Malaysia Broadband News

TIME Powers HITB Security Conference with 500Mbps Internet Speeds

2012-10-05T15:02:00.001+08:00

Shah Alam, 4 October 2012 - TIME dotCom Bhd ("TIME" or "The Group") will supply Internet speeds of 500Mbps to the Hack in The Box Security Conference 2012 (HITBSecConf2012) from 8 to 11 October, allowing conference participants to seamlessly showcase the latest in online security, data and encryption techniques. The connection would be a dedicated link direct to the global internet exchanges powered by TIME's 100% Fibre Optic Network giving participants the fastest ever Internet access in Malaysia. It's first of its kind for any HITB event.

Over a thousand hackers, developers, security professionals and tech enthusiasts from across the globe are expected to descend on KL for this landmark conference. Expected to be the biggest turnout to-date, HITBSecConf2012 will commemorate ten years of hosting the best minds that have helped shape the global security landscape.

"Since this is a geekfest of the highest degree, it is only right that the geekiest data provider should provide the pipes," said TIME CEO Afzal Abdul Rahim. "500Mbps dedicated link is a crazy speed, never before seen in any conference in Malaysia, but I fully expect the participants to redline our pipes all four days."

As the official Internet connectivity sponsor, TIME will provide seamless Internet connectivity and almost unlimited scalability for the conference's unique events such as the HackWEEKDAY, a 36-hour hackathon and Capture the Flag, a virtual, 32-hour nonstop competition.

"These are the guys that make our Internet safer and also push the limits of any technology," Afzal added. "With 500Mbps to boost them in the right direction who knows what more might be achieved during these four days?"

TIME, which recently launched its 100Mbps broadband service for Malaysian homes, regularly breaks Internet speed records in the country, reflecting the stability, reliability and strength of its 100% fibre network.

source: 4-Traders

DiGi pins hopes on long-term evolution network

2012-10-05T14:58:00.002+08:00

SHAH ALAM: DiGi.com Bhd is almost ready to provide long-term evolution (LTE) speeds on its network and has already upgraded 50% of its sites across Malaysia to cope with the increased bandwidth speeds.

“We are still waiting for the final conclusion and final allocation. We are ready (on most sites) and this also involves other infrastructure upgrade.

“Part of our network modernisation was to put in place a network that is actually capable to cope with LTE type of services. So we are ready (on most sites) but there has been not (yet) any final communication to us on this matter,” DiGi chief executive officer Henrik Clausen told StarBiz in an interview.

Analysts who cover the telecommunications sector said LTE, also known as 4G, which is the next generation after 3G technology, offered higher speeds and would be the next growth driver for DiGi.com, given its appeal to the younger generation.

They added that the expected high take-up rates would compensate for the anticipated decrease in voice revenues moving forward.

Henrik said LTE could also boost the customers' adoption of smartphones and tablets as the newer devices would usually require the use of modernised networks to cope with today's technological advances.

“Moving forward, especially with LTE, data will be the main growth driver. LTE gives a better opportunity for us to serve larger screens in a more cost-effective way at price points that the customer is willing to pay,” Henrik said.

“An LTE network is an added opportunity on top of the 3G network. That is why we think that if we get the spectrum as seen in Norway (through Telenor, DiGi's parent company).

“We think that is an opportunity that we like to take and that Malaysia should take as well,” he added.

A case in point was the recent launch of Apple's iPhone 5, which is equipped with the LTE type of technology and will require an upgraded LTE network to make full use of its potential.

Henrik said DiGi was hoping to launch the LTE-ready iPhone 5 by the fourth quarter of this year.

“The launch will happen the way it used to happen with the past iPhone launches, with a very coordinated fashion across the Malaysian market with all the main three telcos,” Henrik said.

Earlier reports had stated that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had named nine companies as recipients of the 2.6GHz spectrum band, which the telcos will utilise to provide LTE services.

These companies are DiGi, Celcom Axiata Bhd, Maxis Bhd and U Mobile; and four WiMAX players: Asiaspace Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd, REDTone International Bhd and YTL Communications Bhd.

In June 2011, the regulator called for a re-submission from the players. A final decision on the award and allocation was supposed to have been announced in August 2011.

source: The Star

TM on track in retaining home broadband dominance

2012-10-05T14:54:00.002+08:00

KUCHING: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is on track in retaining its dominance in the home broadband segment in spite of intensifying competition in the arena by strategic partnerships via a few high speed broadband (HSBB) agreements with its peers.

Cheow Ming Liang, an analyst from the research arm of Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga Research) noted that the while TM believed that it still had the first-mover advantage in the short to medium term, the group’s emphasis on customer retention as its key focus in the financial year 2012 (FY12) remained unchanged.

“TM has introduced myTMRewards, where users can use the points earned to offset some of their outstanding bill amounts, a few quarters ago and intends to provide more value-added services (VAS) under its current packages instead of compromising on its subscription fees and margins.
“TM believes this is the most effective way to retain its clients given that there will be a large group of Unifi subscribers who are due to renew their two-year contracts in 2013.”

He opined that the recent partnership between Maxis Bhd (Maxis) and Astro might provide a real competition to TM’s Unifi in 2013 should the joint parties offer home broadband services at a competitive price with rich content.

While the details of the joint packages had yet to be unveiled, he believed that the price would likely be set at around RM250 per month, which would be similar to that currently being offered by Time dotCom and Astro in their joint packages.

“We believe the real battle is likely come from the IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and VAS segments rather than on broadband speed given that Maxis is riding on TM’s HSBB backhaul.
“Moving forward, TM intends to educate and create more awareness on its HyppTV to uplift its ARPU (average user per revenue). We understand that TM has allocated about RM130 million in FY12 to enrich its HyppTV content.”

In view of the reducing trend in its HSBB capital expenditure (capex) requirement, TM was targeting to lower its capex spending from RM2.6 billion in FY12 to RM2.3 billion in FY13 and to RM1.8 billion thereafter.

“We reiterate our view that TM is likely to declare another capital initiative plan in FY12 given its healthier cash flow and lower capex trend,” Cheow stated as he maintained Kenanga Research’s target price of RM6.45 per share.

source: The Borneo Post

High-speed broadband for all schools by 2014

2012-09-26T13:47:00.001+08:00

THE government's 1BestariNet project will ensure that all schools in the country have high-speed broadband connectivity to provide virtual learning for students by 2014.

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the contractor chosen for the project was a licence holder and facility and network service provider under the Multimedia and Communications Act 1998. The 1Bestarinet project was awarded to YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms) for a period of two years.

