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40 Responses to “TM High Speed Broadband Service| HSBB | UniFi”

1. alan on March 24th, 2010 at 12:36 pm

   PM will deliver ‘good news’ at broadband launch: Rais

   KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians can expect “good news” when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak launches the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) and High Speed Broadband (HSBB) on Wednesday.

   “The Prime Minister’s announcement will make the people happy as it is a form of a general shift,” Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said on Tuesday after checking on final preparations for the launch at Dataran Merdeka.

   He said the cooperation between Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is capable of pushing telecommunications to a higher level.

   “After the launch, we expect them to strive for higher broadband quality, lower cost and a better service to change the lifestyle of Malaysians.”

   Rais said broadband Internet had become a must for the people just like roads, electricity and water supply.

   “With ICT (Information and Communication Technology), especially high-speed broadband, our lives will change as the world will become smaller as we can communicate faster and more efficiently,” he said.

   The HSBB launch will also support the 1Malaysia Concept and spur the economy, what with the impending launch of the New Economic Model (NEM) by the Prime Minister, he added.

   Rais said the Government was aware that Malaysia’s broadband costs, speed and quality of service were still behind other countries.

   fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/23/nation/20100323205816&sec=nation

2. alan on March 24th, 2010 at 12:37 pm

   Better implementation with Magic Map

   The National Broadband Initiative (NBI) incorporates various aspects of technology, service and infrastructure development at the national level right down to each district, division (mukim), town and village in Malaysia.

   On Sept 14, 2009, Magic Map was presented to the Cabinet Committee on Broadband introducing it as a strategic decision-making tool. The Magic Map was officially launched by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib on Jan 30 during the Digital Pekan event

   Magic Map is an information mapping service developed to accurately plan, monitor and coordinate the various implementation plans under the NBI as well as the overall communication and multimedia infrastructure and services in Malaysia.

   Apart from its function as a strategic decision-making tool, Magic Map – through its web-based deployment – also allows access to on-site information and on-the-field updates via mobile devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones with Internet access.

   The open standard used enables information to be viewed and presented in detail on popular applications such as Google Earth, Google Maps, Bing Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, etc.

   The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commision (MCMC) started the initiative in 2008, gathering and migrating large amounts of data from various disparate databases and systems into a single information repository.

   The data to date includes the information on infrastructure and services covering 2G, 3G, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), fixed-line telephone, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), television, radio, microwave links, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), fibre optics grid, spectrum utilisation, communication towers and structures, switching stations, earth stations and undersea cable landing stations.

   It also includes data on Malaysia’s population, parliamentary, district and division boundaries, post offices and delivery depots. It also includes details on projects under the Universal Service Provision (USP) like the Community Broadband Center (CBC), Community Broadband Library, cellular coverage expansion project Phase 1 (2003-2004), Phase 2 (2004-2007) and Phase 3 (2008 to date). Apart from that, it also covers the implementation of the High Speed Broadband (HSBB) as well as Broadband for the General Population (BBGP) in the country.

   Magic Map also ensures coordinated implementation, so mapping of supply against demand for efficient roll-out of broadband services are properly carried out.

   Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be launching the National Broadband Initiative today from 7.45pm-10pm at Dataran Merdeka.

   fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/24/focus/5917840&sec=focus

3. alan on March 24th, 2010 at 9:58 pm

   TM launches UniFi high-speed broadband

   Telekom Malaysia is introducing new three new broadband packages under its new high speed broadband (HSBB) service, which is being marketed under the brand name UniFi.

   The three new packages are 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps and come bundled with IP video (IPTV) and IP telephony. The IPTV, which features 22 channels and video-on-demand, will be delivered via a separate dedicated 8Mbps connection.

   No prices were disclosed at the launch of UniFi by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at Dataran Merdeka here today but will be announced in a separate briefing to the media tomorrow afternoon.

   The HSBB project was initiated in 2008 and will initially be available in four areas around the Klang Valley: Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar. It will be expanded to another 22 areas by June and a further 22 by December.

   To date, HSBB has completed 311,000 premises passed — meaning that they have the option to subscribe to UniFi. By 2012, TM expects to hit 1.2 million premises passed.

   The launch of UniFi is expected to intensify competition within the broadband space, which has seen the entrance of wireless broadband players like P1. YTL is also expected to launch its WiMax wireless broadband by the fourth quarter this year.

   The government is banking on the HSBB project, which is the flagship of the National Broadband Initiative (NBI), to help Malaysia catch up with advanced countries such as Japan, Korea and Singapore, which have offered high speed broadband at relatively low prices for the past several years.

   The NBI was also launched tonight with the aim of achieving 50 per cent household broadband penetration by the end of 2010.

   The HSBB project will cost RM11.3 billion, with the government co-investing RM2.4 billion.

   fr:themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/57389-tm-launches-unifi-high-speed-broadband-

4. alan on March 24th, 2010 at 10:26 pm

   TM Pledges 5 Pct Of Revenue To Further Improve Broadband Experience

   KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) — Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is committed to spend at least five per cent of its revenue this year to further improve the quality of broadband experience for customers, group chairman Datuk Halim Shafie said on Wednesday.

   He said the company spent 3.6 per cent or RM308 million of its total revenue on customer improvement initiatives last year.

   Other than high speed broadband (HSBB) service, the company is also serving more than 1.43 million customers under broadband for the general public (BBGP) via its Streamyx service.

   “While all eyes are on HSBB right now, I would like to stress that providing broadband for the BBGP is equally important to us,” he told reporters at the launch of its next generation HSBB here.

   The launch ceremony was graced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Also present was Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin and Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

   Halim said TM was on track to meet the target of connecting 750,000 houses and premises with HSBB by this year.

   He pointed out that 311,000 homes and premises have been connected with HSBB to date, thus surpassing the target of 300,000 premises by the end of this month.

   “I am positive that we will meet the target of 1.3 million premises and houses by end 2012,” he said.

   Halim said the HSBB will available in the four exchange areas of Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.

   “At the same time, we are also able to provide initial coverage to several localities within Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Iskandar Malaysia.

   “We target to extend HSBB coverage to another 22 exchange areas by July and another additional 22 by December,” he said.

   By end of the year, TM would have covered 48 exchange areas with a total of 750,000 premises passed, Halim said.

   The HSBB project involves a very large investment — RM11.3 billion over a period of 10 years. Out of this, RM2.4 billion comes from the government and RM8.9 billion from TM.

   fr:bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=485109

5. alan on March 24th, 2010 at 10:26 pm

   NBI A Major Boost To Economy, Say ICT Industry Players

   KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) — The National Broadband Initiative (NBI) will be a key driver of growth in the new economy and the availability of information communication technology such as broadband will become major contributor to the economy, said Dr. Yeah Kim Leng, Group Chief Economist of RAM Holdings Bhd.

   He pointed out that countries like United Kingdom and Australia have already invested in such initiatives.

   Malaysia is an early adaptor of such an initiative to ensure its economic growth in terms of competitiveness and innovation in the knowledge-based economy, he told Bernama, here on Wednesday.

   The NBI was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tonight.

   Yeah said while the High Speed Broadband (HSBB) initiative under the NBI is being introduced in four areas namely Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Shah Alam, Subang Jaya and Bangsar due to their high population of industries and businesses, eventually, there is a need to roll it out nationwide.

   “Once we have the basic infrastructure, there is a need for content in order to provide better services and good content,” he added.

   Yeah said the initiative will also provide vast business and job opportunities.

   He also said content providers can leverage on the facility and upgrade their services while consumers will gain from the high bandwidth services such as Internet Protocol TV (IPTV).

   Meanwhile, Symantec said with the launch of the HSBB service today by Telekom Malaysia through its partnership with the Government, broadband adoption in Malaysia is expected to accelerate.

   This will potentially allow better collaboration among businesses locally and globally, as well as improve productivity and overall quality of service on the Internet, it said in a statement here.

   Symantec also said that it was looking forward to the coming phases of Telekom Malaysia’s HSBB deployment which will reach many communities in Malaysia as its coverage expands.

   This will definitely increase the interest in ICT among Malaysians such as using technology in their daily life and at work, while providing greater access to the world wide web of knowledge, it added.

   However, it said that while HSBB brought many benefits, the increasing broadband adoption globally has also raised malicious cyberspace activities, resulting in higher risks of cyber threats to users.

   Malicious activities usually affect computers with broadband connectivity as they are equipped with large bandwidth capacities, more stable connections, fast transfer speeds, and are connected 24/7.

   These are attractive to cyber attackers because of their increased ability and capacity to mount attacks, it said.

   In view of this, it urged users to stay safe online and adopt best practices to ensure their personal information is secure, while enjoying the new experiences on HSBB.

   NetApp Malaysia meanwhile has applauded the Malaysian government for the National Broadband Initiative.

   It is a timely announcement that bodes well for the nation’s aspiration towards an innovative and high-income economy, said Mano Govindaraju, Country Manager, NetApp Malaysia.

   He said The NBI that comprises the rollout of HSBB and broadband to the general population (BBGP) will not only serve to bridge the digital divide and improve the lives of many, but also aid small medium enterprises (SMEs) and enterprises to be more competitive in an increasingly globalised marketplace.

   The introduction of the NBI will open new doors and markets for SMEs who have yet to fully embrace ICT, he said.

   The promise of an increase in bandwidth and greater broadband availability will propel cloud computing service providers to deliver a wide range of IT services via the cloud to SMEs and enterprises nationwide, he said.

   Axis Communications also commended the launch of NBI in a statement released here.

   “Axis looks forward to the roll-out of Telekom Malaysia’s HSBB nationwide network as we believe this will result in more efficient monitoring through digital network video surveillance, especially with the government’s efforts to address rising crime rates and public safety issues,” said Nafis Jasmani, Country Manager, Axis Communications, Malaysia.

   The implementation of HSBB will drive the continued technology shift from analogue to network surveillance video as more new standards and technologies like H.264 video compression, HDTV image quality and smart video surveillance features become in demand, he said.

   The deployment of HSBB will provide platforms for advanced applications, mobile wireless broadband and network services, such as wide-area wireless video calls and broadband wireless data.

   Data and mobile broadband services under the NBI will not only benefit Malaysia and its economy, but also give rise to efficient monitoring through digital network video surveillance, he said.

   He said whether network cameras or analogue cameras connected to video encoders, or an installation that employs both camera types, IP surveillance is proving to be attractive in most vertical markets Axis is strong in such as banking, retail, education, healthcare, industrial, transportations and the public sector.

   fr:bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=485108

6. alan on March 25th, 2010 at 7:46 am

   RM1bil initiative to promote high-speed broadband usage

   KUALA LUMPUR: The Govern­ment has several broadband initiatives that will benefit the public, especially underprivileged students.

