Published: Friday March 11, 2011 MYT 4:25:00 PM
Updated: Friday March 11, 2011 MYT 4:26:01 PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Taiwanese PC maker Acer and YTL Communications, which operates the Yes 4G mobile broadband service, have embarked on a partnership.
Under a joint promotion, PC users in the country are being offered Acer Aspire notebooks that come with a month's free access to the service.
The package includes 150 minutes of free calls to all networks, 150 free SMS to all networks and a 018 mobile number.
Users can make phone calls and send SMSes to any number in Malaysia and the world, from these Acer notebooks, in addition to surfing the Web at speeds up to 5x faster than on a 3G (third generation) network, the companies announced.
The promotion is for the Aspire 4750G-2414G50, priced at RM2,249; Aspire 4743-382G50, priced at RM1,849; and Aspire 4743ZG-622G32, priced at RM1,749. All three come with the Yes Go 4G Dongle with a 3.5GB data cap, and the freebies mentioned.
"We are proud to partner YTL in offering speedy 4G connections with Acer notebooks powered by the latest Intel Core processors, enabling users to experience the best in mobile computing and connectivity," said Ricky Tan, general manager of Acer Malaysia.
Wing K. Lee, CEO of YTL Communications, added that his company sees the deal as yet another avenue for bringing amazing experiences in mobile communications to Malaysians.
http://techcentral.my/news/story.aspx?file=/2011/3/11/it_news/20110311163522&sec=it_news
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Jaring Appoints New CEO
Friday, March 11, 2011, 02.20 PM
Published: 2011/03/09
JARING Communications Sdn Bhd has appointed Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Yaacob as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Dr Mohamed Awang Lah, effective March 1, 2011.
Nik Abdul Aziz, 42, will spearhead Jaring in enhancing the nation’s network infrastructures and services to meet the constantly evolving applications and rapidly growing number of Internet users – as the nation gears up into becoming a fully developed nation by 2020, it said in a statement here today.
He was a senior director in charge of Strategic Information Systems, and an EXCO member of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) from 2008 to 2010 and had, prior to that, been heading major IT formulation and development projects in his capacity as a senior vice president with Khazanah Nasional Bhd from 2005 until 2008. -- BERNAMA
Read more: Jaring appoints new CEO http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110309144509/Article/index_html#ixzz1GH4MaElU
Published: 2011/03/09
JARING Communications Sdn Bhd has appointed Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Yaacob as its new chief executive officer, succeeding Dr Mohamed Awang Lah, effective March 1, 2011.
Nik Abdul Aziz, 42, will spearhead Jaring in enhancing the nation’s network infrastructures and services to meet the constantly evolving applications and rapidly growing number of Internet users – as the nation gears up into becoming a fully developed nation by 2020, it said in a statement here today.
He was a senior director in charge of Strategic Information Systems, and an EXCO member of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) from 2008 to 2010 and had, prior to that, been heading major IT formulation and development projects in his capacity as a senior vice president with Khazanah Nasional Bhd from 2005 until 2008. -- BERNAMA
Read more: Jaring appoints new CEO http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20110309144509/Article/index_html#ixzz1GH4MaElU
Kuwait’s Baraka to Invest In Mobile Hub In Malaysia
Friday March 11, 2011
By LEE KIAN SEONG
lks@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Baraka Telecom Sdn Bhd, a unit of Reach Telecom Holding KSCC of Kuwait, will invest RM50mil to set up a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) hub here.
The MVNE will be launched on March 17 to offer services to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) across Asia, Baraka Telecom said in a statement yesterday. (MVNO refers to a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum).
It was reported recently that Maxis was on the final leg of negotiations with Baraka on a three-year MVNO agreement.
Analysts said the impact from this deal to provide telecommunication services to Baraka in Malaysia would be negligible.