Replying to a question from Er Teck Hwa (DAP-Bakri), Wee said the contractor was also a licence holder of the rights for a cloud-based virtual learning system and has the potential and expertise in providing broadband connectivity.

He said the contractor was the owner and operator of the YES telecommunications network that provides telephone and 4G broadband services.

"Under the 1BestariNet project, all 10,019 government schools will be provided with fibre optic connection at 4 Megabytes per second (which can be upgraded to 20Mbps). Meanwhile, schools in rural and interior areas will be provided with the VSAT network with speeds of 2Mbps (which can be upgraded to 4Mbps.)"

Wee said the implementation of the 1BestariNet was based following studies from the BCG Consulting Group and monitoring of the Schoolnet project in place previously.

He said the project involved the setting up of the infrastructure for broadband connection and provision for a virtual learning system for schools and Education Ministry agencies.

Wee said the government would make considerations on the scope of the project based on public importance. In answering an additional question from Er, Wee said while schools had previously spent RM600 under the Schoolnet project, they will now only pay RM475 for the improved service.
Meanwhile, the house heard yesterday that private higher learning institutions have been found to lower their entry qualifications to attract student enrolment, for profit's sake.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the ministry was aware of such issues and were constantly monitoring such institutes.

"Some colleges have also been found to put up inaccurate information in their advertisements about the courses and facilities offered.

"Last month alone, my ministry had, together with the Malaysian Accreditation Agency (MQA), conducted spot checks on 226 colleges," he said. He was responding to a question from Datuk Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) about steps taken by the ministry in identifying colleges which provide false credentials about their courses.

source: NST

Astro, Maxis to roll out consumer packages by year-end

2012-09-18T13:10:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd and Maxis Bhd, which entered into a partnership today to provide the best of Astro TV and radio, high-speed broadband and voice to Malaysians, are to roll out their first phase consumer packages by year-end.

Under the tie-up, Maxis, the integrated communications service provider, has entered a 10-year partnership with exclusivity for Astro to be the Internet Protocol television (IPTV) content service provider for three years.

Maxis Chief Executive Officer Sandip Das said both parties are currently in the midst of developing the packages and would co-market the packages.

The packages combine Astro B.yond IPTV and Astro On-The-Go services, together with Maxis fibre Internet, mobile Internet, wireless Internet and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line services.

"A number of packages are under construction and we expect to see them in the market in another quarter or two, and both parties will jointly market the packages through all the respective distribution channels," he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

"How quickly we move into the market and tailor to consumers' requirements would be the true test," he said, adding that Maxis foresees earnings via the partnership to roll in next year.

As at end of June, Maxis Home had a total of over 57,000 customers, including 9,352 Home Fibre Internet and over 27,000 Home Wireless Internet subscribers.

Its Home Fibre Internet service is currently available across 1.3 million homes while its Wireless Internet service has 82 per cent population coverage.

Astro broadcasts over 156 channels and has a 50 per cent penetration of TV homes in Malaysia or 3.1 million customers.

Astro Chief Executive Officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan said the collaboration with Maxis gives an additional 1.3 million fibre homes passed as immediate addressable market for Astro B.yond IPTV.

"And we are estimating that one million out of the 1.3 million houses are already Astro customers," she said.

She said Astro would continue to grow its relevance for all Malaysians by continuously evolving its products and services to provide better choice,experience and value.

Last June, Maxis signed a partnership with 14 content providers to deliver Video on Demand (VOD), 3D content as well as seven Free-to-Air channels for its Maxis Home Fibre Internet customers.

source: SinChew

TIME unveils fastest home broadband

2012-09-18T12:36:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR: TIME dotCom Bhd has invested about RM100mil to create the TIME Fibre 100 megabits per second (mbps) Home Broadband, Malaysia’s fastest home broadband service.

Chief executive officer Afzal Abdul Rahim said the investment was part of the company’s capital expenditure for the past two years.

“We are raising the bar for Malaysia’s Internet speed and service through this new product, putting us at least on par with many other developed countries around the world.

“The TIME’s 100% fibre optic network will reach about 100,000 homes in the Klang Valley and Penang,” he said at the product launch.

Afzal said Malaysia was ready to adopt high-speed home broadband and this was in line with various Government initiatives to boost penetration rate among Malaysians.

On the target take-up rate, he said TIME did not have one yet because for the next three to six months, there would a lot of educational tours to promote the product.

“Maybe after the educational period, we can make a prediction,” he said.

The home broadband package, which is available from yesterday, will initially be priced at RM179 per month. — Bernama

source: The Star

1Malaysia Broadband Affordable Package To Be Made Available In Five States From Sept 16

2012-09-04T22:38:00.001+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- The 1Malaysia Broadband Affordable Package, which can be subscribed for as low as RM20 per month, will be made available in Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang from Sept 16.

Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the package was being introduced as the five states had yet to reach the national broadband penetration rate of 64 per cent.

"We hope the subscription price is given in accordance with the quality, voice clarity and other aspects contained in the telecommunication company's client's charter," he told reporters after the launch of the package here today.

He said if the package received a favourable response, it would also be introduced to other states.

The 1Malaysia Broadband Affordable Package offered for as low as RM20 per month for wireless network and as low as RM38 per month for wired network, is a part of the government's initiatives to close the digital gap among the people in the country.

The wireless network provides a minimum speed rate of 512kbps with 1GB capacity, while the wired network provides a minimum rate of 384kbps with unlimited capacity.

In his speech earlier, Rais also called on all telecommunication companies in the country to improve their broadband services, especially in the states that had yet to reach the national broadband penetration rate.

Meanwhile, Celcom Axiata Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said the cooperation between the company and the government was not only fostered in support of the ministry's mission, but also as a part of the company's corporate social responsibility to meet the demands of the people.

"The collaboration and cooperation that we have together with the ministry and the MCMC (Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission) have proved that this industry, is one of the most robust, and yet most progressive, among other industries in Malaysia," he added.

source: Bernama

P1 broadband now in Sabah, eyes 80 pct coverage in Kota Kinabalu

2012-07-18T16:39:00.001+08:00

KUCHING: Residents in Sabah now have an additional choice for broadband services with the entry of Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1), Malaysia’s first and largest 4G service provider with over 400,000 subscribers.

The company has an aggressive network deployment plan aimed at providing up to 80 per cent of household coverage in urban Kota Kinabalu in under just three months by the end of 2012.

P1 announced earlier this year that it would commit RM30 million to provide East Malaysians with 4G broadband service with phase one network deployment focused on Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, and Tawau.
P1 chief executive officer Michael Lai said, “We are truly excited to be able to serve high speed broadband services to East Malaysians.