   It has allocated RM1bil to provide schoolchildren from poor households with Internet-enabled netbook computers, as part of the National Broadband Initiative.

   Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the funding for the programme would be sourced from the Malaysian Communications and Multi­media Commission’s Uni­versal Service Provision Fund.

   Under the programme, a student would only have to pay RM38 a month for the netbook and Internet access. Needy students in rural areas will pay even less — RM20 a month.

   When the Prime Minister had announced the programme last year, the fee had been set at RM50 a month.

   “Telekom Malaysia helped make this reduction possible,” Najib said when launching UniFi, the telco’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) service and the National Broadband Initiative at the Dataran Merdeka here last night.

   He also said HSBB services are vital for the nation’s economic growth, competitiveness, in­­creasing investor confidence, and promoting innovative thinking.

   The Prime Minister said RM60mil would be invested to set up community broadband centres that would benefit 615,000 households in 246 locations in the country.

   “We are also setting up 138 Internet centres for the rakyat at state information department offices that will benefit 400,000 people,” he said.

   The Government will also set up 1,105 e-kiosks at community centres nationwide, at the cost of RM40mil in total.

   With the HSBB service, Malaysians will enjoy Internet surfing speeds from 5 megabits per second (Mbps) to 20Mbps. The pricing for the service will be available today on Telekom Malaysia’s website, tm.com.my.

   fr:thestar.com.my/news/nation/

7. alan on March 25th, 2010 at 7:52 am

   Faster Internet speeds mean a shorter wait

   PETALING JAYA: With high-speed broadband, the World Wide Web will no longer be the World Wide Wait to Malaysians who use the Internet.

   With websurfing speeds of at least 10 megabits per second, a typical YouTube video would load in seconds, instead of the minutes it takes now.

   Video-streaming promises to be lag free for those who like to watch movies on the Web, while video-conferencing would be a more viable communications tool for businesses.

   Imagine the savings if employees could hold discussions at a video-conference instead of having to travel across the globe for meetings.

   High-speed broadband would remove the kinks in video-streaming and Internet Protocol Tele­vision (IPTV) could take off in Malaysia.

   IPTV is basically television presented over the Internet, instead of being broadcast through the air. The benefits are the viewers can choose what they want to see and when.

   This also presents an opportunity to terrestrial and satellite TV service providers to add on IPTV. For a satellite TV service provider, IPTV would help negate one shortcoming — poor transmission during rainy weather.

   Those wanting IPTV would need a broadband-enabled personal computer to stream or download a movie from the Internet to their TVs.

   With the introduction of high-speed broadband, Malaysians can expect IPTV services to mushroom.

   Those who have made the leap to Blu-ray high-definition movies will also be able to access additional content that needs to be downloaded from the Web.

   For those who love playing video games on the Internet, high-speed broadband is a God-send; they can now play co-operatively or against fellow Malaysians from their homes and offices, as well as with fellow gamers in other parts of the world.

   Some of the more popular games are World of Warcraft, Modern Warfare 2, Command & Conquer 4 and Resident Evil 5 which are played using a PC, as well as PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

   Other benefits include smoother e-commerce activities, Internet-based health services, improved Voice-over-Internet Protocol (web-based telephone service), websites with more detailed pictures and graphics, as well as faster data downloads.

   fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/25/nation/5932045&sec=nation

8. alan on March 25th, 2010 at 7:53 am

   TM launches high-speed broadband

   KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has finally launched the highly anticipated next-generation high-speed broadband (HSBB), UniFi, since it was announced two years ago.

   The launch was officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

   TM’s UniFi HSBB packages comprise triple-play services of high-speed Internet, video (IPTV) and phone, with speeds of 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps.

   TM chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie said: “Now that UniFi has arrived, we anticipate it will be a digital lifestyle changer as well as enabler for the vast majority of our subscribers.”

   “I’m trully excited at this next phase of growth for TM where we are aiming to take our services to the next level,” he said at the launch yesterday.

   The RM11.3bil project, signed in September 2008, is a public-private partnership agreement between TM and the Government to develop next-generation HSBB infrastructure and services for the nation.

   TM is putting up RM8.9bil while the Government is co-investing RM2.4bil on an incurred claims basis based on project milestones reached by TM.

   By end-2012 – in accordance with the completion of the first phase of the national HSBB project roll-out as agreed with the Government – about 1.3 million premises will have access to the HSBB services.

   The initial areas covered by TM’s UniFi are the four exchange areas of Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.

   It will be expanded to another 22 exchange areas by June and a further 22 by year-end.

   TM has completed 311,000 premises passes, surpassing the target of 300,000 premises passes by end of the month.

   fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/25/business/5930292&sec=business

9. alan on March 25th, 2010 at 12:01 pm

   TM UniFi High Speed Broadband (HSBB) service-Pricing Update

   The full price details are as follows:

   5mbps – RM149 (60GB monthly cap)
   10mbps – RM 199 (90GB monthly cap)
   20mbps – RM249 (120GB monthly cap)

   Biz package.
   ** NO CAPPING.
   5Mb at $199,
   $599 for 10Mb
   $899 for 20Mb. NO IPTV

   —————————

   TM to announce UniFi pricing today

   TELEKOM MALAYSIA BHD [] (TM) will announce its much-anticipated pricing structure for its next-generation high-speed broadband service, “UniFi”, which was launched here last night with the promise of a “world of faster, richer and more reliable online experience”.

   The gala launch event, which was graced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, featured broadband lifestyle showcases, interactive exhibitions and a live concert for members of the public.

   In his speech, TM chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie said the pricing would be made available on TM’s website this morning.

   TM is also scheduled to hold a press conference in the afternoon to unveil the HSBB retail offerings, packages and pricing.

   “Now that UniFi, our next-generation Internet infrastructure and service has arrived for Malaysians, we anticipate it will be a digital lifestyle changer as well as enabler for the vast majority of our subscribers. I am truly excited at this next phase of growth for TM where we are aiming to take our services to the next level,” Halim said.

   TM’s UniFi high-speed broadband packages comprises triple-play services of high-speed Internet, video (IPTV), and phone, with speeds of 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps.

   TM said the IPTV service, which makes up part of the value-add bundled service, would be delivered via an 8Mbps connection exclusively and in addition to the data speeds subscribed by the customers. It added that with IPTV, customers could enjoy 22 linear channels, video-on-demand and interactive services such as games, and tourism information.

   The initial areas covered by TM’s UniFi are the four exchange areas of Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar, and will be expanded to another 22 exchange areas by June and a further 22 by December. All in by year-end, it will cover 48 exchange areas with a total of 750,000 premises passed.

   These will include key areas such as Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Iskandar Malaysia.

   As of yesterday, TM said it had completed 311,000 premises passed, surpassing the target of 300,000 premises passed by the end of March. “Premises passed” refers to the number of premises that are connected by UniFi and have the ready option to take up the service.

   By the end of 2012, TM said about 1.3 million premises would be passed nationwide.

   TM group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said: “The building of the HSBB fibre-optic infrastructure was the first of its kind in the world with regards to its scope and time-to-build.

   “Some 4,000 of our staff are involved in the project and have been working relentlessly since 18 months ago after we signed the public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with the government. This project also involved over 2,500 staff of our contractors,” he said.

   Signed in September 2008, the RM11.3 billion national HSBB project is a PPP agreement between TM and the government to develop next generation HSBB infrastructure and services. TM is putting up RM8.9 billion while the government is co-investing RM2.4 billion on an incurred claims basis based on project milestones reached by TM.

   fr:theedgemalaysia.com/business-news/162295-tm-to-announce-unifi-pricing-today.html

10. alan on March 25th, 2010 at 12:29 pm

    TM’s announcement of UniFi prices leaked onto Twitter?

    Shortly after Telekom Malaysia’s new UniFi high speed broadband service was launched last night, speculative prices for the service started to appear on the internet including social networking site twitter.

    Telekom did not disclose prices at last night’s launch but will only do so at a press conference this afternoon. However, many people could not wait and have tweeted “confirmed” prices of RM149 for the 5Mbps package, RM199 for 10Mbps and RM249 for RM20 Mbps.

    The prices for UniFi are highly anticipated as that will affect the take-up rate of the service. Reactions on twitter to the rumoured prices were mixed.

    “Confirmed prices for HSBB #UNIFI: 5mbps rm149, 10mbps rm199 abd 20Mbps rm249. Expect similar upload speed unlike HSDPA. Sweet!” read one tweet.

    “- pricey… now i’m thinking if i should sign up after the trial period..” said another social networker.

    Possible usage caps, a concept unpopular with power users but typically imposed by service providers to deter excessive file sharing of movies, were also discussed on twitter, with some claiming that the 5Mbps package will have a usage cap of 60Gb, the 10Mbps package to be capped at 80Gb and 20Mbps at 120Gb.

    “…Musnah harapan (hopes dashed)…” said one tweeter in response to possible usage caps.

    The three UniFi packages launched last night come bundled with IP video (IPTV) and IP telephony. The IPTV, which features 22 channels and video-on-demand, will be delivered via a separate dedicated 8Mbps connection.

    The HSBB project was initiated in 2008 and will initially be available in four areas around the Klang Valley: Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar. It will be expanded to another 22 areas by June and a further 22 by December.

    To date, HSBB has completed 311,000 premises passed — meaning that they have the option to subscribe to UniFi. By 2012, TM expects to hit 1.2 million premises passed.

    fr:themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/57449-tms-announcement-of-unifi-prices-leaked-onto-twitter

11. John on March 26th, 2010 at 11:04 am

    If they are rolling out new infrastructure using VDSL2, why not also offer ADSL2+ to existing customers?
    Granted the speed will be slower but still could have immediate wider reach than Unifi and faster speeds for existing Streamyx customers.

12. alan on March 28th, 2010 at 9:57 pm

    Internet users in Sibu want better service

    SIBU: The people here want Internet service providers to focus on improving their services instead of just expanding their subscriber base.

    PKR Sibu vice-president Dr Ting Chek Ming said Sibu’s Internet users had been experiencing frequent delays and congestion because of the poor service.

    Dr Ting, who is also an electronic and telecommunications engineer, said the number of subscribers was now beyond what a service provider here could handle efficiently.

    “Service providers should not only care about making money by getting as many subscribers as they can and neglect providing good and uninterrupted services to customers,” he said.

    He said the congestion was particularly bad in the last two months, causing inconvenience and frustration for users in many parts of Sibu.

