Business

Tuesday November 17, 2009

REDtone to roll out WiMAX in Miri, Sibu next

By JACK WONG


KUCHING: REDtone Intern-ational Bhd, which has widened its broadband services to cover most parts of Kuching, will roll out its WiMAX service in Miri and Sibu soon.

REDtone Telecommunications Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Lau Bik Soon said its broadband services would be available in Miri in the first quarter of next year and in Sibu by end-2010.

“We will introduce broadband packages for home users in Kuching next month. The packages will cater for both light and heavy users,’’ he said in a media briefing here yesterday on REDtone’s expansion plans in Sarawak.

Lau Bik Soon says its broadband services will be available in Miri in the first quarter.

Lau said the company would offer more competitive packages for home users based on their usage patterns.

With the completion of the phase 2 rollout here, REDtone’s broadband WiMAX service is available in densely populated areas, like commercial centres, industrial parks, business districts and shopping centres.

Since the launch of its WiMAX service in Kuching seven months ago, REDtone has increased its broadband customers in Sabah and Sarawak to more than 1,000.

Lau said the company was on track in getting its projected number of business users.

“Our primary targets are the corporate sector and business community, which makes us a niche player.

“We are positioning ourselves as the broadband expert for offices as REDtone is the only service provider with access to a series of technologies to deploy broadband services that we can customise based on the individual customer’s needs,’’ added Lau.

There are five REDtone broadband WiMAX packages available, with the monthly subscription fee ranging from RM138 to RM1,088.

REDtone group CEO Zainal Amanshah said the company had invested between RM6mil and RM7mil in Sabah and Sarawak.

He said REDtone packages here were priced higher than the peninsula as the rental of telecommunications towers from a state-owned company was three times higher.

Sarawak disallows broadband service providers from installing their own telecoms towers on top of buildings.

“If the rental (of telecommunications towers) can come down, we can offer more attractive packages,’’ he added.


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