“With our plug and play broadband services, you can do away with wires and the hassle of installation, plus it has the added advantage of being nomadic even for fixed-wireless home access.” P1 will start by offering its staple ForHome fixed-wireless broadband plan, which recently won the company the honour of being the ‘Best Home Wireless Broadband Provider’ at GoMobile Operators Awards 2012.

According to Lai, P1’s fixed-wireless broadband services provide many benefits around speed, ease-of-use and convenience.

But mostly, P1 plans are popular because of the fantastic value built in that enable more people to enjoy rich Internet media affordably.

Residents of Kota Kinabalu who are interested to find out more and experience P1 broadband service can visit P1’s first centre at Lintas Square which officially opened on July 11.

Derek Chee, P1’s channel sales director, who was at the centre opening, said that another P1 centre would soon be opened in December to serve Kota Kinabalu residents.

source: The Borneo Post

Celcom signs broadband agreements with 3 partners

2012-07-18T16:27:00.001+08:00

Malaysian mobile operator Celcom Axiata has signed an agreement with fibre companies Jalur Lebar Nasional (Jalenas), My Penang Fon (PenangFON), and Fiber at Home City Networks (Fiber@Home) to offer home high-speed broadband (HSBB) services to customers in Kuantan, Penang, and Sungai Petani. With the partners, Celcom will roll out a range of home services this year, including voice over broadband, internet data, content services from The Cube, Wi-Fi services, and enterprise services. The operator has already launched Celcom First Voice, a range of voice plans. Since early this year, Celcom has conducted friendly user trials in Kuantan and Penang with Jalenas and PenangFON to fine-tune the service prior to the commercial launch. The commercial launch is expected to be in the fourth quarter of this year. A year ago, Celcom and Telekom Malaysia signed an MOU on HSBB services. Under the memorandum, TM would provide Celcom with DSL services for its customers, fibre services for the Celcom network, and HSBB services. Celcom, in turn, would provide Telekom Malaysia with MVNO services.

source: Telecompaper.com

Touch 'n Go to introduce NFC payments

2012-07-17T17:47:00.003+08:00

Malaysian electronic payment provider Touch 'n Go has been trialling near-field communication phone payments which it will introduce to its customers in two months' time, according to local report.

Touch 'n Go CEO Abdul Karim Md Lassim said the company has been piloting NFC smartphone apps with mobile operator Maxis and bank CIMB to allow customers to use their mobile devices as a Touch 'n Go card, The Sun Daily reported Monday.

Touch 'n Go is Malaysia's contactless payment card used for public transport payments in the capital Kuala Lumpur and for highway toll payments in the peninsula Malaysia. It is also accepted as a payment mode at some restaurants, fast food outlets and movie theaters.

Not including the investment by Maxis and CIMB, Abdul Karim said the company invested over half a million ringgit (US$156,076) to develop the NFC services.

The CEO said it also plans to offer the service with other telecommunication companies as well after six months.

source: ZDNet

Maxis and Redtone in Malaysian 4G rollout deal

2012-07-16T17:19:00.000+08:00

Malaysian mobile network operator Maxis Berhad and broadband service provider Redtone International have entered into an agreement to share infrastructure and spectrum in the country. The deal will allow the companies to fast track their rollout of 4G networks throughout Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur-based Maxis said in a release.

The companies are looking to launch their 4G LTE services early in 2013 in selected areas of the Klang Valley, with other regions to follow closely thereafter. The partnership is in line with the government’s call for telecom companies to reduce duplication of network assets, allowing operators to deliver better services.

Selangor-based Redtone is anticipated to introduce its mobile broadband services and products operating on the shared network next year. This will provide an additional source of revenue to the group.

Maxis CEO, Sandip Das said: “We have been at the forefront of promoting networks to be shared as we have recently commissioned active network sharing on 3G with U Mobile. Data networks are onerous and have to be built carefully. The demand for data is not disputed, but the inflection point is some time away. Sharing will get REDtone up and running quickly and also fetch adequate returns on our investments, besides conserving spends at a national industry level. We are looking to set a new benchmark in data service quality as this will help us design a more effective infrastructure.”

Redtone, managing director, Dato’ Wei Chuan Beng, added: “The network sharing and alliance agreement with Maxis is a significant development for Redtone as we build on our broadband business. It will help to address Redtone’s rollout obligation to cover 50% of the country’s population. For Redtone to comply with the 50% rollout requirement, our capex would have been 390 million Malaysian ringgits ($120.4 million) as is stated in our detailed business plan (DBP). However, this has been mostly replaced by riding on Maxis’ existing infrastructure and leasing the necessary capacity from Maxis.”

Maxis has invested 3.7 billion Malaysian ringgits ($1.1 billion) in capital expenditure in the past three years covering 95% of the population with 2G and 81% with 3G.

source: gtb

Telekom Malaysia close to completing its nationwide fibre broadband network , says CTIO Giorgio Migliarina

2012-07-10T17:33:00.001+08:00

Malaysia wants a national broadband network to rival those of its Asian rivals. The incumbent fixed-line operator, Telekom Malaysia, plans to finish the first phase by the end of 2012, CTO Giorgio Migliarina tells Alan Burkitt-Gray.

Malaysia is ambitious: it wants to rival its south-east Asian neighbours in building a knowledge economy to boost the standard of living of its citizens. It has looked around and seen countries such as Japan, Singapore and South Korea where the level of internet penetration is high. They have already become knowledge economies.

“Malaysia sees that there is a connection between the competitiveness of a country and its information and communications technology,” says Giorgio Migliarina, the chief technology and information officer of Telekom Malaysia, the incumbent operator.

The company is most of the way through a national broadband project that is bringing up to 20 megabits a second through fibre to millions of homes. By the end of 2012, most of the homes in the most densely populated part of the country will be able to connect to fibre.

Unlike the national broadband projects in Australia and other countries, most of the funding has come from Telekom Malaysia itself. Under an agreement with the government, other operators can use TM’s fibre via wholesale deals.

Before going ahead with the project, the government looked at models from around the world. They vary, says Migliarina, from the non-interventionist highly competitive and unbundled US model and the European strategy of promoting competition but requiring incumbents to unbundle their local loops at one extreme, to the “much more interventionist” policy in Asia, “where governments are willing to invest or co-invest”, he says.

Migliarina, who has worked at Telekom Malaysia for more than three years after beginning his career at Olivetti and Italian broadband operator Infostrada, points to the significant government investment in networks in Japan and Korea. “Governments see that their countries will develop faster if they have much better infrastructure.”