    Dr Ting said in this knowledge-based society where information was vital for businessmen, the government should open up the service to more providers.

    “This vital service should not be monopolised by just one company,” he stressed.

    On another matter, Dr Ting urged the Transport Ministry to look into the fees imposed on customers by low-cost carrier, AirAsia.

    He said a service charge of RM20 to buy a ticket at AirAsia’s counters at the airport and a fee of RM5 for one way if the purchase was made using a credit card were unreasonable.

    He also urged AirAsia not to limit the hand-carried luggage to just 7kg.

    “It can limit the size of the bag but not the weight,” Dr Ting said.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/28/nation/5950766&sec=nation

13. alan on March 31st, 2010 at 8:51 am

    4G WiMAX can help Malaysia become high-income nation

    MALAYSIA’S first nationwide 4G WiMAX network has the potential to change how people work, live and communicate, according to YTL Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.

    More importantly, it (4G services) could enable businesses to be conducted more efficiently, which is in line with the Government’s New Economic Model (NEM) to transform the country into a high-income nation, he said.

    “A 10% improvement in broadband penetration increases gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3%.

    “Currently, our broadband penetration is only 25% and if we move it to 75%, we will have a 6% increase in GDP” and would create a more sustainable economy dependent on knowledge workers, he said at InvestMalaysia 2010 yesterday.

    The 4G service is being developed by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a unit of YTL.

    Yeoh said the Government was aware of the importance of enhancing broadband as it would not only help spur economic growth and development but also allow individuals to gain knowledge and various expertise that could help them achieve higher income.

    The 4G service and network is expected to be rolled out before year-end and so far, YTL has invested over RM2.5bil in the development of 4G services in the country.

    On the New Economic Model, Yeoh said the private sector was supportive of the model and was now looking forward to its execution and implementation in June.

    “The Government must have the political will to make policy changes and be consistent with the policy changes for the good of the nation and its people, despite that fact that it may hurt certain quarters in the short term,” he noted.

    The two-month grace period before the policies are implemented is to allow various industry players to have their say and possibly to iron out any issues.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/31/business/5966750&sec=business

14. alan on April 10th, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    Connectivity to speed up national growth

    IS your broadband service really as fast as advertised? In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), equivalent to our industry regulator the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), has a new tool that allows users to test the download and upload speeds of their broadband connections, which is then reported back to the FCC.

    This is for both landline-based broadband connections and those with smartphones, the iPhone and Androids. A week after FCC announced the new gadget, about 150,000 people in the United States had stories to tell how their connections were doing. The purpose of the tool and the project to consolidate the information was to educate consumers about whether they are getting the service they are paying for, and hopefully to highlight areas where advertised speeds may fall short, the FCC said.

    This is a process of transparency and a move to eliminate confusion, and since it is real time information, it is a channel for the regulator to track the services across the country.

    Broadband speed tests have been around for a long time. Back here in Malaysia, Internet speeds may not be as promised.

    And so let’s be honest. Speed, pricing and quality are the three big issues affecting our broadband industry.

    Nonethessless, we have recently moved up a few notches with the entry of high speed broadband (HSBB) services. Should we then take it that the era of short-changing users, choked networks and users suffering downtime is a thing of the past?

    Enter fast speed broadband

    A dream pipe that can carry more data, voice and images that was conceptualised a few years ago is now firmly planted in the ground. Unfortunately only a small pocket of users can access it for now. This new pipe or fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connection, which carries HSBB services, is able to deliver fast down- and uplink connectivity with data speeds from 1Megabits per second (Mbps) to 50 Mbps. In a blink of an eye you can download heavy files and even a movie!

    The landmark launch of UniFi was on March 24.

    The connectivity is via fibre-optics and that marks the beginning of the end of the copper era. The pipe opens new opportunities for new and old players, and expands revenue streams for existing players. The once-flat revenue of fixed line voice business is expected to change with fast speed broadband.

    With Malaysia trying to turn into a k-economy, the pipe is vital. The business sector gets a lift with faster connectivity and that makes Malaysia more competitive.

    In essence, this dream pipe heralds a new era of fast connectivity and a change in the broadband landscape. With that, comes a host of challenges and opportunities, which excite Telekom Malaysia Bhd group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa. For one, he can expect fixed line broadband revenues to rise and TM gets entry into new areas of business which it could have only dreamed about a decade ago.

    “This is the first time we can have triple play in this country,’’ he says. Triple play is essentially a single access subscription that provides video, voice and data.

    For him the “transformation process for TM’’ has begun. But it is not just TM. The transformation gives the country the needed push in speeds from 1-50Mbps.

    When UniFi roll-out is complete, Zamzamzairani says TM will have a single IP (Internet protocol) platform that is more efficient, capable for delivery of a variety of new services and fast speeds. UniFi is TM’s branding for its HSBB.

    Even the Government wanted a share of the pie and committed the RM2.4bil investment in UniFi. Thus far, it has put in RM990mil into the project and TM RM1.9bil.

    TM’s portion of the UniFi is RM8.9bil, bringing the total cost to RM11.3bil, where 1.3 million premises passed gets the fast access over three years ending 2011. TM says it already has 900 customers on its UniFi network.

    But let’s not forget that TM’s rival, Time dotCom Bhd (TDC) was the first to roll out FTTH in Mont Kiara weeks before UniFi was launched. It is only one area but TM’s UniFi is available in four areas – Bangsar, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam – in the Klang Valley.

    TM and TDC are not the only two players in the game. Over on the east coast, Kuantan seems to be a favourite spot for Jalur Lebar Nasional Sdn Bhd (Jalenas), which is rolling FTTH too. Jalenas claims to be the first to offer an open-access FTTH HSBB project in Putra Square. The truth is, they should not stay in Kuantan forever. They should move to the Klang Valley and other areas so that there is big time competition in the fast speed broadband sector and to give consumers a choice.

    Co-existence of fixed and wireless

    Competition exists but there is room for both mobile and fixed broadband players as the market is big enough for both even though TDC CEO Afzal Abdul Rahim is of the view that novelty of mobility is gone and essentially margins for mobile will start to come down while that of fixed broadband will rise.

    “There is clear division of what fixed and wireless can do and as fixed become more ubiquitous, wireless will become less prevalent. There will be clear distinguishing factors between the two,’’ Afzal says.

    However, DiGi.Com Bhd outgoing CEO Johan Dennelind believes that mass migration to the Internet will begin with the smartphones, that’s the first stop before people buy computers and get into the fixed business, so there is a big enough market for wireless connectivity for now. As people get used to speed, the migration to fast speed will escalate.

    “Mobile and fixed broadband should co-exist since consumers have different user behaviour,’’ Dennelind says.

    The truth is that fast speed broadband is still in its early stages in the country and only a small percentage of the population has been able to taste fast speed so smartphones are seen to be the first tool for many to the World Wide Web.

    Dennelind believes his company has got the right approach to broadband and the iPhone that it just began selling is going to increase revenue the next three years.

    Maxis Communications Bhd is also into the fixed line and wireless broadband game. Its ambition is to dislodge Celcom Axiata Bhd from the top spot in wireless broadband in a few years.

    “We are clear that we want to be the number one in broadband.’’ Maxis CEO Sandip Das said recently. The company is investing RM700mil to expand its nation-wide broadband coverage to hit nearly 80%.

    But Axiata is not going to give up without a fight.

    Axiata Group Bhd president & group CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said “for Celcom, the game is about strategising its product offering, pricing, coverage and distribution. We will continue to improve on the quality and coverage of our services, and ensure consistency. We are also working with some parties on bundling our products.’’

    The only other cellular player with a 3G spectum that can offer broadband, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, is still trying to get its direction right.

    But the game does not stop at 3G. There are four WiMAX players also offering broadband connectivity. Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd has the widest coverage of the three for now. The other three are RedTone International Bhd, Asiaspace Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Bhd. YTL aims to take the market by storm when it makes its debut with WiMAX 4G in July, but let’s wait for the time.

    To wire up Malaysia

    Going forward in the wireless and fixed broadband war, Maxis chief operating officer Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke says pricing in the short term will remain aggressive as multiple players try to gain a foothold.

    “Maxis is focused on balancing price and investment considerations in its broadband pricing strategy so that ultimately consumers enjoy high quality experiences,’’ he said. He adds that investing in network infrastructure is key and those companies with stamina and commitment to continuously invest will succeed in the medium to long term.

    There were a total of 30.3 million mobile subscribers in the country as at the end of 2009.

    Malaysia has fast speed broadband and FTTH in some areas but what is the gameplan for the rest of the nation? Surely, people in the rural areas must have the same services as those in the urban centres. This is where the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) come in and it was launched the same day when UniFi came online. The NBI plan is to use up the RM4.6bil of the universal service provision (USP) fund which has been sitting in MCMC’s coffers for a long time to wire up parts of the country.

    The NBI is in two parts – the first is HSBB, which raises speed to 10Mbps and beyond and covers high growth areas. Next is the broadband for the general population (BBGP), with speeds of less than 10Mbps.

    To implement NBI, the areas are zoned into three, depending on population densities, economic activities and existing telecoms infrastructure. Zone 1 is HSBB. Zone 2 covers urban and semi-urban areas. Zone 3 is meant for rural areas and this is where the RM4.6bil will go into, according to Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

    The MCMC has identified 462 under-served areas in the country for the roll out of telephony, broadband and cellular access. The funds have to be managed properly to avoid possible pilferage and leakages. The MCMC claims it has been transparent in its management of the USP fund.

    Rais says there is a new approach to the USP to include services provided for the disabled, women under rehabilitation and low cost residential areas and underpriviledged children.

    “It is our social responsibility to ensure that everyone, be they rich or poor, young or old, is empowered with basic telephony and Internet services in any part of the country,’’ Rais says.

    The target is to reach 50% broadband penetration by year-end; the country achieved 33.2% or 2.07 million homes by the end of last year.

    Rais says “we are on track.’’

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/10/business/6012816&sec=business

15. alan on April 10th, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    Voice, video and data convergence has finally arrived in Malaysia

    FINALLY, all that convergence is here. There will be more as technology moves along. Malaysia has finally caught on the global trend and joined a handful of countries on a platform that has been much hyped and talked about, where voice, video and data converge.

    Last month, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) made its foray into the triple play scene with its offering known as UniFi. This makes it the first “official” triple-play player in the country.

    A triple-play network is one in which voice, video and data are all provided in a single access subscription, where the house telephone provides the voice, and when connected to the computer, serves as a TV and at the same time, provides the data. In short, a three-in-one.

    Globally, telecommunication companies have been moving into triple play typically to mitigate the flat revenues from fixed-line networks and to retain customers as competition heats up.

