A brainchild of Smart Digital International, Sirius is generally the closest rival that the market has to Astro when it comes to satellite-based pay-TV service. However, the official launch date for Sirius has been slipping away since the first time we wrote about it more than a year ago.
At the time we published our last report about Sirius back in October 2019, Smart Digital International was preparing to launch the service in November. However, the launch eventually did not take place but that does not mean the end of the road for Sirius though.
Our recent visit to Sirius’ Facebook page and its official website has led us to several interesting updates from the company. As the story goes, we noticed that the satellite dish and decoder for Sirius have been certified by SIRIM back in January which Smart Digital International then shared on Sirius’ official website:
Just when your thought Smart Digital International’s plan is back on track, it then got derailed once again. This time, the company cited COVID-19 pandemic as the reason behind the delay since it has affected the production of Sirius’ satellite dish and decoder in Shenzhen, China.
Fast forward to 24 June, Smart Digital International has posted a set of pictures that depict the shipment of Sirius satellite dishes and decoders from China. The company still have not provided a firm launch date for Sirius at the moment but the same Facebook post from 2 June also stated that it is looking to July or August time for the soft launch of the service.
According to its official website, Smart Digital International is still offering 12-month Sirius subscription for RM 299 just like what we have reported back in October. This time around, the package also comes with free 12-month Emergency Home and Roadside Assistance provided by Allianz.
In addition to that, you can also pay for the package online as opposed to manual bank-in as per last year. Then again, we do recommend you wait until Sirius is really ready to launch to the public before considering signing up for the service though unless you are okay with the uncertain launch date.