The government of Malaysia decided to restrict its contribution to broadband investment to 20%, says Migliarina, with TM contributing the other 80%.

There is a practical difference, he notes. “In Asia, governments pay to ensure coverage.” But in Malaysia, the self-funded approach means that coverage is focused on areas that will produce higher returns.

“If you want to cover the whole of the country you will need much higher investment from the government,” he adds. “We have sophisticated coverage in urban areas. There is no difference between Kuala Lumpur and London in terms of the needs of customers.” But much of Malaysia is rural, even jungle, “and reaching there with high-speed broadband would be disproportionately expensive”, says Migliarina.

The population of Malaysia, a constitutional monarchy, is almost 30 million, and around two thirds live on the Malayan peninsula — the stretch of land that runs south of Thailand and ends with the independent republic of Singapore at the tip. The rest are scattered around Malaysia’s territory on the island of Borneo, including Sarawak and Sabah.

High income knowledge economy

In September 2008 the nation as a whole formulated a strategy to become a high income knowledge economy by 2020, and TM is seeking to play its part in that national policy by helping to develop broadband rollout.

Within 18 months of the strategy being set — and including a nine-month period for tendering — TM set about its fibre-to-the-home project. There were three sides to the investment plan, says Migliarina: the FTTH, the core network including international connectivity, and a completely new set of IT systems, covering a range of functions from billing and customer relationship management to fault management and installation.

The third part of the project used Oracle software, used by the systems integrator to build a triple-play system in nine months.

Meanwhile “we went ahead with the rest of the plans — and we achieved them to cost and to time”, says Migliarina.

Fibre is now available to two million homes in Malaysia, and 300,000 of TM’s customers have already subscribed.

“The initial phase has been assured. By the end of this year we will achieve most of the coverage that we want to have. Meanwhile we are just continuing on the process of adding features into the IT systems — and adding customers.”

The successful completion of this phase means, says Migliarina, “that Malaysia is one of the three fastest countries to roll out fibre”. He says the company won independent certification from BT “that our architecture is the most cost effective that they found. They carried out a technological audit.”

Most of the hardware is dual-sourced. “We took a multi-vendor approach for most of the network layers,” says Migliarina, who is reluctant to pick out any names. “It’s a Who’s Who of vendors.”

The IT was approached differently, with Oracle responsible for providing most of the software. “Over time Oracle has become one of the most important strategy partners in IT. They’ve done a good job.”

The first three-year main phase of this public-private partnership will be complete by the end of 2012. By the end of this part of the project there will be 1.3 million ports. “We don’t really talk about homes covered,” says Migliarina. “We talk about ports installed.” The current number is 1.2 million, “so we are already close to completion.”

Core network investment

The investment will continue beyond 2012, focusing on international connections and the core network, rather than the access network. “We’ve built the access part of the project. We will continue to work on our international connectivity and our core network to address the capacity.”

Because the project is being carried out with the backing of the Malaysian government, the architecture is designed “to include the needs of other operators to access the network on a wholesale basis”, he says. “Our main approach is a bitstream strategy rather than a full physical unbundling,” says Migliarina.

As a result, other operators in Malaysia have signed agreements with the company “and are selling their own versions of high-speed broadband”. These include the four of the other operators in the country, Maxis, Axiata’s Celcom, P1 — a WiMax operator — and Redtone. Axiata is the former TM International, demerged from the TM group in early 2008.

There are inevitable comparisons with Australia’s National Broadband Network, a hugely expensive government-funded project to build fibre to most homes in the country, replacing Telstra and other operators’ fixed connections.

“We have a simpler structure than the Australian project,” says Migliarina. “TM is the main fixed line operator in the country.” So it runs the broadband network and allows other operators to use it. Australia’s NBN is a carrier-neutral operation that is legally and structurally separate from Telstra, Optus and the others.
“That approach has enabled us to achieve a fast rollout,” Migliarina says. “And it is more cost-effective for Malaysia, which is a middle-sized country.” With proper scrutiny from the regulator, the solution of allowing the incumbent to build the national broadband network is more efficient, he says.

Copper assets

The three-year project will make broadband available to two million of Malaysia’s six million households. “Yes, four million will not be covered, but for them copper is still a good offer,” says Migliarina. Over the next few years, “technologies will allow us to sweat the assets”, he adds. “For example, vectoring will allow faster and more reliable bandwidth over copper.”

There are still many customers using copper in the area of the country covered by the new fibre network. TM will not be forcing them to move to fibre, says Migliarina. “Forced migration is too expensive. Look at Japan, where NTT still has copper after many years of fibre rollout.”

There are synergies in retaining separate fibre and copper networks, he believes, if the process is managed well.

Meanwhile the core network is being migrated from asynchronous transfer mode to internet protocol, matching a trend in the rest of the world. “We’re phasing out our ATM frame relay platforms.”

At the same time there is a gradual process to move all the IT systems over. The Oracle suite operation runs the fibre-based network, “but the copper network has old legacy systems that we are phasing out and transferring to the new stack.” This is “a great lesson for other operators” for migrating from old IT to new, says Migliarina.

What problems has TM experienced, or was it all smooth? “We paid a lot of attention to other operators’ and vendors’ experience and we tried to learn from their experience and not to make the same mistakes.”
There were some “small hiccups”, he admits. Some part of the outside network were affected by Malaysia’s extreme weather. “We had to change the design of some of the outside drop points, because when it rains it rains very hard, and it rains every day. Rubber joints were not enough to keep the water out. You only discover that when you are rolling the network out. But that was less than one-tenth of the network, so it was manageable,” he says.

“We learned to avoid underground drop points because the ducts would fill up with water. It’s very difficult to troubleshoot a manhole that’s full of water.” So underground connection points were avoided where possible, and cabinets were mounted on 20-30 centimetre plinths to keep them well clear of water.
But, glitches aside, the investment has seen Telekom Malaysia build a significant national broadband network for its customers and those of its rivals.

source: GTB

TIME dotCom, Facebook And Others Invest In Massive Undersea Internet Cable Project

2012-07-10T17:28:00.001+08:00

The Internet has been said to be just one big series of tubes. Accurate? In fact, yes, it is. But data doesn't just flow around the globe without a medium to travel through, and most users take the undersea cabling necessary to make it happen for granted. Now, thanks to a little company called Facebook, we're hearing a bit more about it. This week, TIME dotCom (out of Malaysia) has entered into a construction and maintenance agreement of the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) submarine cable system connecting Malaysia to Korea and Japan. The APG is a 10,000 km international fibre optic cable system that will link Malaysia to Korea and Japan with seven branches to other Asian countries. The cable system is scheduled to be ready in quarter three of 2014.