    In 2003, the Hong Kong Broadband Network, the broadband subsidiary of Hong Kong telecoms upstart City Telecom launched its pay-TV service marking the completion of its planned triple-play strategy of offering voice, video and broadband Internet access services.

    In Singapore, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) opted for triple play in January 2007.

    TM recently signed agreements with 20 content providers to offer content for its soon-to-be launched IPTV or Internet protocol TV, which is basically TV on the Internet.

    IPTV’s strength is its ability to offer services with high availability, quality and interactivity, says TM group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa in a recent interview with StarBizWeek.

    A quick recap. UniFi’s recently unveiled packages are priced at RM149, RM199 and RM249 per month and come with high-speed broadband, IPTV, free voice calls and some other offerings.

    But because the packages cannot come “unbundled”, meaning consumers have to take what is offered without an a la carte option, some analysts have said that they are expecting limited take-up.

    But that remains to be seen.

    Meanwhile, while TM is the official incumbent, some of the other celcos are also well positioned to offer triple play services.

    For example, Maxis Communications Bhd, the country’s largest celco by subscriber base, currently offers Maxis TV via its tie- up with Astro TV. It has the makings of a triple play service provider.

    At Celcom Axiata Bhd, the potential to offer triple play is there by virtue of its link to sister company TM.

    Axiata president and CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim, commenting on triple play, says: “The jury’s still out on its potential.

    Currently, the potential is still much focused on mobile broadband. TV is not critical, but TV content via mobile 3G is,” he says.

    Newest 3G kid on the block, U Mobile Sdn Bhd which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, is another potential triple play candidate, given that Tan had once owned a TV station via his U Mobile (formerly MiTV Corp Sdn Bhd),

    YTL Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh says its subsidiary YTL Communications is on track for the rollout of its 4G services, by year-end.

    “We are beta-testing it now,” Yeoh tells StarBizWeek.

    Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd recently said it would use its newly-obtained RM50mil loan to further roll out its 4G network infrastructure nationwide

    The 4G network is broadband connection with speed of up to one gigabyte per second and will enable speedier access for downloads and so on.

    Such networks will enhance the advent of triple play services.

    TM’s Zamzamzairani says he believes “a lot more companies” can be its competitor due to the rapid changes in the broadband ecosystem and technology sphere.

    “I think a lot of people can be our competitor now … because of the convergence; the entire industry is an ecosystem,” he says.

    Analysts, meanwhile, are all-out for encouraging triple play in Malaysia.

    “The future is in triple play, the prospects of pure play providers appear limited as customers become more sophisticated and price-discerning, ” says one senior telco analyst.

    In a September 2009 industry report released by India’s Aarkstore Enterprises, a global market research provider, it is forecast that there would be 64 million IPTV subscribers by the end of 2012, an almost six-fold increase over 2007 levels, a reflection of the growing sophisticated trend globally. Zamzamzairani says the level of content in Malaysia is evolving.

    “There won’t be an end game. We’ll be bringing in more interactive content. So long as Hollywood and Bollywood still spin, we’ll add more content.

    “One of the main challenges is to make sure consumers get what we promised. Customer expectations are changing fast and they are becoming very sophisticated,” adds Zamzamzairani.

    For now, consumers should sit back, relax and wait for the competition to create a lot more offerings.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/10/business/6021983&sec=business

16. alan on April 10th, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    Broadband – new way to communicate

    BROADBAND has transformed the way we interact globally and that is no understatement.

    In Malaysia, the latest broadband take-up figures only serve to suggest that consumers are willing to embrace this technology – as soon as it is available to them, cost and quality notwithstanding.

    Based on latest data released by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), broadband services in Malaysia were first deployed in 2002 with a total of 19,000 subscribers.

    Currently, the national household broadband penetration rate stands at 33.2%, or 2.1 million household subscriptions and 680,000 business subscriptions.

    As impressive as these figures sound, in many developed countries, broadband penetration currently hovers at about 50% already.

    In fact, countries such as Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Sweden have managed to move past that penetration rate (see chart), thanks to earlier years of heavy investments in extensive land-line infrastructure.

    South Korea is one of the global leaders with over 90% broadband penetration.

    Internet access in Seoul, its capital city is affordable, averaging around US$30 per month for a 10Mpbs connection.

    With speeds of an average 10Mpbs, it take less than 10 minutes to download a two-hour high definition movie.

    To further spur the sector, the Korea Communications Commission announced recently that it would be spending US$24bil to secure 1Gbps access by 2012.

    Advanced Asian economies aside, in contrast, in high growth economies with huge population such as China and India, broadband has reached just a fraction of the population, averaging 25%.

    This mismatch or wide disparity in penetration rates puts the global broadband penetration rate at a mere 10%, according to industry reports.

    Thus, it is not surprising that many of the “laggards” are intensifying their efforts to wire themselves up to play catch up.

    Even the United States, where the penetration rate is about 60%, is stepping up its efforts.

    In a statement dated April 8, the US Federal Communications Commission announced an ambitious 2010 target agenda for implementing key recommendations of the National Broadband Plan to give every Americans “super-fast broadband” by 2020.

    In Malaysia, broadband penetration is expected to be given a boost in the near-term given the heavy promotions and more attractive deals by existing as well as new mobile/alternative broadband service providers (including TM’s high speed broadband service), increased take-up of broadband subscriptions aided by the RM500 tax relief announced under Budget 2010, and improving nationwide wireless coverage, OSK Research said in a recent note on the sector

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/10/business/6027371&sec=business

17. alan on April 30th, 2010 at 9:04 am

    Broadband penetration versus coverage, are we lost?
    Friday Reflections – BY B.K. Sidhu

    MALAYSIA is racing to meet the 50% broadband penetration rate by year-end, something it set its sights on some years ago.

    The obvious question is, can we make it?

    Certainly, as every service provider in the country is trying to come up with all kinds of promotional packages to win subscribers as no operator wants to be penalised for not helping the country achieve the 50% broadband penetration rate. This is the Government’s agenda.

    Some weeks ago there was talk that three operators did not meet last year’s penetration targets, but it is not clear if action will be taken or whether they will be penalised. I can imagine how worried the operators are.

    But whose bright idea was it in the first place to use penetration instead of coverage?

    Malaysia is probably the only country in the world that uses penetration as the rest of the world measures their broadband via coverage and that, to an industry player, was a “fundamental mistake.”

    Penetration is essentially about making a service available and ensuring enough people buy it, whereas coverage is about making a service available.

    So when operators say they are providing coverage to a particular area, that means the service is available in that place even if it means only to 10 homes and two buildings.

    Using penetration as a measurement meant that Malaysia was just trying to be over ambitious in its 50% broadband penetration plan, said an industry player. He was making comparisons with the GDP per capita of the Netherlands which is at US$39,000 while its broadband penetration rate is only 39%.

    In comparison, Malaysia’s GDP per capita is US$14,500 and we have reached 30% and are aiming for 50% by year-end.

    He claimed there was a huge disparity but obviously the Government knows what it is doing even though we have a well-distributed rural and urban population.

    And the beauty of this is that while penetration is the measurement, unfortunately the quality of service (QoS) specification is not in detail and only the speed of 256 kilobits per second is specified.

    QoS is vital if users are to know how much of data speed they are to get for the price they pay and the often over-used word of “best effort” has to be phased out.

    Talking about best effort, what is the best effort for fixed line and wireless? Does it have to be the same or different? Do we also need to create two standards or just provide greater clarity on the issue?

    These are questions raised by industry players as firstly we have a situation of using penetration as a measurement. Then we have the wireless and fixed-line QoS to contend with and, of course, whatever happens the target of 50% broadband penetration needs to be kept at all costs.

    Incidently, the regulator has posted a notice on its website for a public inquiry paper on new mandatory standards for the QoS for broadband wireless access service. Among other things, the suggestion is that throughput should be no less than 80% of the subscribed level for 95% of the time, both for uploading and downloading as measured from MyIX. Having a specific download and upload speed imposed on service providers is the way to go.

    But the crux of the matter is when we map up a strategy for the future it is vital to look at the bigger picture and use global standards to avoid misinterpretation. If we are lost along the way it will be good to learn from others and leapfrog.

    The US National Broadband Plan is a great guide for us to map our broadband policy, our QoS and others, but are we willing to learn to ensure the nation rises above others or we just content with what we are doing now? I will opt for what’s best for the nation.

    # Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu hopes for better QoS on a daily basis.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/4/30/business/6159595&sec=business

18. alan on June 4th, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Celcom Axiata to spend RM3bil on capex

    This is to further improve telecommunication infrastructure

    KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom Axiata Bhd plans to spend RM3bil from 2010 to 2012 for capital expenditure (capex) to further improve its telecommunication infrastructure.

    Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said the company would spend about RM1bil each year, mainly on information technology and network building.

    The company will spend RM870mil on information technology and network related segments this year.

    It spent RM780mil capex in 2009.

    On its first quarter ended March 31, Celcom posted a profit after tax and minority interest (patami) of RM441mil, a 24% increase from RM357mil a year ago.

    Its revenue improved 15% to RM1.7bil compared with the last corresponding period.

    “The rise of patami was due to the increase in revenue, subscribers and the implementation of our smart-spend measures,” said chief financial officer Chari TVT at a briefing yesterday.

    The company earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the first quarter increased by 16% to RM773mil compared with the same period last year.

    Moving forward, Shazalli said the company would continue expanding its coverage and capacity and substantially increase its investment in network infrastructure to meet consumers’ demand.

    “Celcom will continue its aggresive marketing strategy and introduce more innovative campaigns to the market with a segmentation-based approach,” he said.

    He said the company had planned 500 on-ground events for FIFA World Cup, adding that it planned to spend less than 4% of its quarterly revenue on advertising and promotional activities.

    On Celcom’s earnings prospect this year, he said the company aimed for double-digit growth for its patami, driven by efficient spending measures, aggresive campaigns, expansion and product offerings.

    Shazalli said the company was aspired to continue its broadband dominance through aggresive broadband offerings and services as well as focus on high-quality customer touch-point experience.

    The company retained its leading position in mobile broadband with a total of 635,000 subscribers.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/4/business/6397439&sec=business

19. alan on June 7th, 2010 at 8:10 am

    Broadband push to drive economy

    MUAR: Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wants the people to understand the positive impact and importance of broadband towards economic growth and the need to expand its use, quality and service.

    Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said Malay-sia’s penetration rate of 36.1% was far behind Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

    “The capability of a country to compete on the global stage largely depends on the use of ICT and broadband by the private sector and government,” he said after launching the Digital Pagoh-Muar 1Malaysia campaign in Pagoh yesterday.