“We see the impact of the potential tie-up as being negligible for Maxis, given the niche focus of Baraka whose target markets are Islamic mobile and data services. In addition to Baraka, we understand that Maxis has an existing MVNO arrangement with another undisclosed local service provider,” said an analyst from a local investment bank.
Maxis was reportedly close to securing a three-year deal to provide telecommunication services to Baraka. Both were said to be finalising the deal which will mark Baraka's return to the MVNO business in Malaysia.
Without specifying the parties it is in talks with, Maxis told StarBiz: “We are in active discussions with various parties in the MVNO and MVNE space and will make the necessary announcements at the appropriate time.”
MVNE is a company that provides services to MVNOs.
The development surprised analysts as Baraka had earlier aborted its commercial launch after having terminated a similar MVNO agreement with DiGi last year.
“We gather from our source that the parties behind Baraka had wanted to consider more options, including a revisit of its business model in light of the extremely competitive mobile landscape in Malaysia and the challenges faced by MVNOs,” he said in a recent report.
An analyst from a local securities company viewed the deal as possible since Maxis had the capacity to provide such services, and that its rival Celcom was getting more aggressive in MVNO services.
“The profit contribution to Maxis will not be as big as their consumer business due to the niche offerings and the business is small. However, most MVNO players make good margins from their service, thus Maxis might benefit from it,” the analyst said.
Maxis' net profit rose 21.3% to RM610mil for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM503mil previously due to increased contribution from the non-voice segment and a bigger subscriber base.
Its revenue rose to RM2.31bil versus RM2.21bil previously.
Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) margin for the fourth quarter was lower at 50.6% against 51.4% in the preceeding quarter.
For the full financial year ended Dec 3, Maxis' net profit stood at RM2.3bil on revenue of RM8.87bil.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/11/business/8205616&sec=business
By LEE KIAN SEONG
lks@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Baraka Telecom Sdn Bhd, a unit of Reach Telecom Holding KSCC of Kuwait, will invest RM50mil to set up a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) hub here.
The MVNE will be launched on March 17 to offer services to mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) across Asia, Baraka Telecom said in a statement yesterday. (MVNO refers to a company that provides mobile phone services but does not have its own licensed frequency allocation of radio spectrum).
It was reported recently that Maxis was on the final leg of negotiations with Baraka on a three-year MVNO agreement.
Analysts said the impact from this deal to provide telecommunication services to Baraka in Malaysia would be negligible.
“We see the impact of the potential tie-up as being negligible for Maxis, given the niche focus of Baraka whose target markets are Islamic mobile and data services. In addition to Baraka, we understand that Maxis has an existing MVNO arrangement with another undisclosed local service provider,” said an analyst from a local investment bank.
Maxis was reportedly close to securing a three-year deal to provide telecommunication services to Baraka. Both were said to be finalising the deal which will mark Baraka's return to the MVNO business in Malaysia.
Without specifying the parties it is in talks with, Maxis told StarBiz: “We are in active discussions with various parties in the MVNO and MVNE space and will make the necessary announcements at the appropriate time.”
MVNE is a company that provides services to MVNOs.
The development surprised analysts as Baraka had earlier aborted its commercial launch after having terminated a similar MVNO agreement with DiGi last year.
“We gather from our source that the parties behind Baraka had wanted to consider more options, including a revisit of its business model in light of the extremely competitive mobile landscape in Malaysia and the challenges faced by MVNOs,” he said in a recent report.
An analyst from a local securities company viewed the deal as possible since Maxis had the capacity to provide such services, and that its rival Celcom was getting more aggressive in MVNO services.
“The profit contribution to Maxis will not be as big as their consumer business due to the niche offerings and the business is small. However, most MVNO players make good margins from their service, thus Maxis might benefit from it,” the analyst said.
Maxis' net profit rose 21.3% to RM610mil for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM503mil previously due to increased contribution from the non-voice segment and a bigger subscriber base.
Its revenue rose to RM2.31bil versus RM2.21bil previously.