TIME is leading up the process, but Facebook as well as a few others are joining in by combining $450 million to the cause. APG is geographically well spread to bridge international capacity hubs such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Korea as well as connecting emerging markets such as Vietnam and China where demand for capacity is multiplying yearly. Saiful Husni, CEO of Global Transit, explaining the need nicely:

"An advantage is that we have a global network system landing directly into Malaysia. This lowers our dependencies on Singapore as the main gateway for Internet traffic. We can now channel high volumes of this traffic on our network with the lowest latency, directly to the US.
"Given that the APG will be the most advanced Intra-Asia cable system between with landing points in strategic locations, we can be the most competitive bandwidth provider in the region. The Group will now be able to provide the complete Internet connectivity route on its own assets from Asia all the way to the United States."
By adopting a 40 giga-bit-per second (Gbps) optical transmission technology, the total design capacity of APG is at 54.8 Tera-bits per second. APG is design protected for 100 Gbps technology upgrades to meet dynamic traffic requirements in the future, giving TIME an opportunity to increase its capacity allocation as and when the needs arise.

And considering just how fast Facebook is blowing up, we're sure that need will arise sooner rather than later.

source: Hot Hardware

Malaysia's Maxis inks 14 IPTV content deals

2012-07-02T09:58:00.003+08:00

IPTV continues to percolate in Malaysia, where multiple companies are launching--or have launched--services to chase a lucrative audience of subscribers and a government that wants to see it happen.

The latest news is that Maxis Bhd has signed partnerships with 14 content providers to deliver on-demand movies and series in both high definition and 3D along with seven free-to-air channels.

The new partners include Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Media Prima Bhd, Brilliant Pictures, Vision Plus Entertainment Sdn Bhd, Travel Channel International Limited and All Asia Multimedia Networks. The service is expected to launch for all Maxis Home Fiber Internet subscribers and 1.2 million high-speed broadband subscribers.

The signings show that Maxis is "playing an active role in supporting the government's initiative to advance the Malaysian creative content industry," Maxis Chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said at the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, according to The Business Times.

That ceremony also contained evidence of the government's interest as Information Communication and Culture Deputy Minister Datuk Joseph Salam Gandum, attended for Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and offered his congratulations via a keynoted address where he noted that "the industry has developed to a strong position where demand for local content is now bringing significant revenue to many local animation and film producers, with 'exportable quality' content worldwide."

source: FierceIPTV

Malaysian broadband provider Vasseti eyes IPTV launch

2012-07-02T09:54:00.002+08:00

Asia is the world's IPTV hotbed, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that Malaysian high-speed broadband service provider Vasseti Datatech Bhd (VDT) hopes to launch IPTV service by the third quarter of this year.

A senior company executive who told The Malaysian Reserve that the company "plans to provide a few hundred television channels to take advantage of its fiber optic network across the country (and is) in talks with a few content providers oversea to acquire the content."

VDT is reportedly beta testing its IPTV content and sourcing television content and would start a service by offering movies, dramas, serials, musicals and other genres for "retail consumers," the source said. If all goes well, it would like to have 20,000 or more retail customers online using both broadband and IPTV services.

Since it is estimated that about 99 percent of Peninsular Malaysian households have televisions, there's certainly an available audience. VDT itself claims to have 100 buildings passed (a more substantial milestone marker than homes) in the Klang Valley, 30 percent of which are residential.

If the launch happens, VDT will be playing in a crowded market with incumbents Astro All Asian, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Maxis Bhd and REDtone International Bhd. Astro Al Asian Network reportedly commands the top position for local pay-TV with about 3 million subscribers, followed by TM (365,000) and REDtone (5,000). Maxis, like VDT, is in a pre-launch mode.

Still, if the totals of a 19 million television household universe in the Peninsula alone are accurate, there's still a lot of room to get in and acquire subs.

"We believe that the local IPTV market is big enough to sustain multiple players. There is so much potential in triple play in this country," VDT's senior executive told the newspaper.

Besides wiring customers, VDT is also said to be eyeing a "hotspot" strategy for its IPTV and other broadband services, although those details are bit hazier.

"We want to create a hotspot in every single major metropolitan area … for free to all our customers," the source said, declining to disclose when this might happen. "Nevertheless, we are confident this can be done soon."

source: FierceIPTV

Celcom Axiata to provide Wi-Fi in express bus services

2012-07-02T09:50:00.001+08:00

Malaysian mobile operator Celcom Axiata has signed a deal that will provide Transnasional Express, a member of Konsortium Transnasional (KTB), the express bus services in the country, with Wi-Fi service across its entire fleet of express buses throughout Semenanjung Malaysia. This collaboration is between Sinar Aki, the systems and hardware integrator for Transnasional Express, and Celcom Axiata, who will be the exclusive partner for network services, hardware services, managed services and digital content for the project. Named ’57 coach-mate’, the project will currently see Sinar Aki initially installing Celcom’s Wi-Fi service on-board 50 Transnasional express buses via 3G Sim Bonding, accessed via 850 mobile tablet units with Celcom digital content available for rental to passengers on selected routes.

It is planned to have Sinar Aki install up to 7,200 tablets to cover the entire network of 500 Transnasional buses by year-end. Under the project, 33 and 41-seater Transnasional express buses will be equipped with twelve tablets per bus, while the 69-seater Transnasional Skyview buses will initially have twenty tablets installed per bus. The number of tablets will be increased in the future to a maximum of 21,600 tablets to accommodate demand if needed. Tablet rental will be made available to more than 200 Transnasional routes in phases from next month, and will be priced from MYR 10 per passenger but with a launch promotional price from MYR 4 per passenger. The first phase will see the project implemented on routes to most cities in the Southern region. Celcom is currently exploring to expand its network services and accessibility within KTB’s infrastructure through the installation of Wi-Fi in KTB’s passenger lounges and implementation of Fleet Management Services through Sinar Aki.

source: telecompaper.com

OCK to buy mobile telco towers, lease back to players

2012-06-11T12:20:00.002+08:00

SUBANG JAYA (June 11, 2012): OCK Group Bhd, a leading telecommunications network service provider by revenue, is in talks with local telecom operators including Celcom Axiata Bhd and Maxis Bhd, to acquire their mobile-transmission towers and lease them back to multiple telecoms operators, as part of its plan to grow its recurring income.

"We are negotiating with several telecom operators such as Celcom, Maxis, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd and Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to build our own towers as well as to acquire existing towers from them, and then lease back space on the towers to them," its co-founder and group CEO Sam Ooi Chin Khoon told SunBiz in an interview on Friday.

