Business

Tuesday March 17, 2009

TM briefing disappoints industry players


KUALA LUMPUR: The majority of industry players that attended the briefing by Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) yesterday afternoon were disappointed as they did not get what they had come for.

Yesterday, TM met industry players to brief them on the indicative terms and conditions (ITC) of access to the high-speed broadband (HSBB) network that it is building for its wholesale offering.

“We had expected them to be transparent and give us the details, instead they gave us the same facts they had given us previously. That is not what we want to hear. We want more details as to where we stand with the HSBB,” said an industry player who requested anonymity.

“TM also could not give us any clue on pricing; we have to wait a month more for that,” he added.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd HSBB project programme director Ahmad Azhar Yahya (right) and TM wholesale executive vice president Rafaai Samsi (left) speaking at the briefing on the indicative terms & conditions for the HSBB wholesale services on Monday. Starpic by Leong Hung Yee

Another player told StarBiz: “I am disappointed as there was nothing new.” Earlier yesterday, TM briefed the media on the progress of its HSBB.

HSBB project programme director Ahmad Azhar Yahya said the RM11.3bil project was progressing according to schedule. He said the group was on track to roll out its HSBB wholesale (transmission) service in the second quarter.

“The HSBB retail service is slated for launch in the fourth quarter,” he said at a media briefing to announce the ITC for domestic licensed operators (wholesale customers) interested in subscribing to the wholesale services via its HSBB network.

The ITC of the HSBB wholesale services will be posted on its website from today.

Ahmad said the rollout had begun, with progress across a multitude of areas. “Two fibre-optic access pilot projects have been carried out in Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Subang Jaya.

“The IP (Internet protocol) core deployment is currently in progress and the first cut over is expected to be completed in the second quarter,” he said, adding that a management team had been set up to manage and provide an end-to-end view of the whole programme.

TM’s wholesale offerings comprise three HSBB services - transmission, access and connection.

The HSBB (transmission) service will be offered to providers that have high capacity and bandwidth requirements, and require enhanced service level guarantees for their backhaul as well as video and data transport services.

Service providers will be able to subscribe to bandwidth per link of between 20Mbps and 1Gbps.

The HSBB (access) service will serve the needs of providers that offer bandwidth hungry IP-based value-added services, while the HSBB (connection) service enables interconnection between TM’s HSBB network and other service providers’ IP-based networks.

“The details for the HSBB (access) are subject to finalisation between the Government and TM,” Ahmad said.

He added that the pricing structure for the HSBB (transmission) service was expected to be released next month.

TM would not reveal the price of the HSBB (transmission) to the general public, he said, adding that the pricing was meant for service providers licensed by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission only.

However, he said the rate would be “very competitive” and value for money.

“We will share that (price) when we’re ready to announce the launch of the HSBB retail service offering,” he said, declining to elaborate.

TM wholesale executive vice president Rafaai Samsi said the wholesale pricing was governed by two factors - volume and duration.

He said the pricing would have a different structure compared with the copper network because the new service used a different technology, platform and services.

Asked if the new ITC was stringent, Ahmad said: “I don’t think it is stringent.”

“It is not an apple to apple comparison. I would say that it is fair,” he said.

TM aimed to fully cover the high economic impact areas in the Klang Valley and Iskandar Malaysia in Johor within the next three years, Ahmad said.


TM : [Stock Watch] [News]


For latest Bursa Malaysia indices, charts and other information click here

  • E-mail this story
  • Print this story