    Based on studies in Asean countries, a 10% increase in broadband penetration could lead to a 1% increase in a country’s gross domestic product growth, he said.

    Also present was Information Communication and Culture Minis-ter Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

    “In a world that is moving forward rapidly, everything depends on speed and ability in managing communication, providing information and carrying out transactions,” Muhyiddin said.

    He added that the Digital Pagoh-Muar was the second digital district in the country after the Digital Pekan initiative launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak recently.

    Muhyiddin called on Malaysians not to oppose the construction of telecommunication towers which were meant to provide faster broadband access to homes.

    “There have been no security or health-related problems arising from having such towers in residential areas,” he said.

    He also said the Government would look into amending building laws to make broadband structural needs mandatory.

    He said up to now, some 2,143 community broadband centres had been set up throughout the country and 383 more would be built soon.

    Rais, in his speech, said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Com (MCMC) mission hoped the household penetration level in Malaysia would reach 50% by the end of the year.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/7/nation/6416177&sec=nation

20. alan on June 9th, 2010 at 10:45 am

    Making broadband affordable for low-income families

    PETALING JAYA: Low-income families across the country can now access the Internet via broadband, without putting a hole in their pockets.

    Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and the Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Ministry have launched a broadband-and-netbook package for these households.

    Called the TM Broadband Package with 1Malaysia Computer, the scheme offers a mini computer and access to the Internet at speeds of up to 384Kbps (kilobits per second) for just RM38 a month. The users must sign up for a minimum two-year subscription.

    Typically, broadband access is priced between RM90 and RM140 monthly, albeit for the much higher broadband speeds of between 512Kbps and 4Mbps (megabits per second). These packages require users to take up a minimum one-year subscription.

    To sweeten the deal for low-income families, TM is allowing them to continue paying the same low rate for broadband for as long as they like, even after the two-year contract expires.

    They can also opt for higher speeds now with an incremental fee of RM15 per month for each step up. The step ups are 384Kbps to 512Kbps to 1Mbps to 2Mbps and to 4Mbps max.

    The special deal is open to rural households that have a total monthly income of RM3,000 and below, and to urban households that earn a total of RM5,000 or less a month.

    TM is targeting villages with populations of less than 10,000 with the package. These include Federal Land Development Authority and orang asli settlements and plantations.

    Subscribers have a choice of notebooks – the 1Malaysia Computer notebook, produced by TM in collaboration with local IT company Nadi Ayu Sdn Bhd. Or a Hewlett-Packard Co netbook, but this will cost an extra RM21 a month over two years.

    The 1Malaysia machine has an Intel Atom 450 processor and 160-gigabyte hard disk while the HP has the same model chip and a 250GB hard disk.

    Both have 1GB of memory, an integrated webcam and WiFi wireless access capability. The machines will be delivered for free to any part of the country.

    Also, TM’s usual broadband installation and activation fees of RM88 and RM75 respectively, will be waived for the low-income subscribers.

    Some 1,500 subscriptions have already been taken up since the launch of the scheme on May 28, said TM.

    This latest move by TM and the ministry is part of the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) which seeks to increase broadband penetration in the country,

    The scheme for low-income households was launched by Minister of Information, Communications, Culture and Arts Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim at a ceremony in Jelebu, in Negeri Sembilan.

    fr:techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2010/6/3/it_news/20100603123324&sec=it_news

21. alan on June 15th, 2010 at 10:51 pm

    TM sees Maxis as potential user of broadband network

    Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) sees Maxis Communications Bhd as one of its potential clients for its wholesale access to the high-speed broadband (HSBB) network, which is capable of bandwidth-intensive services such as Internet protocol television (IPTV).

    It was reported that IPTV would be the next big thing Maxis planned to offer as part of its growth strategy.

    TM’s group chief executive officer, Datuk Zamzamraini Mohd Isa, said in the process, this would also see Maxis become one its competitors as TM has offered triple-play services (including IPTV), called Unifi, to be delivered over the new HSBB network.

    “It will be competition on the retail side, but then, they are also potentially one of our clients on the wholesale side,” he told Malaysian reporters on the sidelines of the CommunicAsia 2010 here today.

    The Unifi, launched in March, offered five megabits per second (Mbps) package at RM149, 10 Mbps at RM199 and the 20 Mbps at RM249 for residential clients.

    The business packages start with the five Mbps priced at RM199, 10 Mbps at RM599 and the 20 Mbps at RM899.

    Zamzamraini said to face the challenge, TM planned to widen its programming and contents for its IPTV services.

    Currently, TM offers 22 channels, a combination of lifestyle channels. They also include six local free-to-air channels — TV1, TV2, TV3, ntv7, 8tv, and TV9.

    On video-on-demand (VOD), Zamzamraini said there were a lot of contents which could be offered to the customers.

    “We are now talking with major studios to offer more VOD. We have signed up over 30 providers to date, and planned to add more,” he said.

    He said in IPTV, there was potential of providing interactivity.

    “The technology allows it. We’ve being focusing on personal computer penetration as a factor driving broadband penetration,” he said.

    Zamzamraini said TM would expand its HSBB coverage to another 18 new exchange areas by end-July, adding to the four exchanges where it already offered speed of up to 20 Mbps, for both residential and industrial zones.

    To be more competitive, he said, TM would also look into introducing volume-based pricing one year after the HSBB launch.

    TM has to-date spent RM2.3 billion on the HSBB project.

    The network rollout currently has so far reached 375,000 premises, with 3,200 for high-speed services.

    The RM11.3 billion national HSBB project is a public-private-partnership agreement between TM and the Malaysian government to develop next generation high-speed broadband infrastructure and services for the nation.

    The deal was signed in September 2008.

    fr:themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/tm-sees-maxis-as-potential-user-of-broadband-network/

22. alan on June 18th, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Scheme to help boost broadband usage

    KUALA LUMPUR: The National Broadband Awareness and Promotion Programme launched yesterday will help the Government achieve the target of 50% broadband usage by the end of the year, said Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

    The programme is carried out in collaboration between the ministry, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and local communication companies, which provide broadband services.

    Dr Rais said the roadshow would be held throughout the country very soon and the target groups were urban and rural dwellers comprising students, housewives, entrepreneurs, fishermen and farmers.

    “During the promotion, MCMC staff will give detailed information on the affordable package which can be subscribed at between RM20 and RM38 per month.

    “The Government cannot standardise the broadband subscription cost but can offer an affordable package to the public,” he told reporters after launching the National Broadband Awareness and Promotion Programme.

    Meanwhile, Dr Rais said 1.2 million rural dwellers, school and university students would receive free laptops under the 1Malaysia Computer programme beginning this month.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/18/nation/6498283&sec=nation

23. alan on June 24th, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    UniFi service disruptions due to upgrading exercise

    PETALING JAYA: Telekom Malaysia Berhad’s high-speed broadband service, UniFi, experienced downtime on Thursday from midnight to 6.00am due to a scheduled upgrade exercise.

    The areas that were affected due to the ongoing upgrade exercise were Bangsar, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam.

    TM said in a statement that was in the process of upgrading its HSBB network to a new platform to improve network performance and service quality.

    The company used its Twitter account to announce the service disruption on June 17.

    An announcement was also posted on the company’s website (bit.ly/9MT5up) on June 22 notifying users of its scheduled upgrading exercise.

    The next service upgrade will take place on July 1 for Bangsar, and July 7 for Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam.

    The upgrade exercise will take place between midnight and 6.00am on those dates.

    For more information, users can contact TM UniFi Centre at 1-300-88-1221

    FR:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/24/nation/20100624141233&sec=nation

24. alan on July 2nd, 2010 at 9:02 am

    YTL Comms to extend 4G campus network
    By ZAZALI MUSA

    20 public universities will be covered by year-end

    JOHOR BARU: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms), the telecommunications arm of YTL Corp Bhd, will extend its 4G campus-wide network to other public universities nationwide by the year-end.

    YTL Comms executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said that by then more than 400,000 students in 20 public universities would benefit from the high-speed wireless broadband connectivity.

    The 4G campus-wide network is a high-performance, high-capacity wireless network that is optimised for dense mobile broadband access with voice services.

    Yeoh said the 4G campus-wide network coverage was part of the company’s RM2.5bil investment in its 4G network infrastructure to reach at least 65% of the populated areas nationwide.

    “After the public universities, we are extending the coverage to selected private universities and later to other parts of the country,” he said.

    Yeoh was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MoA) between YTL Comms and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

    YTL Comms executive director Yasmin Mahmood signed on behalf of the company while UTM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Zaini Ujang represented the university. Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim witnessed the event.

    Yeoh said the MoA was the first initiative headed by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service – offering data, voice and mobility – to all public universities in the country.

    He said the extension of the 4G campus-wide network coverage to universities would allow students to access the Intranet and Internet anytime, anywhere within their campuses.

    “We are confident that when our nationwide 4G network is rolled out by the fourth quarter of the year, the target of achieving 50% broadband penetration rate under the National Broadband Initiative will have been brought closer to reality,” Yeoh said.

    Under the MoA, the company will at its own cost design, build, operate and manage a 4G campus-wide network for the provision of data and voice services within UTM’s campus in Skudai.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/2/business/6590159&sec=business

25. alan on July 3rd, 2010 at 6:37 pm

    TM sets UniFi connection target for premises

    KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) expects 6% to 8% of the 750,000 premises to be connected to UniFi by year-end to become subscribers, said HSBB programme manager Ahmad Azhar Yahya.

    During the press conference for UniFi July Rollout yesterday, Ahmad said the subscribers growth would be gradual and supported by its wider UniFi coverage as well as bigger service platform.

    “We have close to 5,000 subscribers from residential and business customers now. The subscribers will begin to pay their monthly subscription fees this month,” he said, adding that previously, Unifi subscribers were not charged with subscription fees.

    However, he declined to comment on the expected contribution from the UniFi service to the company’s revenue this year.

    He said the company was developing a portal for consumer to subscribe for the service online, which was expected to be available by the end of the month.

    The company added 18 new UniFi coverage yesterday from four initial areas – Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bangsar, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam – it launched in March.

    The new areas include industrial sites such as Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah, Bayan Baru in Penang, Senai and Permas in Johor, Wangsa Maju, Sungai Buloh, Puchong and Cyberjaya. It was on track to have a total of 48 sites, mainly in the Klang Valley by year-end.

    “UniFi service rollout has now reached more than 375,000 premises passes with the 18 new areas, “ he said, adding that the company was expected to reach 750,000 premises passed by year-end and 1.3 million end-2012.

    “We plan to spend RM2bil for HSBB project this year,” he said.

