000 through 12499999", "012", "014-2", and "017". The majority of the company's stake is owned by Malaysian billionaire,
Ananda Krishnan
Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (Tamil: த. ஆனந்தகிருஷ்ணன்) (born 1 April 1938) is a Malaysian-Tamil businessman, the Chairman of Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd and founder of Yu Cai Foundation (YCF). Nicknamed A.K., he is es ...
. It's coveravage from
Arau
Arau is the royal capital of Perlis, Malaysia with a population of around 20,000. The red-roofed Istana (Royal Palace) is a mixture of colonial and pseudo-Moorish architectural styles.
This town is the disembarkation point for visitors travell ...
(
Perlis
Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces ...
) until
Long Pasia
Long Pasia is a village in Sipitang District, Sabah. Long Pasia is a home town of Lun Bawang/Lun Dayeh tribes and has a population of about 1,000 people, and all of them are Christians of Borneo Evangelical Church (SIB). It is located about ...
(
Sabah
Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...
).
Coverage, Products and Services
Maxis operates
2G EDGE,
4G LTE
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a Technical standard, standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution, EDGE and UMTS/High Speed Pac ...
and
4G LTE-A networks.
As of 2016, Maxis has a 100% 4G population coverage with minimum
signal strength
In telecommunications, particularly in radio frequency engineering, signal strength refers to the transmitter power output as received by a reference antenna at a distance from the transmitting antenna. High-powered transmissions, such as those us ...
of -110dBm in
Klang Valley
Klang Valley ( ms, Lembah Klang; zh, 巴生谷; ) is an urban conglomeration in Malaysia that is centered in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, and includes its adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. It is co ...
,
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...
and
Johor Bahru; 95% 4G population coverage with minimum signal strength of -110dBm across all state capitals; 88% 4G population coverage with minimum signal strength of -110dBm nationwide.
In July 2018, Maxis claimed that its 4G LTE network covered 92% of the population in the country.
There are several high-profile celebrities who have signed on as spokespersons for Maxis, including
Siti Nurhaliza
Dato' Sri Hajah Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin ( Jawi: سيتي نورهاليزا بنت تارودين ; IPA: ; born 11 January 1979) is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman with more than 300 local and international awards. S ...
, the Malaysian reality television show Akademi Fantasia's contestants, along with Jessy Wong The Diva and Arthur the Brave and Fluffy. Maxis was the first company to launch LTE services in Malaysia on 1 January 2013, starting in the Klang Valley region.
Maxis FastTap
Maxis had launched Malaysia's first
Near Field Communication (NFC) service called FastTap. It integrates
Touch 'n Go
The Touch 'n Go smart card is used by Malaysian Malaysian Expressway System, toll expressway and highway operators as the sole electronic money, electronic payment system (EPS). The credit card-sized smart card is made of plastic with Philips' M ...
, Visa Wave from
Maybank
Malayan Banking Berhad (doing business as Maybank) is a Malaysian universal bank, with key operating "home markets" of Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. According to the 2020 Brand Finance report, Maybank is Malaysia's most valuable bank b ...
and other banks as well.
Maxis eBooks
Maxis introduced its Malaysia's 3rd
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
service called Maxis ebooks (or Maxis ebook in its official website and app). The first was
eSentral
eSentral or e-Sentral is a Malaysian e-Book store for South East Asian market. It was first introduced in October 2011 by three entrepreneurs, Faiz Al-Shahab, and Syed Irfan, as a private funded initiative, and received Series A funding from a Ma ...
followed b
MPH Digital It was launched on 16 April 2012 and in launch, more than three hundred thousand books were made available in the e-book store, the web, an
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operati ...
application or through an
Android tablet running
Honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey t ...
or newer.
Maxis eKelas
''"eKelas"'' is a premier community program by Maxis to encourage continued
after-school learning for all
Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regar ...
student
A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.
In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementa ...
s and to also bring
digital learning closer to the community by providing free access and quality content to students, especially those from the
rural communities. Officially launched on the 5th of December 2016, this after-school digital learning initiative offers a fun way to learn through the provision of free access to quality educational content and engaging activities, in line with the
Malaysian school syllabus. The program focuses on three core subjects namely
Mathematics,
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
for Standard 6 to Form 5 students nationwide, bringing the learning enrichment in a fun and vibrant way content.
