Business

Wednesday November 11, 2009

A competition to get best content and devices for 4G WiMAX network


PUTRAJAYA: YTL Power International Bhd unit, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Com), and its global partners will sponsor a global competition that will help entrepreneurs and innovators create content and devices which will run on its 4G WiMAX network when it is commercially available in July.

This will thrust Malaysia forward in terms of innovation and Internet connectivity as the initiative makes Malaysia the test bed for WiMAX content and devices which can be marketed globally.

At the same time, the initiative harnesses talent globally and it will have a connectivity to the best minds in Silicon Valley, making it an attractive proposition for device vendors that want to create devices for WiMAX, which are presently very limited.

A total of US$1mil will be awarded to help bring the best ideas to fruition but competition details will only be announced in January.

Multimedia Development Corp CEO Datuk Badlisham Ghazali (left) shaking hands with Tan Sri Francis Yeoh at the signing ceremony on Tuesday. With them is Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“Together we will help advance the country’s mission to become a truly innovation-led economy as well as YTL’s mission to provide affordable, world-class quality products and services that improve the way people in Malaysia learn, work and play,” YTL group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said yesterday at a signing ceremony to mark the launch of Malaysia’s first 4G innovation network.

YTL Com’s partners are the big boys in the technology business such as Cisco, US-based Clearwire, CGT Semiconductor Inc and Samsung.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who witnessed the signing, said “as a nation we have travelled very far and Malaysia has transformed by leap and bounds. Just because we are successful once, twice or more times, there is no guarantee we will be successful (always).”

He said if Malaysia did not take the necessary policy or strategic initiatives it could be left behind.

He wants Malaysia to transform itself and become the beacon of hope not only for Malaysians but the rest of the world and the only way to do that was to innovate and for this, broadband was vital.

Najib cited a World Bank report that said a 10% broadband penetration increased economic growth by 1.3%.

“Imagine Malaysia with high broadband penetration which is not only in the Klang Valley but in the rural country-side where fibre cannot be put, and where WiMAX 4G is the solution.”

 
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