    Signed in September 2008, the RM11.3bil HSBB project is a Public-Private-Partnership agreement between TM and the Government.

    By the end of 2012 – in accordance with the completion of the first phase of the rollout, HSBB services will cover areas include the Inner Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and key industrial sites around the nation.

    TM is investing RM8.9bil into the project while the Government is contributing RM2.4bil on an iccurred claims basis based on project milestones reached by TM.

    The company’s total expenditure related to HSBB project reached RM2.3bil as at April 30, 2010.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/3/business/6599600&sec=business

26. alan on July 13th, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Rais: Telcos must keep charges low to up broadband use
    By MAZWIN NIK ANIS

    CYBERJAYA: Telecommunication providers must keep their charges low and service efficient to encourage more Malaysians to get “connected” by using broadband facilities.

    Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim said this was important especially in encouraging people in towns, districts and kampungs to use the service.

    If charges were reasonable the providers could still profit through larger subscription, he added.

    Rais said that currently the cheapest broadband fee offered was at RM38 a month and university students were getting a better offer – RM25 monthly – to “be in touch and connected with the world”.

    “These are the two issues which telecommunication providers should seriously look into if they want more people to use their broadband services.

    “I also wish to see providers work collectively in encouraging more broadband users, especially where rates and charges are concern. Think of it as a national service to the country,” he told reporters after the nationwide Broadband Trail Tuesday, aimed at raising awareness and usage of broadband.

    According to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the country had reached 37.7% household broadband penetration or 2.38mil users.

    With activities and promotions planned during the Broadband Trail, the target of 50% penetration could be attained by the end of the year, he said.

    He added that special attention would be given to encourage more broadband users in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak where usage was still relatively low.

    “Providers should also encourage the 7.5mil 3G users and the 1mil-odd internet dial-up customers to convert to using broadband. I am confident that these users will take up the offer should it be attractive and reasonable,” he said.

    The Broadband Trail roadshow will run for about five months beginning Thursday and will visit over 500 locations nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak, travelling to outlying areas, especially where broadband penetration and usage are low.

    The programme is also aimed at having more and more Malaysians use broadband services for business, education and study, social networking and information gathering.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/13/nation/20100713130620&sec=nation

27. alan on July 13th, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    Perak to expand internet, broadband to rural areas

    PANGKOR: Perak hopes to expand internet and broadband services in towns and rural areas to enhance Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the state said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.

    Among initiatives to be implemented would be to increase the number of “hot spot wi-fi” centres to enable easy internet access for rural folks.

    Usage of computers is vital as an information tool, especially for school children who can use computers to save time on their studies, he said when launching Pangkor Digital Point (PDP) Tuesday.

    However, the usage must be assisted and monitored by parents so that their children do not surf websites that are not suitable for children, he said.

    Meanwhile, at a programme called Retreat with Penghulu, Zambry said Perak would ensure that the traditional system of Chieftain (penghulu) that has been maintained through generations, would remain relevant as a bridge between the people and the government.

    “We are planning to introduce a scheme that will enable penghulu from one village to be transferred to another every five years, based on their performance,” he said.

    “The (penghulu) system in an institutional heritage and their services are vital to the government,” he said.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/13/nation/20100713104645&sec=nation

28. alan on July 14th, 2010 at 7:52 am

    Rais: Lower broadband charges

    CYBERJAYA: Low charges and efficent service.

    These are the two issues which telecommunication providers should seriously look into if they want more people to use their broadband services, Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim said.

    “I wish to see providers work collectively in encouraging more broadband users, especially where rates and charges are concerned.

    “Think of it as a national service to the country,” he said when speaking to reporters yesterday after launching the nationwide Broadband Trail, aimed at raising awareness and increasing the number of broadband users.

    He said telecommunication providers must keep their charges low and service efficient to encourage more Malaysians to get “connected” by using broadband facilities.

    He said this was important to encourage more people in the towns, districts and kampungs to use the service, adding that providers could still profit through a larger subscription base if the charges were reasonable.

    Quoting the Malaysian Comm­unications and Multimedia Comm­ission, he said the country had attained 37.7% household broad­­­­-­­band penetration or 2.38 million users.

    He added that with activities and promotions planned during the Broadband Trail, the target of 50% penetration could be attained by the end of the year.

    Special attention would be given to broadband users in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Sabah and Sarawak, where usage was still relatively low.

    “Providers should also encourage the 7.5 million 3G users and the million-odd Internet dial-up customers to convert to broadband,” Rais said.

    The Broadband Trail roadshow will run for five months beginning tomorrow. It will cover over 500 locations nationwide.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/14/nation/6657426&sec=nation

29. alan on July 15th, 2010 at 9:10 pm

    At wit’s end over poor broadband service

    I REFER to the report “Rais: Telco must keep charges low to up broadband use” (The Star, July14).

    Of late, the TM broadband service in my area has gone from bad to worse and I am at wits’ end.

    Between June 25 and July 13, I have made six complains (Fault report no: 1-6958403609, 1-6934960434, 1-6881363057, 1-6993297068, 1-7002668248, 1-7037727603) to TM’s 100 number.

    TM broadband service is so unreliable that you’ll never know when you’re not going to have Internet access. And each time I make a report, I’m made to go through a series of tests; DNS flush, pinging, etc. which I’m getting fed up of. Each complaint will take about two working days to rectify.

    No doubt the personnel at the call centre and the technician are helpful but that’s not what the consumers want.

    We want uninterrupted Internet access; we want a long term solution to complaints like this, not just temporary resetting of some device elsewhere.

    I’m told that there’s nothing TM can or wants to do to alleviate the problem given that the area has a choice of going for high speed broadband which definitely costs a lot more.

    While the Government is pushing hard for more Internet usage among the rakyat, TM’s inability to cater for simple low-end broadband usage will definitely impede the Government’s effort.

    FRUSTRATED CUSTOMER,

    Bandar Seri Damansara,

    Kuala Lumpur.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/15/focus/6666053&sec=focus

30. alan on July 27th, 2010 at 8:07 am

    Long-term broadband growth
    By EUGENE MAHALINGAM

    Research report says size of cellular segment indicates potential of domestic broadband market

    PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian broadband sector offers industry players long term growth given the number of postpaid cellular voice subscribers in the country, according to HwangDBS Vickers Research.

    “We estimate that Malaysia has one million mobile broadband subscribers as at March 2010. This is relatively low compared with 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers in Malaysia.

    “Assuming each of the 6.3 million postpaid cellular voice subscribers eventually become broadband subscribers, the potential size of the wireless broadband industry can be five times its current size,” it said in a report yesterday.

    This excluded the prepaid segment, where there were 24 million cellular SIMs in distribution, said HwangDBS Vickers.

    “Assuming each prepaid subscriber holds two to three SIMs, there could still be 8 million to 12 million unique (individual) prepaid subscribers. Hence, we are looking at a potential broadband subscriber base of 15 million, a huge growth potential for celcos in Malaysia in the long term,” the research house said.

    It added that with the low broadband penetration rate in Malaysia at present, celco players were likely to aggressively recruit as many subscribers as they could.

    HwangDBS Vickers Research reckoned that Maxis had likely grown its broadband market share in the second quarter of 2010 (Q210), given its aggressive World Cup marketing campaign and the introduction of a RM48 plan at the start of the year.

    “(However) with higher marketing and promotional expenses during the World Cup, it is likely that profit margins will be under some pressure.

    “Hence, we expect A&P (advertising & promotional) spending to impact Maxis’ Q210 results,” the research house said, noting that Celcom also invested in a World Cup campaign although its marketing expenses were not expected to be as high as Maxis’.

    An analyst from a local bank-backed brokerage said he was supportive of Information, Communications, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim’s statement recently that telecommunication (telco) providers should lower their charges to encourage more broadband users.

    “There are several public holidays in the second half of the year, namely Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas. The festive season is always a good way (for telco players) to provide better rates and boost their (broadband) subscriber base,” he said.

    Another analyst said he was optimistic about the local broadband segment.

    “Within developing countries, having optimum broadband access is a good way for governments to attract investment,” she said.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/27/business/6737925&sec=business

31. alan on July 30th, 2010 at 3:28 pm

    TM gets hip
    By AZHARIAH KAMIN

    Internet-based content-viewing gets a shot in the arm with Telekom Malaysia’s spanking new service, HyppTV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV).

    FOR digital-savvy consumers out there, Telekom Malaysia (TM) is currently offering its superior Video-on-Demand (VoD) and 22 free linear TV channels via its HyppTV Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) in which viewers can enjoy a variety of movies, top TV series, documentaries, news, entertainment programmes and more conveniently.

    HyppTV is available to all TM UniFi High Speed Broadband (HSBB) residential customers as part of its triple-play offering comprising phone, IPTV and High Speed Internet services on a basic, premium and pay-per-view or VoD package basis.

    Currently, UniFi subscribers enjoy 22 free linear TV channels and more than 20 exciting new VoD titles, refreshed every month as a value-added service.

    UniFi provides the highest speed connection available in the market and this caters for many services such as online games, downloadable content, virtual interaction (video calls) and an enriched shopping experience (multimedia virtual shopping, real-time merchant tips).

    It also provides more stable and reliable connections to ensure a premium customer experience.

    And for the obvious question, what is the difference between HyppTV and other satellite TV operators?

    Well, HyppTV is different from other satellite TV operators in that it is transmitted via a broadband network. Arguably, this gives you added benefits such as not being susceptible to bad weather, as well as fast Internet access.

    It offers live broadcast channels and also VoD. Live broadcast channels are broadcast in real time which provides all viewers with the same TV programmes.

    VoD is a channel or library of videos and movies, providing the convenience very much like a record and playback machine. You can play, pause, stop, rewind and forward as desired, exactly like a DVD player.

    It also differs in terms of the pricing model, which is an On-Demand approach, meaning, you pay only for the channels, movies or series you want to watch, rather than pay for the whole package, with no extra monthly fees involved.

    Currently UniFi is offering three monthly residential and business packages, respectively. The residential packages come in three varieties; VIP5 (RM149), VIP10 (RM199) and VIP20 (RM249). Each package comes with phone, different Internet speeds and either a basic or premium HyppTV subscription.

    The business package constitutes BIZ5 (RM199), BIZ10 (RM599) and BIZ20 (RM899). Each package comes with attractive call plans, different Internet speeds and a host of complimentary services.

    Customers can check service availability by calling the TM UniFi Centre at 1-300-88-1222 or visiting selected TMpoint outlets currently in the HSBB areas: Taipan Subang Jaya, Damansara Utama, Menara TM, Jalan Raja Chulan, Shah Alam and Bangsar.