Ooi, 44, estimates that each mobile tower site would cost between RM250,000 and RM300,000 to build or acquire, but declined to reveal the number of towers it plans to have a year.

OCK, which has submitted a draft IPO prospectus to list on the Ace Market of Bursa Malaysia, plans to use part of the proceeds for this purpose. OCK is 60% owned by Aliran Armada Sdn Bhd, in which Ooi holds a 40% stake.

Ooi said OCK intends to make tower-sharing or infrastructure management activity one of its core businesses from this year after having been granted a network facility provider licence by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission in 2011.

"This is in line with the global trend. Mobile tower-sharing is the norm in developed markets such as the US, Indonesia and some parts of Europe," said Ooi.

In Malaysia, tower sharing is beginning to take off with three to four companies now offering the service to telecom operators.

"Mobile-phone operators here typically still own the towers used to broadcast signals, but some are looking to sell these assets as they increasingly look to save on costs associated with the running and maintenance of tower infrastructure and rental.

"Additionally, operators can save on capital expenditure and operational expenditure by sharing towers and can roll out their networks quickly," said Ooi.

Network planning, design and optimisation services generated 60% of OCK's revenue of RM88 million last year, with the rest from trading of telecom network equipment and materials.

Ooi does not discount the possibility of its recurring income businesses such as infrastructure management and network maintenance surpassing that of its task-based businesses like network planning, design and optimisation in revenue contribution in the near future.

OCK has seen its revenue grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 25-30% over the last three years from RM40 million in 2009 and RM67 million last year. It expects its revenue to grow 30% this year.

Ooi said the local telecom industry continues to present tremendous growth potential to telecom network service providers like OCK as networks continue to evolve from third-generation (3G) services to 4G Long Term Evolution network.

"We (Malaysia) started to deploy the 3G network four years ago. Today, the 3G nationwide coverage is 60-70%.

"It takes three to four years to fully deploy a new technology. Thus, before we complete 100% of 3G nationwide coverage by end-2013, the government is likely to announce plans to provide 4G mobile coverage and this will result in another wave of deployment," he added.

This bodes well for OCK as it ensures a steady flow of jobs over the next few years.

source: The Sun Daily

Singapore LTE Network review by CNet

2012-06-07T14:35:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Singapore operator SingTel launched its commercial LTE (Long Term Evolution) plans for mobile phones. The company's earlier LTE services were data-only plans, meant for use with USB dongles on laptops. With the latest announcement, its LTE network will likely see much higher uptake as many users access the Internet on their smartphones in Singapore. The operator is offering three LTE phones to complement the new LTE plans. They are the HTC One XL, LG Optimus True HD LTE and Samsung Galaxy SII LTE.

As its name suggests, LTE is an evolution of 3G, and has a theoretical top speed of 75Mbps, up from the 21Mbps offered by HSPA (3.5G). It is also known as 4G in many places, though the term has been used to market HSPA+ (a faster HSPA that maxes out at 42Mbps) in the US. As with all wireless technologies, real-world speeds are much lower. We tried SingTel's LTE plan with the HTC One XL to get a feel of how much faster it is compared with HSPA on an HTC One X.

Speedtest.net
The Speedtest.net app is one of the easiest ways to test your network speed. It is available as an app for Android and iOS, letting you connect to various servers round the world, assessing your latency, download and upload speeds. For this test, we connected to a server hosted by SingTel.

The LTE-based HTC One XL (right) finished this test much faster than the HSPA-based One X.

(Credit: Fazli Zainudin/CNET Asia)

Using LTE, we got a download speed of 59.1Mbps on the One XL, while the HSPA-enabled One X got about 7.7Mbps. The difference in upload speed was most striking with the 4G handset hitting 36.5Mbps compared with the 1.1Mbps on the 3.5G device.

File download from Dropbox
Storing and sharing files on the cloud is quite common these days and one of the most popular services is Dropbox. We put a 54MB video file in our account and downloaded it on the test phones.

When the LTE-equipped phone (right) was almost done, the download on the One X was still only 32 percent complete.

(Credit: Fazli Zainudin/CNET Asia)

As you can see from the image, by the time the 4G phone completed the download, the 3.5G phone was only about a third done. The total times taken by the two devices are shown in the table below.

Dropbox download of 54MB (shorter is better)
HTC One XL (LTE) 1m 34s

HTC One X (HSPA) 4m 23s

File upload to SingTel's cloud service
For this part, we were unable to complete the 3.5G portion as we had limited time to perform the tests--it would have taken too long to upload the 54MB file using HSPA. Using LTE, we uploaded that same 54MB file mentioned earlier to SingTel's Store and Share server in just 12.5s.

The key takeaway from this test is that if you want optimum speeds from your cloud service, pick one that stores its files in the country you live in. Better still, choose a service offered by your operator as it would probably be optimized for its users. Although Dropbox offers a better interface and is more convenient for sharing (because of its ubiquity), it would be unable to achieve such speeds as it's hosted overseas.

App download from Google Play
Downloading and installing apps is a common task most smartphone users will perform. For this test, we downloaded a free game, Frontline Commando, from the Google Play app store.

With an LTE plan, downloading a large game such as this 124MB one won't take very long.

(Credit: Fazli Zainudin/CNET Asia)

The 124MB file was fully downloaded on the HTC One XL when it was only 19 percent done on the One X. Hosted by Google, the download took very little time to complete as shown by the table below.

Google Play download of 124MB (shorter is better)
HTC One XL (LTE) 36s

HTC One X (HSPA) 152s

Is it really that fast?
If you are getting an LTE plan from SingTel today, yes, we think you may be able to achieve those speeds we got. But it won't last long. Once more subscribers get in on the act, the data transfer speeds will naturally slow down. In fact, SingTel is advertising real-world speeds of between 3.4Mbps and 12Mbps download speeds when more customers are on board. Considering the operator promises a typical speed of 1.7 to 4.8Mbps for its HSPA plans, the advertised LTE speed is still a big leap.

As mentioned in our upload test section, a factor to consider is location. Local services with local servers will almost always give you better speeds compared with those overseas.

The network quality at your location plays a big part, too. If you are at a place with bad reception such as underground tunnels or inside a building, data speeds can be sluggish, no matter which plan you subscribe.