Its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) margin for the fourth quarter was lower at 50.6% against 51.4% in the preceeding quarter.
For the full financial year ended Dec 3, Maxis' net profit stood at RM2.3bil on revenue of RM8.87bil.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/11/business/8205616&sec=business
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Apple iPad Now Cheaper in Malaysia
Business Times Malaysia
With the launch of the new Apple iPad 2 at the same starting price as the first version, it was only natural that prices for the older models to drop. In Malaysia, prices for the first generation iPad has been reduced by RM350 for the iPad with Wi-Fi and by RM400 for the iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G.
According to the Apple Store Malaysia, prices for the Wi-Fi only model now start from RM1,199 for the 16GB iPad, while the 32GB model and the 64GB model are now priced at RM1,499 and RM1,799 respectively.
Meanwhile, the iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G start at RM1,599 for the 16GB model, while the 32GB model is priced at RM1,899 and the 64GB model is priced at RM2,199.
Apple earlier launched the newest iPad 2 with some significant improvements over the first generation model and prices for the new model is expected to be the old price for the first iPad.
Among the differences between the iPad and the iPad 2 is the thickness and weight. The iPad 2 is thinner, even thinner than an iPhone 4, and weighs slightly less.
The iPad 2 also has a faster dual-core A5 processor, a VGA front camera and a HD rear camera with FaceTime and PhotoBooth available. It also runs on the new iOS 4.3 operating system.
For more information, you can go to the Apple Store Malaysia website.
Read more: http://gadgets.emedia.com.my/product.php?id=1372&title=Apple_iPad_now_cheaper_in_Malaysia/Article/index_html#ixzz1FisrVKhz
With the launch of the new Apple iPad 2 at the same starting price as the first version, it was only natural that prices for the older models to drop. In Malaysia, prices for the first generation iPad has been reduced by RM350 for the iPad with Wi-Fi and by RM400 for the iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G.
According to the Apple Store Malaysia, prices for the Wi-Fi only model now start from RM1,199 for the 16GB iPad, while the 32GB model and the 64GB model are now priced at RM1,499 and RM1,799 respectively.
Meanwhile, the iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G start at RM1,599 for the 16GB model, while the 32GB model is priced at RM1,899 and the 64GB model is priced at RM2,199.
Apple earlier launched the newest iPad 2 with some significant improvements over the first generation model and prices for the new model is expected to be the old price for the first iPad.
Among the differences between the iPad and the iPad 2 is the thickness and weight. The iPad 2 is thinner, even thinner than an iPhone 4, and weighs slightly less.
The iPad 2 also has a faster dual-core A5 processor, a VGA front camera and a HD rear camera with FaceTime and PhotoBooth available. It also runs on the new iOS 4.3 operating system.
For more information, you can go to the Apple Store Malaysia website.
Read more: http://gadgets.emedia.com.my/product.php?id=1372&title=Apple_iPad_now_cheaper_in_Malaysia/Article/index_html#ixzz1FisrVKhz
YTL Comms Keen to Launch 4G Network in Sabah, Sarawak
Saturday March 5, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd has expressed interest in rolling out its fourth-generation (4G) network to Sabah and Sarawak.
Its executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong told reporters yesterday that the company would like to roll out its 4G services there, pending spectrum license approval from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
He was speaking at the company's launch of new 4G mobile Internet service packages and devices. YTL Communications' 4G service is known as Yes and was launched last November in Peninsular Malaysia.
Since the launch, Yes had achieved one million voice minutes, 670,000 text messages and more than 104 terabytes of data traffic, said YTL Communications chief executive officer Wing K. Lee.
He said YTL Communications' 4G service was three to five times faster than any network and had had some 100,000 active users sign on since the launch last year.
“The coverage now spans the length of the North-South Expressway. We also launched our sales network in Penang last week, the first major market outside the Klang Valley,” he added.
