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Thursday May 21, 2009

TM, Wi-Net to roll out wireless broadband service nationwide in Q3


KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has entered into a five-year wholesale ethernet service agreement with Wi-Net Technology Sdn Bhd to provide wireless broadband service nationwide.

Wi-Net group chief executive officer Lee Wai Tuck said the service was expected to roll out in the third quarter this year, covering the northern and southern parts of Peninsular Malaysia, followed by the Klang Valley next year.

Lee Wai Tuck... The service will cover over 2,000 locations nationwide by 2010.

“The broadband service will cover over 2,000 locations nationwide by 2010, and eventually 4,500 locations in five years,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

Under the agreement, Wi-Net will leverage on TM’s existing wholesale ethernet service and the new high speed broadband (HSBB) network.

TM group chief operating officer Datuk Adnan Rofiee said the contract with its first partner in the project was worth about RM50mil per year.

Wi-Net is a network facility provider and network service provider.

Lee said it would invest RM1bil over the next five years to roll out the broadband service, which includes voice, data and multimedia services.

Wi-Net would provide wireless access using WiFi 2.4 GHz, with speeds of up to 20 Mbps to each user. “Basically, we are now building a base station using TM’s facility. We aim to achieve one million users in the next three years,” Lee said.

Wi-Net’s RM1bil investment, which is inclusive of capex and operation expenses, will be funded through private equity and via bank loans. So far, Wi-Net has invested RM30mil in the project.

Lee said the RM50mil per year to TM was cheaper than Wi-Net building its own infrastructure, which could take another three to five years.

“With the new service, we aim to achieve RM100mil in revenue by end of next year,” he said, adding that Wi-Net, which is currently 100% privately owned by Malaysian individuals, also planned for an initial public offering later.

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