MyBroadbandNews thought: Can't wait LTE network to be ready in Malaysia

source: CNet Asia

Celcom says its entire network is now LTE-ready

2012-06-07T12:59:00.001+08:00

Malaysia’s second largest cellco by subscribers, Celcom Axiata, has said that its entire infrastructure is now ready to offer Long Term Evolution (LTE) services, with the operator noting that it is now awaiting the government’s issuing of a licence allowing it to offer the 4G technology commercially. According to the Star Online, Celcom CEO Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly has said that the company is hopeful that the state will hand out such concessions before the end of 2012, and highlighting the status of the cellco’s network, the executive was cited as saying: ‘We are the first (operator) to move into single RAN (radio access network). Single RAN means the network runs 2G, 3G and LTE all in one (infrastructure); it is 3-in-1 whereas our competitors have different RANs for different technology, one for 2G, another for 3G.’

Celcom is understood to have spent approximately MYR800 million (USD250 million) on upgrading its network to single RAN status, and Mr Shazalli has said that the operator expects to stick to its previously announced capital expenditure budget of MYR1 billion in 2012. The bulk of the investment is to be spent on further network upgrades, coupled with an information technology transformation programme.

source: Telegeography

Malaysia held up as NBN king

2012-05-18T14:40:00.000+08:00

Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull used Malaysia as an example of how Australia should be treating broadband in a speech yesterday, after Informa Telecoms and Media (T&M) released statistics showing that Malaysia's roll-out is trumping others in the region.

Turnbull used his speech at the Broadband World Forum in Malaysia to examine Malaysia's policy, which has its government paying 30 per cent of the fibre roll-out. It is being headed by the incumbent telco player Telekom Malaysia, and will reach 20 per cent of Malaysian homes.

Turnbull pointed to the fact that despite Telekom's government support, other broadband players could still compete by entering the market, and that the country would be served by a variety of technologies, including DSL and wireless.

Informa T&M this week said its figures showed that the Malaysian network is "comfortably outpacing" other national broadband networks being deployed in the region, including Australia's.

According to Informa T&M, the joint venture between Telekom Malaysia and the government had 310,000 subscribers by the end of April and had passed over 1.2 million premises in the country. The expectation is that it will be finished on time and within cost, which is spawning interest in extending the network's reach.

In comparison, Informa T&M said Singapore has 130,000 subscribers, while Australia has 7000 and New Zealand only has 500.

"There is no doubt that Malaysia's decision to stick with the incumbent Telekom Malaysia, in deploying its next-generation broadband networks, is definitely bearing fruit at the moment," said Tony Brown, senior analyst at Informa T&Media.

"The other NBN markets in the region have deployed more complex NBN models, with new and independent entities created to build and operate their NBN networks — and that has taken a lot of time and created some significant teething problems, especially in Australia."

Turnbull agreed with Informa T&M's sentiment in his speech, bemoaning what he considers the staunching of competition by using cherry-picking laws, which prevent competitors from rolling out their own networks unless they are ready to wholesale a layer-two bitstream service. He is convinced that the prices will have to rise substantially in order for the government to recoup its investment; he also drew attention to the time it has taken the NBN Co to roll out to the premises it has.

The signing of the deal that will enable NBN Co to use Telstra's ducts, and the transfer of Telstra customers onto the NBN when the copper is decommissioned, took much longer than expected, delaying the roll-out. However, a three-year plan has recently been released, which will see the NBN roll-out speed ramped up.

"On current forecasts, the NBN is scheduled to be completed by December 2020, although we know the project is well behind schedule. By the end of next month, the NBN was forecast to have passed 152,000 houses with its fibre, but as of the end of March, only 18,200 premises had been passed with fibre. It doesn't compare well to Malaysia's HSBB roll-out, which was initiated around the same time as the NBN and is on track to have 1.3 million premises in its footprint by the end of the year," he said.

He urged people to consider the NBN debate — not as a technical debate, but rather in terms of outcome; what the country needs to do to provide super fast broadband.

In a technological-purist sense, the answer would be fibre; in an economic sense, he believes the technology would have to vary, as in Malaysia.

The Coalition has promised to do a cost-benefit analysis of the NBN when it gets into office, to see what parts of the project makes sense to continue with, but ideally the party would like to roll back the Telstra and Optus agreements and the cherry-picking laws, so that it can encourage broadband competition. It would also subsidise broadband in regional areas, instead of having a cross subsidy as with the NBN, and encourage a technology agnostic roll-out of fast broadband.

"We will meet those targets with a gradual approach, based on a mix of technologies. Whether it's fibre to the home, fibre to the cabinet, next generation mobile solutions, or, of course, upgraded cable; they all have their part to play. We need a complementary combination of solutions, introduced incrementally, and tailored to local needs," he said in Malaysia.

Yet, critics have said in the past that the basket case that the Australian telco industry has developed into, in the years after Telstra became private, can only be remedied with an NBN, enabling equal access to any provider, and, further, some say that fibre is future-proofing Australia.

Informa T&M's Brown did say that the Malaysian government's decision to not create an independent wholesale network access operator, as Australia has, could be negative in the long term.

source: ZDNet Australia

Malaysia's next-gen broadband rollout faster than Singapore's?

2012-05-18T14:21:00.002+08:00

Singapore's Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN) rollout speed is slower than Malaysia's High Speed Broadband (HSBB) network, according to London-based Informa Telecoms & Media (ITM).

Yesterday, ITM released figures highlighting how the HSBB network being built by Telekom Malaysia (TM) is outpacing other NBNs being deployed in the region, including Singapore's NGNBN as well as those being rolled out in Australia and New Zealand.

According to ITM, the HSBB had 310,000 subscribers by end-April and passed over 1.2 million premises in the country, which appears to be faster than Singapore's NGNBN which has only around 130,000 subscribers so far. The news release by ITM also clarified that although deployed to nearly 90 percent of buildings, NGNBN is still not available to the majority of households in Singapore because of delays in completing in-building wiring.

On the other hand, the HSBB deployment has been said to have gone so well in Malaysia that there is now talk of extending the network beyond its original target of 20 percent of the total homes in the country and taking it into more areas outside the Klang Valley, with "strong interest from several state governments in having the HSBB extended into their states".

In ITM's analysis, it appears that the number of homes connected and subscribers as a percentage of total population is of little significance though, as what seems to be more important is the absolute number of subscribers. It also appears to be irrelevant that Malaysia's population is more than four times that of Singapore's.

Meanwhile, network deployments in the Australian and New Zealand markets lag way behind the two regional front-runners with Australia's A$43 billion state-owned National Broadband Network having only around 7,000 subscribers while New Zealand's Ultra Fast Broadband deployment has only around 500 subscribers at present. Southeast Asians should all pause and give ourselves a pat on the back and declare national holidays for the job well done.