Penang will have its first Yes Store in the Northern region, opening in April this year.
YTL Communications had invested RM2.5bil into its Yes 4G infrastructure and had 1,800 base stations built in Peninsular Malaysia with 65% of the population covered, said Yeoh. The aim is to have 80% coverage by year-end.
The company also launched two new Yes Valuepacks, which are effective next month, priced at RM68 and RM150 for 3.5GB and 10GB of data respectively. These plans are also inclusive of a set number of talktime and text messages.
It currently offers a pay-as-you-go rate of nine sen for 3MB (megabit) data, one-minute call or one short-messaging service but decided to come up with unbinding plans for consumers after listening to users suggestions.
Along with the new plans, YTL Communications also launched two new devices Yes Buzz, which is a 4G mobile phone and Yes Zoom, an all-in-one communications solution with built-in WiFi.
YTL Communications executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said YTL's 4G network allowed for real facetime.
He said that given the rising trend in mobile data demand, the effectiveness of applications like mobile video conferencing relied on bandwidth.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/5/business/8192735&sec=business
KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd has expressed interest in rolling out its fourth-generation (4G) network to Sabah and Sarawak.
Its executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong told reporters yesterday that the company would like to roll out its 4G services there, pending spectrum license approval from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
He was speaking at the company's launch of new 4G mobile Internet service packages and devices. YTL Communications' 4G service is known as Yes and was launched last November in Peninsular Malaysia.
Since the launch, Yes had achieved one million voice minutes, 670,000 text messages and more than 104 terabytes of data traffic, said YTL Communications chief executive officer Wing K. Lee.
He said YTL Communications' 4G service was three to five times faster than any network and had had some 100,000 active users sign on since the launch last year.
“The coverage now spans the length of the North-South Expressway. We also launched our sales network in Penang last week, the first major market outside the Klang Valley,” he added.
Penang will have its first Yes Store in the Northern region, opening in April this year.
YTL Communications had invested RM2.5bil into its Yes 4G infrastructure and had 1,800 base stations built in Peninsular Malaysia with 65% of the population covered, said Yeoh. The aim is to have 80% coverage by year-end.
The company also launched two new Yes Valuepacks, which are effective next month, priced at RM68 and RM150 for 3.5GB and 10GB of data respectively. These plans are also inclusive of a set number of talktime and text messages.
It currently offers a pay-as-you-go rate of nine sen for 3MB (megabit) data, one-minute call or one short-messaging service but decided to come up with unbinding plans for consumers after listening to users suggestions.
Along with the new plans, YTL Communications also launched two new devices Yes Buzz, which is a 4G mobile phone and Yes Zoom, an all-in-one communications solution with built-in WiFi.
YTL Communications executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said YTL's 4G network allowed for real facetime.
He said that given the rising trend in mobile data demand, the effectiveness of applications like mobile video conferencing relied on bandwidth.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/5/business/8192735&sec=business
Afzal Needs Better Arsenal to Fight the Fibre-optic War
Friday March 4, 2011
Friday Reflections - By B.K. Sidhu
IN four days Afzal Abdul Rahim covered all the booths that he could find in six halls at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC).
You may wonder what was the head honco of a fixed line company doing at a mobile congress?
Spying, would be the obvious answer.
Others from the fixed world were also there but he stopped at every booth, found out what he wanted before moving to the next. This is the congress where geeks, vendors and techo guys meet every year to craft the future of the industry.
It is also a showcase of future technology, applications and devices. MWC is also the base where jobs are negotiated as a lot of CVs are circulated.
I guess he had to pay for excess baggage for carrying nearly 20 kilos of brochures he brought back. But knowing him, and his witty self, he may have gotten across for free.
And after getting around through the halls he had time to find some Indian restaurants for thosai and tandoori.
I am talking about Barcelona and he is the CEO of Time dotCom Bhd (TDC). This man can't resist mamak, Indian food and teh tarik.