    “HyppTV is one of the major points of attraction for many residential customers, and we will leverage on that interest with an aggressive campaign,” said Jeremy Kung, TM executive vice-president (consumer) in a press statement recently.

    “As more Malaysians go online to view, read and download entertainment content, HyppTV is a new TV experience that allows them to enjoy audio-visual entertainment and other content on their terms,” he said.

    In March, TM signed agreements with 20 local and international content partners to provide a diverse mix of programming and content for HyppTV, which include Arkib Negara, Bernama TV, BBC Worldwide, Star TV Group, Channel News Asia, Deutsche Welle, Travel Channel International and El-Kahfi Sdn Bhd.

    Eight domestic broadcast channels are offered via HyppTV including TV1, TV2, Bernama TV, TV3, Ntv7, 8TV, TV9 and Hikmah.

    Thirteen International channels are available such as BBC Knowledge, BBC Lifestyle, CBeebies, Channel News Asia, DWTV Asia, Travel Channel International, Star Chinese Movies 2, Star Chinese Channel, Channel [V] Taiwan, Euronews, FTV (HD) and Luxe.TV (HD).

    VoD offerings are divided into the following categories: Latest Movies, Home Cinema, Kids Favourite, Hollywood Premiere Series, Past Seasons and Fokus Hari Ini.

    In addition, there are interactive channels on Malaysian history, football, flight, traffic, tourism and interactive games.

    For more information and the latest updates on HyppTV, visit unifi.my/hypptv.

    What’s on the tube

    Here are some of the International channels available on HyppTV:

    > BBC Lifestyle – Featuring six programming strands covering food, fashion and beauty, home and design, parenting, personal development and health.

    > BBC Knowledge – Showcases the best of the BBC’s award-winning factual and documentary programming. This is the channel where facts from the past, present and future come together to broaden viewer’s horizons.

    > Star Chinese Channel – Popular among Chinese audiences across Asia. The channel presents a wide range of general entertainment programming including game shows, talk shows with signature programmes such as chat show Gossip Queen and fame shows Bingo Pool and Mahjong Fortune.

    > Star Chinese Movies 2 – Showcases the best and most popular Chinese movies from the 1970s through to the 1990s, including box-office hits and award-winning blockbusters from celebrated filmmakers John Woo, Johnny To and Tsui Hark. Currently, the channel offers movies such as A Chinese Ghost Story, Armour Of God, A Chinese Ghost Story II, Dragon Lord, Chinese Ghost Story III, My Lucky Stars, The Reincarnation Of Golden Lotus and Fearless Hyena

    > CBeebies – Provides a range of pre-school programming designed to encourage learning through play in a consistently safe environment.

    With programmes such as Teletubbies, Charlie And Lola, Fimbles and Tweenies, CBeebies encourages children to learn about and enjoy the world around them.

    > Luxe.TV HD – The glossy television which allows the viewer to (re)discover the spectacular picture quality of High Definition. With its 17 teams around the world, the network has built the largest HD library dedicated to the world of luxury.

    > DW-TV Asia+ – Broadcasts predominantly in English. The schedule includes 18 hours of English-language programming and six hours of German programmes.

    > Channel News Asia – Provides news and information on global developments with Asian perspectives. It brings viewers not only the latest news but also the stories behind the headlines.

    > Euronews – The only news provider that offers news to be broadcast simultaneously in nine languages including English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.

    > Australia Network – Provides viewers with the latest regional news, documentaries, lifestyle programmes, quality drama, live sports coverage and award-winning children’s programmes.

    > FTV HD – Presents new programmes on high-lifestyle and high-fashion from all over the world.

    > Travel Channel – Presents a uniquely panoramic and objective perspective on the travel experience including backpacking adventures, culinary quests, eco-friendly holidays and exclusive and luxury getaways.

    > Channel [V] Taiwan – Features the latest music videos, trendy topics, music charts, concerts and variety programmes.

    > VoD – Offerings are divided into the following categories; Latest Movies (25 movies available for July (at press time) including Gladiator, When In Rome, The Greatest (Muhammad Ali), Pensil and Alice In Wonderland), Home Cinema (Movie blasts from the past available for 30 days when you purchase the titles including Casanova, Pulp Fiction, Air Force One, Enemy Of The State, Face/Off, Aku Kaya and Cuci The Movie), Kids Favourite (Barney Season Six, Bob The Builder, Thomas & Friends), Hollywood Première Series (CSI: Miami: Season Eight, CSI: New York: Season Six, CSI: Vegas: Season 10), Past Seasons (Criminal Minds, Dilemma Wanita, 2009 Kao Ling Fong Charity Concert and Garr).

    fr:ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/28/tvnradio/6724707&sec=tvnradio

32. alan on August 17th, 2010 at 9:52 am

    TM says UniFi customers to double by year-end
    By ZAZALI MUSA

    JOHOR BARU: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) expects the number of its UniFi customers nationwide to double or treble by the year-end.

    Chief strategy officer Ahmad Azhar Yahya said since the three UniFi packages were launched on March 24, TM had signed up over 10,000 subscribers.

    “We are seeing a steep increase in the number of new customers signing for the service daily and the trend is expected to continue,” he said on Saturday after the signing of an agreement between TM and Mudra Tropika Sdn Bhd, the developer of the RM330mil Nong Chik Heights here.

    TM was represented by its executive vice president (SME) Shanti Jusnita Johari and Mudra Tropika by chairman Datuk Mohd Rashid Mohd Noor. The signing was witnessed by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman.

    Under the agreement, both parties would bear the cost of putting up fibre optics offering high-speed broadband (HSBB UniFi) infrastructure and services to house owners in the 14ha housing scheme.

    Nong Chik Heights is a 50:50 joint-venture project between the Johor Government’s State Secretary Inc, which owns the Malay reserve land, and Mudra Tropika.

    “We are going to sign (similar agreements) with 19 more developers in Johor Baru this and next year to equip their housing projects with the HSSB (service),” said Ahmad.

    He said the other 19 projects were also in greenfield areas where it would be easier to lay the HSSB infrastructure instead on brownfield areas or places that were already developed.

    Ahmad said about 150,000 premises within Iskandar Malaysia would have access to HSSB UniFi within the next two years.

    He said the company would continue to evaluate the needs and demand from time to time for the HSSB service for areas in Johor outside Iskandar.

    Ahmad said this could include Teluk Ramunia and Pengerang areas in Johor’s South East which had been earmarked to become the region’s new oil and gas hub spanning over 5,000ha.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/17/business/6866482&sec=business

33. alan on August 27th, 2010 at 9:16 am

    Telco: ‘1Gbps is “speed that you can hardly fathom … it is like having a billion dollars.’’
    Friday Reflections – BY B.K. Sidhu

    But let’s hope the promises are kept. As they say, the proof of the pudding’s in its eating

    TAN Sri Syed Yusof Syed Nasir’s entry into the telecoms sector raised some eyebrows recently.

    The flamboyant businessman has long been associated with Hard Rock Cafe and the Concorde Hotels, making property development and management his forte. He was once also a shareholder in Southern Bank Bhd and had more recently sold out of K&N Kenanga Holdings Bhd.

    Telecoms is new for him but he says “it is not too late” to get into it given the buzz surrounding the industry.

    He took a 30% stake in Vasseti Bhd, a company that claims that it can offer more than 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) in speed and capacity for its fixed line broadband offering.

    Why Vasseti and not one of the bigger boys?

    Vasseti owns 80% of V Telecoms Bhd, a company licensed to build and offer telecoms services in the country.

    So when StarBiz broke the news of his involvement in Vasseti and its 1Gbps offering, it became a hot topic of discussion on the Net. We are talking about offering residential users 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps) and that is like super lightning speed in downloading, if not uploading content.

    For now, Vasseti seems to be the only one offering 1Gbps. It is not that the other players are unable; it is a question of choice.

    This company, whose name sounds Italian, wants to stand out from the rest and hopefully, it will inspire the other players to likewise offer 1Gbps instead of 1Mbps or 5Mbps. Another thing that differentiates Vasseti from the rest is that it adopts a build first, then offer strategy instead of waiting for demand before starting to build. At least that is what its executives are saying.

    Whether this approach will work remains to be seen but like the other players, Vasseti has chosen to cherry-pick and stick to high-end areas rather than go to the masses.

    So if you are in Tanjong Rambutan or even Kuala Kubu Baru, you may have to wait a long time for 1Gbps to come to town, so get used to the 256 or 512kpbs offering.

    The 1,000Mbps service is available in parts of Kuala Lumpur for RM199 per month. In three months, the service will be extended to cover Bangsar, Mont’ Kiara, KL City Centre and the Golden Triangle.

    Vasseti claims it has fibre optics in the ground and leased from others to provide the service. It also plans to invest in more fibre to cover whole country and prides that its Metro Ethernet model can get communities connected.

    Vasseti is the new kid on the block but taking on big boys like Telekom Malaysia Bhd, Maxis Communica-tions Bhd and Time dotCom Bhd to gain ground. You reckon these big boys are going to give it an easy ride?

    The telecoms business requires huge investments and has a long gestation period. Even though Vasseti has committed RM1bil for this year, many more billions will be needed to connect Malaysia with lighting speed broadband. The obvious question is: does it have the sustaining power and deep pockets?

    Yes, Vasseti is wooing private equity investors. It has managed to secure some funding but will have to step up efforts to get more if it wants to be taken seriously.

    To stay in this business, one needs guts, big bucks, a marketing strategy with a magnetic pull and the will to keep promises. There is no room for inconsistency in service and speed, and customers can be very unforgiving if they feel they are being short-changed.

    As Vasseti group CEO Ahmad Ramzy Tan Sri Abdul Rashid puts it, 1Gbps is “speed that you can hardly fathom … it is like having a billion dollars.’’

    But let’s hope the promises are kept. As they say, the proof of the pudding’s in its eating. We don’t just want a pudding that looks appetising, but one that is served in style and tastes sumptuous.

    # Deputy news editor B.K. Sidhu invites you to follow her on twitter.com//bksidhu.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/27/business/6926541&sec=business

34. alan on September 29th, 2010 at 8:37 pm

    Unifi service leaves much to be desired

    I STARTED subscribing to the Unifi internet service offered by TM Bhd, in June 2010.

    Since the day my subscription commenced until the time of this letter, I have faced numerous and repeated problems with the Hypp TV and broadband Internet connection.

    The Hypp TV reception eaves much to be desired as the picture quality is bad with frequent interruptions with “boxed” images.

    As for the Internet connection, although I have subscribed for the 5MB package, the maximum I have experienced so far is only up to 3.9MB.