Maxis eKelas Usahawan
Maxis launched another digital platform called ''eKelas Usahawan.'' It is a structured
digital marketing
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development dur ...
program and platform to empower
women entrepreneurs in
rural communities to develop a stronger digital presence and help grow their business. The launch was officiated by former
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Seri
Rina Mohd Harun on 26 March 2021. The company said the response was extremely positive and seeing that the vast majority of participants were women, it decided to launch ''eKelas Usahawan'' as a dedicated women's program. The program comprises a series of digital marketing workshops with a practical and hands-on approach to equipping entrepreneurs with digital tools and skills to help them grow their respective business and expand their income opportunities.
Maxis Fibre Broadband
Officially launched on 31 March 2011, Maxis offers high speed
broadband
In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
for home and business users. The maxis fibre broadband plan for home users is called Maxis Home Fibre (formerly MaxisONE Home Fibre), as for
businesses it is known as Maxis Business Fibre (formerly MaxisONE Business Fibre). The new broadband for home and business plans offer speeds of up to 800 Mbit/s. Additionally, the fixed
IP is only available for Maxis Business Fibre plans.
Subscribers
As of the second quarter of 2020, there were 9.863 million revenue generating subscribers (RGS), 6.747 million prepaid RGS, 2.97 million postpaid RGS.
Smartphone users in the network include 87% of postpaid accounts and 81% prepaid. Its postpaid subscribers consume an average 11.2 GB a month, while prepaid users consume an average 8.2 GB a month. It has 5.2 million 4G LTE devices in the
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics ...
.
Corporate History
On 19 October 1999, Maxis introduced the
prepaid brand "Hotlink".
In 2002, Maxis acquired TimeCel, a rival mobile service provider, from TimedotCom Berhad. Prior to the purchase, Maxis offered prefix number beginning with 012, and TimeCel 017.
On 27 April 2007, an offer was made to buy out Maxis and privatise the company in preparation for expansions into the
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n,
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
n and
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
i markets. The deal was offered by
Ananda Krishnan
Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (Tamil: த. ஆனந்தகிருஷ்ணன்) (born 1 April 1938) is a Malaysian-Tamil businessman, the Chairman of Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd and founder of Yu Cai Foundation (YCF). Nicknamed A.K., he is es ...
, who pledged Maxis
RM17.46 billion (
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
5.1 billion) in exchange for all remaining shares of the company. The offer is to be formally made by
Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd, a company owned by
Krishnan, on 3 May 2007, while the
Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE; ms, Bursa Saham Kuala Lumpur) dates back to 1930 when the Singapore Stockbrokers' Association was set up as a formal organisation dealing in securities in Malaya. In 1937, it was re-registered as the Malayan S ...
suspends trading of the company's shares until 3 May.
[ ]
Under the urging of the former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak ( ms, محمد نجيب بن عبد الرزاق, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 6th prime minister of Malaysi ...
, Maxis announce that it will re-list the company in
Bursa Malaysia
Bursa Malaysia is the stock exchange of Malaysia. It is one of the largest bourses in ASEAN. It is based in Kuala Lumpur and was previously known as the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). It provides a full integration of transactions, offer ...
on 11 November 2009. The initial public offering, which constitute 30% of the company and involve its Malaysian operations, will raise at least
MYR
The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds.
Usage
Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...
11.7 billion.
In September 2013, Maxis prepaid, Hotlink launched its #Hotlink plan, which is claimed to be the first telecommunications company to offer free internet services on cellular networks, Hotlink calling it "Free Basic Internet" which offers download speeds up to 64kbit/s and which the management says is enough for checking
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read ref ...
on mobile optimised sites and also essentially eliminating data overage charges which as previously implemented at MYR 0.10/10KB.
Maxis introduced a new brand identity in 2014 that maintains essentially the same logo, but with the squiggle on the letter "''i"'' in a brighter shade of green. The
squiggle and bright green colour are used throughout the new corporate identity along with the Aaux Next font.
In August 2020, Maxis introduced a new logo set in the popular Proxima Nova font that replaces Aaux Next in the corporate
identity with its new brand purpose "Always Be Ahead" in conjunction with its 25th anniversary and the upcoming
Merdeka
''Merdeka'' is a term in Indonesian and Malay which means "independent" or "free". It is derived from the Sanskrit ''maharddhika'' (महर्द्धिक) meaning "rich, prosperous, and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had ...
celebrations in the country. The squiggle has been removed from the letter "i" and placed beside the
wordmark
__notoc__
A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...