"There is no doubt that Malaysia's decision to stick with the incumbent, Telekom Malaysia, in deploying its next-generation broadband networks is definitely bearing fruit at the moment," says Tony Brown, Senior Analyst at ITM.

Obviously, the Malaysian government doesn't see any significant downside in not creating an independent wholesale network access operator like Singapore and Australia. On the aspect of content, the tight exclusive grip that pay-TV giant Astro has on much of the best TV programming is also probably not an issue in light of the phenomenal success they have been experiencing on subscribers and homes passed.

Who knows if the Malaysian government may one day step in to regulate exclusive content deals between programmers and pay-TV operators like how Singapore has stipulated for pay-TV retailers to allow for exclusive content to be cross-carried on their competitor’s platform? Who knows--that day may come even before Malaysia's upcoming general elections.

UPDATE: The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore has taken the effort to clarify that exclusive content deals are not banned. According to MDA, pay-TV retailers can still sign on exclusive deals for content, but they have to allow the content to be cross-carried on their competitor’s platform for the convenience of consumers. The story has been updated accordingly.

MyBroadbandNews thought: I think this is a very good start, even though Malaysia broadband speed at current stage is still considered medium low. But from this report we can see our future is definitely brighter. The potential of fiber broadband is very huge, it can go up to Gbps. Just that at current stage our country HSBB provider only offering maximum up to 20Mbps.

source: CNet Asia

Yes unveils new 4G smartphone

2012-05-02T18:19:00.000+08:00

YES has launched its latest 4G smartphone, the Eclipse, which also works with a 3G network.

The smartphone runs on the Android 2.2 operating system, and has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.1in WVGA touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera.

It can also double up as a personal WiFi hotspot and allow up to four devices to connect to the Yes 4G network.

The company also introduced its Huddle XS 4G mobile WiFi hotspot that can connect up to five devices to its 4G network and has a battery life of up to six hours. The Eclipse smartphone is available for RM1,688 and the Huddle XS for RM480.

For more information, please visit official Yes 4G Eclipse page

source: TechCentral

U Mobile Receives 2012 Frost & Sullivan Most Promising Service Provider of the Year

2012-04-16T11:29:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- U Mobile has been awarded the 2012 Frost & Sullivan Most Promising Service Provider of the Year at the 2012 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Excellence Awards held on the 12th of April at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysia Excellence Awards seek to recognize companies and individuals that have pushed the boundaries of excellence, rising above the competition and demonstrating outstanding performance in Malaysia.

The recipient of this award outranked all the other contenders and has demonstrated clear leadership in the key measurement areas of number of subscribers and subscriber growth rate, revenue, service innovation, and pricing innovation.

"U Mobile demonstrated clear leadership by being the first mobile network operator to commercially launch Malaysia's fastest mobile broadband, with speeds of up to 42 Mbps using HSPA+. In 2011, they also signed a strategic Network Sharing Agreement with Maxis, making this the first active 3G RAN sharing arrangement to be deployed in Malaysia," said Vikas Chanani, Industry Analyst for Frost & Sullivan's ICT practice.

He continued, "They had phenomenal growth in terms of number of subscribers' additions last year. One of the major success factors for high growth numbers was achieved by leveraging on their extensive channel distribution partners 7-eleven, Cosway, Singer, Giant, and Tesco to compliment traditional sales channels. 2011 was indeed a successful year for U Mobile."

The Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Excellence Awards are based on extensive market engineering tools evolved by Frost & Sullivan. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

The findings of the detailed evaluation will then be presented to a panel of independent judges comprising influential personalities and leaders in Malaysia, to decide the recipient for each category.

For more details on the 2012 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Excellence Awards log-on to http://www.malaysia-awards.com/

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages more than 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from over 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com

source: marketwatch.com

FIBER BY P1 OFFERS BEST OF BOTH WORLDS TO BUSINESSES AND CONSUMERS

2012-04-02T15:10:00.002+08:00

South-East Asia’s pioneer in 4G broadband, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”) today launched its much anticipated fiber plans; OneBiz™ Fiber for business and OnePlan™ for consumers. The plans are designed to give business customers - SOHOs, SMEs, large enterprises – and consumers the strong backbone of fiber broadband and its staple 4G on-the-go broadband. The plans are further complemented by voice calls with free bundled minutes and attractive call rates.

“We’ve packed in value that matters for businesses and consumers,” said P1 CEO Michael Lai. For the business user, our plans help raise their productivity and lower connectivity and communication costs. While our consumer plans serve those who need even more speed and bandwidth. P1 is also the only service provider today that offers the best of both worlds i.e., fiber with 4G on-the-go broadband.”

There are four plans for P1’s OneBiz™ Fiber with speeds of up to 5, 8, 15 and 30 Mbps with unlimited data quota. All of which come with 4G on-the-go broadband and up to 500 minutes of free calls. Prices start from RM199 to RM429.

OnePlan™ for consumers carries three plans with fiber speeds of up to 5Mbps with 50GB; 10Mbps with 100GB; and 20Mbps with 200GB of data quota. Bundled voice call minutes are 50, 100 and 200 minutes respectively. All plans come with 4G on-the-go broadband and prices range from RM169 to RM269.

P1’s launch of fiber services is a key milestone for the Company to become a full-fledged next generation Telco. Lai believes P1 is well positioned to eventually offer the full spectrum of connectivity and communication services to the broader consumer and business segments. He said, “We have 4G in the air and fiber on the ground. We plan to make the best use of our precious resources to provide for Malaysians’ increasingly expansive connectivity and communication needs. It will be even more exciting when we deploy 4G LTE.”

source: Packet One

Google Malaysia Announces Three New Enhancements To Google Maps

2012-03-29T14:46:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 (Bernama) -- Google Malaysia today introduced three major enhancements to Google Maps, allowing Malaysian commuters to better plan their journey and look up real time information.

The enhancements are two new layers, Traffic and Transit, as well as a Bahasa Malaysia interface. Sajith Sivanandan, Google Malaysia Country Manager said by turning on the Traffic layer on Maps, users can quickly see whether roads are congested or flowing freely based on colour coding.

"Red is for choc-a-bloc, yellow for slow moving and green for smooth flowing.

"This new layer makes it easier for drivers to plan alternative routes to their destination," he added, at a media briefing here today.

Transit provides information on travel via the Malaysian public transportation system on Google Maps. It also offers a more sustainable option for Malaysians looking to avoid traffic congestion and get around town by using public transportation.

Sajith said the data for Traffic and Transit comes from a variety of sources, including, government departments of transportation and private data providers.

-- BERNAMA

source: BERNAMA