    The wireless modem provided is of inferior quality and breaks down easily.

    After changing to a new modem, the broadband speed decreased to 1MB or less.

    I must admit that I received good response on my complaints to the service provider and they were very courteous too.

    With the frequent interference, I felt shortchanged because I am still billed for the service at RM149 per month whereas the service provided was far inferior to my previous Streamyx connection, where I’m only required to pay RM66 per month.

    I feel that until TM stabilises their Unifi service quality, clients who face such problems should be given rebates.

    EAGER SUBSCRIBER,
    Petaling Jaya.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/28/focus/7111409&sec=focus

35. alan on October 15th, 2010 at 8:15 am

    UniFi for 19 projects in Johor
    By ZAZALI MUSA

    JOHOR BARU: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) will next year sign service agreements with 19 property developers in Johor to provide high-speed broadband (HSBB UniFi) services in their projects.

    TM Johor general manager Mohd Roslan Mohd Rashidi said all 19 projects were located within Iskandar Malaysia in greenfield areas where it would be easier to lay the HSBB infrastructure instead of brownfield areas or places that were already developed.

    “Presently, 2,000 premises within Iskandar have access to HSBB UniFi and the figure is expected to increase to 120,000 by 2013,” he told a press conference after an agreement signing between TM and UMLand Bhd subsidiary Dynasty View Sdn Bhd for the provision of HSBB UniFi services in Taman Seri Austin.

    All 316 double-storey link houses in the gated and guarded precinct under phase three of the project will receive free HSBB UniFi services for up to two years.

    Taman Mount Austin is the second housing scheme in Iskandar to have HSBB UniFi connectivity. TM had in August signed a similar agreement with Mudra Tropika Sdn Bhd for its Nong Chik Heights project.

    Roslan said TM would also extend the HSBB service to Pasir Gudang and Seri Alam in a few months. Areas in Iskandar that currently enjoy the service are Nusajaya, Permas Jaya and Senai.

    “The Johor Baru city centre transformation plan also includes HSBB UniFi connectivity,” he said.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/15/business/7229175&sec=business

36. alan on October 21st, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    TM signs up 16,000 for UniFi

    Fixed line operator Telekom Malaysia (TM) Bhd has connected 16,000 UniFi highspeed broadband (HSBB) customers to date, with more than 2,400 being small and medium enterprises (SME) customers.

    TM executive vice-president Shanti Jusnita Johari said today that by this December, the HSBB service will reach 95 exchange areas, targeting high economic areas that contributes the most to the national gross domestic product (GDP). There are 20 residential areas and six industrial areas with the services today.

    “In that sense, UniFi for business is certainly one of the nation’s important catalysts for the creation of a knowledge economy,” she told reporters.

    She said the biggest difference between the UniFi packages for consumers and the packages for SMEs is that with the business package, there will be symmetrical data uploads and downloads. The consumer package also has a lower upload speed compared to the download speed.

    The UniFi BIZ10 and BIZ 20 package also have one fixed IP address which will be the identity of the company and will not be shared, a plus for security reasons, Shanti explained.

    Shanti said there will be a projected 0.6 per cent GDP uplift and 100,000 new jobs by 2017, and a 10 per cent increase in high speed broadband penetration.

    She claimed that with UniFi, customers will be provided with a better service levels for SMEs, it will boost local SME growth and expand sales and marketing channel for SMEs.

    TM has committed to reach 1.3 million premises by the end of 2012 with UniFi service, which is under the RM11.3 billion national HSBB project signed in September 2008. TM is investing RM8.9 billion into the project while the government is contributing RM2.4 billion.

    UniFi which was launched in March this year rolled out services in Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar. By the end of September, the UniFi service rollout has reached 600,000 premises passed nationwide. She said at this rate, the service will reach 750,000 premises passed by the end of this year.

    Nor Akmar Yunos, deputy programme director for HSBB said UniFi’s most southern point of coverage is Bali, Indonesia and Port Klang as the furthest western point.

    The BIZ5 package is priced at RM199, BIZ10 at RM599 and BIZ20 at RM899 per month, each with 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps, download and upload speed.

    fr:themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/tm-signs-up-16000-for-unifi/

37. alan on October 29th, 2010 at 8:01 am

    Broadband target exceeded

    PUTRAJAYA: Broadband penetration in the country has already surpassed the 50% target set for the end of this year.

    Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this was a result of the commendable cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as leadership.

    Muhyiddin said statistics up to the middle of this month showed that the initiatives and programmes launched under the National Broad-band Initiative, which included expansion through the use of technologies on various platforms, had increased broadband penetration to 53.5%.

    He said the increase was a vast improvement from the 22% penetration recorded in 2008, which meant that the country was well on its way towards achieving the target of 75% broadband penetration nationwide by 2015.

    “We have created more community broadband centres, including Kampung Wifi, as part of efforts to increase the penetration in rural areas and in the fringes of towns,” he said after chairing the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Broadband here yesterday.

    He added that six Kampung Wifi pilot projects had been implemented and 3,100 would be created by 2014.

    He said the Broadband Action Brigade formed by the Government would also continue its work to tackle issues related to broadband services.

    On the Universal Service Provision programme under the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Muhyiddin said RM800mil a year was used to buy laptop computers for needy students nationwide.

    The funds, he said, were also used for projects to build more multimedia and communications infrastructure as part of the efforts to make broadband services available to more Malaysians.

    He was commenting on calls by certain quarters for the MCMC to ensure that the use of the funds was transparent since it involved a huge sum of money.

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/10/29/nation/7323724&sec=nation

38. alan on November 20th, 2010 at 9:30 am

    YTL launches 4G mobile Internet service

    KUALA LUMPUR: The much-awaited 4G mobile Internet-with-voice service from YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, Yes, has finally been introduced to Malaysians.

    The launch yesterday was packed with an enthusiastic crowd.

    It was launched by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

    He also spent five minutes on a video call with Malaysian students from London and the event was also broadcast “live” there.

    YTL Corporation Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said the new 4G mobile Internet-with-voice service would offer the cheapest communication rates in the country with a simple integrated plan that combined voice, SMS and mobile data.

    “We will be giving 300MB of data or 100 minutes of voice calls a month for free to every student registered under the Education Partner Programme. So far, UTM, UPM, Utar, UM, KTAR, USM and UiTM have signed with us to deliver this programme,” he said at the launch.

    Also present was Information, Commu­nications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik and Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

    Rais later launched the first Yes Flagship Store at Lot 10 Jalan Bukit Bintang.

    Muhyiddin, in his speech, said digital infrastructure and the digital super highway were critical enablers in an age of a knowledge-based and innovation-led economy.

    He added global studies had shown a strong direct correlation between gross domestic product growth rates and Internet broadband penetration rates

    fr:thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/11/20/nation/7470004&sec=nation

39. alan on November 21st, 2010 at 6:27 pm

    YTL Comms extending coverage

    Its Yes service will cover 80% of population by end-2011 from 65% now

    KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms) will roll out its 4G mobile Internet-with-voice service, Yes, to cover 80% of the population by end-2011.

    YTL Comms, a unit of YTL Power International Bhd, currently has a coverage of 65%. To date, it has invested some RM2.5bil in the Yes 4G infrastructure.

    We will extend to Sabah and Sarawak at the right time, executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong told a briefing prior to the service launch by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

    Seok Hong said that with 1,500 base stations, the event marked the largest network ever launched in the country.

    We still have 1,000 base stations to be deployed. By then, 80% of the population will be covered, he said.

    Chief executive officer Wing K. Lee said Yes was the most affordable 4G mobile Internet-with-voice service in Malaysia.

    He said its pay-as-you-go rate of nine sen for 3MB (megabit) data, one-minute call or one short-messaging service was the cheapest in town.

    Lee said Yes also offered up to 30% rebate to power users who consume high amounts of data.

    The saving starts at 2.5GB (gigabit). The more you use, the less you pay, he said, adding that for usage of 4GB and above, subscribers would get a 30% rebate for every GB used.

    Yes subscribers will receive a rebate of RM9 for data usage of 2.5GB while usage of 3GB will get RM23 rebate.

    The rebates will reduce Yes’ rates to as low as two sen per MB or RM20 per GB while giving users the power to self-manage by setting temporary data caps.

    YTL Comms and Samsung have also introduced the world’s first all-4G mobile phone, Yes Buzz, which will be available next month.

    The 4G network will be SIM-less with the 018 prefix.

    YTL Comms chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh declined to give a specific target of pre-registered subscribers but said the numbers were healthy.

    He said the response to the pre-registration had exceeded the group’s expectations by three times.

    Yeoh said the group was keen to cooperate with telecommunications service providers in China and other Asian countries to offer 4G services.

    Prior to the launch, Yes 4G faced interconnectivity issues with other networks as it was unable to interconnect with the operators. However, the group managed to sign interconnectivity agreements with them yesterday.

    We’re now finally interconnected with everybody. We have received full cooperation (from other telcos), Seok Hong said, adding that other operators had welcomed them onboard.

    At the launch, Muhyiddin spent five minutes on a video call with Malaysian students in London.

    Also present were YTL Corp executive chairman Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay; Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim; Tun Lim Kheng Yaik; and Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/11/20/business/7468348&sec=business

40. alan on January 6th, 2011 at 11:14 am

    TM’s high speed broadband (HSBB) reaches 750,000 premises

    KUALA LUMPUR: The rollout of Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) high speed broadband (HSBB) service or UniFi continues to be on track with service availability now expanded to an additional 48 areas nationwide, bringing the total premises passed to more than 750,000 at the end of 2010.

    “In conjunction with UniFi’s phased service expansion to more areas nationwide, TM is in the midst of a more aggressive go-to-market campaign to educate consumers and attract new subscribers,” group chief executive officer Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said in a statement yesterday.

    He added TM recently passed the 30,000 service subscription mark with the number of orders closed, surging to an average of 2,500 per week towards the end of last year.

    According to TM, it is well on its way to meet the targeted 1.3 million premises passed by the end of 2012, after its HSBB first phase rollout is complete.

    In line with its phase-by-phase rollout of the UniFi service, new residential areas opened to it include, selected areas within Sentul, San Peng, Bintang and Taman Midah in the Federal Territory.

    In Selangor, the selected areas are within Sg Long, Keramat, Cheras, Petaling Jaya and Serdang, as well as industrial zones in Penang, namely, Seberang Jaya, Bukit Tengah and Bayan Baru that have the service coverage currently.

    UniFi is currently being offered via three residential and three business packages with a monthly subscription from RM149 onwards.

    fr:biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/6/business/7742971&sec=business