. According to the telco, the new brand purpose signifies the intertwining of Maxis’ and Malaysia's past, present and future journeys together in this rapidly evolving
digital age. Maxis is more than just advertising and producing
brand acts, but also about acts. As such, it is also rolling out a series of initiatives to help offer assistance and fundamental skills for digital adoption and acceleration in communities across the country.
Majority Stakeholders
Maxis Communications is part of
Ananda Krishnan
Tatparanandam Ananda Krishnan (Tamil: த. ஆனந்தகிருஷ்ணன்) (born 1 April 1938) is a Malaysian-Tamil businessman, the Chairman of Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd and founder of Yu Cai Foundation (YCF). Nicknamed A.K., he is es ...
's business empire. In 1996, the company launched Malaysia's first three
satellites
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
;
MEASAT
MEASAT Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd, formerly Binariang Satellite Systems Sdn. Bhd is a Malaysian communications satellite operator, which owns and operates the MEASAT (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) and AFRICASAT spacecraft. The company provides s ...
1, 2 and 3. The fourth satellite, MEASAT 1R (now known as
MEASAT-3a
MEASAT-3a is a communications satellite which MEASAT Satellite Systems intends to operate in geosynchronous orbit at 91.5 degrees East longitude. It was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, based on the STAR-2 spacecraft platform.
History
Orbi ...
), was damaged and reconstructed for launch in June 2009.
Saudi Telecom Company
Saudi Telecommunication Company (stylized as stc) (Arabic: شركة إتصالات السعودية ) is the Saudi digital enabler of telecommunications services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and among the operators in the Middle East. The comp ...
bought a 25% stake of Maxis.
Hotlink
The most popular service offered by Maxis is the Hotlink prepaid brand which is currently subscribed by more than 6.3 million users in Malaysia. Launched in 1999, Hotlink offers
prepaid plans and calls at first followed by their Hotlink
postpaid
The postpaid mobile phone is a mobile phone for which service is provided by a prior arrangement with a mobile network operator. The user in this situation is billed after the fact according to their use of mobile services at the end of each mont ...
plans and services to the people of Malaysia. Both Hotlink prepaid and postpaid depend on the
4G and
LTE
LTE may refer to:
Science and technology
* LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a telephone and mobile broadband standard
** LTE Advanced, an enhancement
*** LTE Advanced Pro
* Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers produced by Compaq
* ...
networks of
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The mos ...
mobile telecommunications technology that provides much faster speeds compared to the
3G network. In Malaysia, 4G and LTE are used in the same manner thus calling it as
4G LTE
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a Technical standard, standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution, EDGE and UMTS/High Speed Pac ...
but different devices will display it differently. Apart from that, they also offer the IDD 132 (
International Direct Dialing) service which offers the lowest discounted calls & rates to landlines in selected countries only at a rate of 20 cents per minute and which at certain times are much cheaper for most customers than local calls. Maxis is currently embroiled in a price war with its competitors namely
Telekom Malaysia
Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is a Malaysian telecommunications company founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become the country's larg ...
,
U Mobile
U Mobile Sdn Bhd (223969-U) is a Malaysian mobile telecommunications service provider and was founded in 1998 as MiTV Networks Sdn Bhd. U Mobile is a wholly owned subsidiary of U Television Sdn Bhd, which was formerly known as U Telecom Media ...
,
Celcom
Celcom Axiata Berhad, DBA Celcom, is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom is a member of the Axiata group of companies.
Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone licen ...
and
Digi
Digi may refer to:
* Short for "digital" as in digicam, digiscale, digiscrap, digibee
* Digi Communications, a Romanian telecommunications company in Romania, Hungary, Spain and Italy
* Digi International, an American electronics manufacturer
* Dig ...
, in the prepaid SIM market which has caused their Hotlink starter pack sales to plummet.
See also
*
Maxis Tower
Maxis Tower ( ms, Menara Maxis) is a 49-storey, office skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tower serves as headquarters of Maxis Communications and Tanjong Plc Group of Companies.
Maxis Tower was developed by KL ...
*
Aircel
Aircel Ltd. was an Indian mobile network operator headquartered in Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G data services. Maxis Communications held a 74% stake and Sindya Securities and Investments held the remaining 26%. Aircel was founde ...
References
External links
*
{{FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI constituents
Companies established in 1993
1993 establishments in Malaysia
Mobile phone companies of Malaysia
Internet service providers of Malaysia
Companies based in Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian brands
Companies listed on Bursa Malaysia