Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Service a welcome boost for net users - The Star

May 13, 2008 By JADE CHAN

WHEN I was asked to try out the free Wireless@KL service in downtown Kuala Lumpur, I began planning the spots I should go to see if such service is truly up and ready.

Being initially informed that the free Internet access service was available within the KLCC vicinity, I decided to test it at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur hotel lobby.

To my disappointment, the service was not available at the hotel.

I called a representative from Packet One Networks, only to be informed that the KLCC area is yet to be optimised for full Internet connection, and that it would only be ready in a week’s time.

However, the company’s technical department personnel said that the service is presently available at Dome KLCC.

A quick test with my laptop at Suria KLCC’s fountain area yielded no free connection either, which confirmed that I would have to enter Dome.

According to a staff member at Dome KLCC, the outlet presently does not offer any free Internet access service except for Wireless@KL, and that they expected it to be up only within the next few days.

Again, I opened my laptop, and it immediately detected the Wireless@ KL network.

After logging in to the Wireless@ KL website (www.wirelesskl.com), I was able to fully utilise the free WiFi connection.

I had no problems accessing my e-mails, using sites like Facebook, Wikipedia and Google, or chatting with friends online.

The connection was similar to what I would get in the office and the speed was detected at 11.0 Mbps.

My conclusion? If the Wireless@KL service was to be fully connected and optimised, Internet users in KL with laptops at their disposals wouldn’t have to travel far just to be connected to the World Wide Web.

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