YTL Comms to extend 4G campus network

Friday July 2, 2010




By ZAZALI MUSA

zaza@thestar.com.my



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.





Yasmin Mahmood signing the MoA as (2nd from left) Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Prof Dr Zaini Ujang look on.



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.


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