A UniFi Experience – Completely Exposed, Uncensored!

This article was previously featured in my ECYAT section of TM’s EveryoneConnects.net. Want the very latest tech updates? Be sure to check it out

I’ve been yearning to get a UniFi connection for such a long time – 5 megabit, 10 megabit, 20 megabit… I still remember the tortoise days when I used a 14.4kbps modem. Even the entry level package of 5 mbps is easily 347 times the speed of my tortoise days. Amazing.

The long wait…
It was first a UniFi umbrella with a dude in specs sitting underneath the scorching heat in my housing area – I got super excited and immediately signed up for a 10 megabit plan thinking it would be installed the following week.

Month after month I waited… and finally 4 months later… I finally got an e-mail last week saying UniFi is finally available and YES! Installation occurs today! That made the hair on toes stand – woohoo!

This morning… February 1st 2012…

I couldn’t sleep very well… I was seriously a little over-excited so at 7:00 sharp I shot out of bed and sat around taking pictures of myself while waiting for the UniFi dude to arrive…

The dude finally arrived at 10:30am and the installation began!

First, the hole of happiness was drilled…

Out comes the fibre optic cable of joy…

It looks simple but trust me, it’s glass and super fragile – according to @starwing – just one strand is capable of carrying 2Gbit speeds – amazing!

The tool to get the cables together… see that fine needle-like thing? That’s glass…

And finally, a quick test!

I have no idea what the numbers mean but apparently anything below -30 is bad & -20 is considered perfect!

Finally, the router configuration…

And done!

February 1st 2012 – 1:33pm – I’m finally UniFied!

So how quick is a 10mbps package?
First place I went? Speedtest.net for a quick speed test…

• 6ms ping – the lower the better – the time it takes for the computer in Cyberjaya to talk back to us
• 9.78mbps download – that’s 694x faster than my tortoise internet days Hello YouTube HD lag-free world!
• 9.15mbps upload – I can finally upload loads and loads of YouTube vids with VERY little time!

Fastest Internet I’ve experienced in Malaysia!
Note that small message next to “ping”? It says my connection is faster than 94% of Malaysia!

What about International servers?
Most people do tests for servers in Malaysia – but what if you’re accessing a server in the US? I chose a REALLY far server in the New York, USA and these were the results…

• 296ms ping – considering it’s the other end of the world – this is pretty good – the average good ping to worldwide locations on the net is around 200 – 300ms
• 5.52mbps download – half the speed of 10mbps but still fast enough to stream HD and download an average mp3 file of 4MB in 5-6 seconds!
• 4.35mbps upload – similarly, upload an average mp3 in 5-6 seconds

A little closer to home – Singapore server ping!

All I can say is, very very nice

What else came with UniFi?
A Motorola DECT phone with speakerphone – unlimited FREE calls to all TM homeliness and only 10 cents a minute to cellular lines – you can talk till your toe hair falls off… literally.

The UniFi modem which also gives you your TM line

A wireless router with a special port that hooks up to your HyppTV console

Here are the default settings – suggest you change them :

• Router address – 192.168.0.1
• Username – admin
• Password – leave empty

And finally, my 2nd most favourite item after the amazing net speed – HyppTV!

HyppTV – it’s really one of the best things that come with UniFi

Every UniFi package comes with HyppTV which gives you the following…

• Really awesome Channel Selection – Over 40 channels of TV & Radio channels
• Many of them are HD channels!
• Thunder & lightning? No worries – Fibre optic is ALWAYS ON
• Instant access to Internet content (more later)
• On the spot – movie rentals!

Here’s a jist…

Some channels allow you to pause, rewind, fast forward as well!

Wanna watch the latest Hollywood movies? Rent it from your TV!

For 8 ringgit, you get to watch the whole movie in HD for 48 hours! No hassle, charged directly to your TM account.

The Interactive section gives you access to content on the Internet directly from your TV!

Oh, how about Fly FM, Hot FM and One FM in CD Quality straight from your TV!

And… it’s just my first day of owning UniFi… more to come.

How much did I pay to get started?
So here’s what I got, a UniFi modem, a FREE DECT phone with unlimited calls, a Wireless N Router, a whole new TV experience and of course, the super fast internet – and I didn’t pay a cent
There’s neither installation nor registration charge – you only pay the monthly UniFi charges depending on your plan (not sure how long this will last though).

So which plan should you get?
For many of us Malaysians who are used to a 1Mbps connection, the 5Mbps will be more than amazing. If you can splurge a bit, go for the 10Mpbs and if you REALLY want to fly, 20Mbps will rock your world.

Never thought I’d say this but today, my Internet connection is now faster than my computer

Next upgrade, VIP 20 or new desktop? Hhmmm… Strike that, I upgraded to VIP 20 7 days after this post – it’s an ADDICTION!!!

Have you got UniFi already? Leave your comments below & I’ll try to reply to all!