He was there to find out what the future trends were so that TDC could arm itself to tap the areas of opportunities.
From the congress it is clear that data rules, and voice is down.
Data is growing and will grow at a faster pace as more people become comfortable with socialising, buying, selling and doing transactions online.
Since fibre can carry a lot more data, it will play a bigger role going forward and that is why the two bigger celcos are already working closely with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).
To recap, TDC was a company with big ambitions, big plans, but nothing materialised. It was bleeding for years since its listing in 2001 and many people lost a lot of money investing in this stock.
Its balance sheet had been flawed with red ink and in 2007 it reported RM160mil net loss. Afzal joins the group in late 2008.
Today TDC is a different creature.
From merely owning fibre, TDC has shaped up to have a data centre, a global IPT network, an equity in the Trans Pacific Cable System - running from Singapore to Japan and onto the United States in which Google is also a partner. It now carries some traffic from Thailand to Malaysia and onto the US.
It is carrying digital TV content for Astro and has 30,000 buildings wired up. It is fiberalising DiGi's network.
After Barcelona he sprang a surprised - TDC delivered triple growth in net profit to RM107mil for FY10. Revenue was up 27% - percentages never heard of previously - to RM317mil.
All this was led by higher contributions from data, particularly wholesale and global bandwidth segment. But its market share is only a meagre 5%, incumbent TM has the rest.
He is tough and results-orientated and wants the market share to rise to 10% and his aim is for TDC to be a regional wholesale player. This is another big ambition!
It will be tough as he is up against TM, and also the mobile boys, which are beefing up operations to ride the big data boom and they are all out for the same small and medium enterprises and corporate market.
TDC also has its share of problems. Deployment is its biggest issue, bureaucracy a hurdle, it is a capital intensive business and there is no common utility planning.
It is also not on analyst radar screens and by market capitalisation it is no where near TM, whose market cap is seven times bigger than that of TDC. It is RM14.2bil versus RM1.92bil.
Afzal is the 14th CEO of TDC. Perhaps TDC has finally gotten its acts right.
And no doubt Afzal has delivered seven quarters of profit, the journey is far from over as the war of fibre has yet to be fought. Its advantage - being small it has control over cost and pricing and can be as competitive as the bigger boys.
With the better results, Afzal has already waved his magic wand, perhaps he now needs a better instrument to fight the fibre war.
Deputy news editor B.K. SIDHU finds Afzal very witty.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/4/business/8187328&sec=business
Friday Reflections - By B.K. Sidhu
IN four days Afzal Abdul Rahim covered all the booths that he could find in six halls at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC).
You may wonder what was the head honco of a fixed line company doing at a mobile congress?
Spying, would be the obvious answer.
Others from the fixed world were also there but he stopped at every booth, found out what he wanted before moving to the next. This is the congress where geeks, vendors and techo guys meet every year to craft the future of the industry.
It is also a showcase of future technology, applications and devices. MWC is also the base where jobs are negotiated as a lot of CVs are circulated.
I guess he had to pay for excess baggage for carrying nearly 20 kilos of brochures he brought back. But knowing him, and his witty self, he may have gotten across for free.
And after getting around through the halls he had time to find some Indian restaurants for thosai and tandoori.
I am talking about Barcelona and he is the CEO of Time dotCom Bhd (TDC). This man can't resist mamak, Indian food and teh tarik.
He was there to find out what the future trends were so that TDC could arm itself to tap the areas of opportunities.
From the congress it is clear that data rules, and voice is down.
Data is growing and will grow at a faster pace as more people become comfortable with socialising, buying, selling and doing transactions online.
Since fibre can carry a lot more data, it will play a bigger role going forward and that is why the two bigger celcos are already working closely with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM).
To recap, TDC was a company with big ambitions, big plans, but nothing materialised. It was bleeding for years since its listing in 2001 and many people lost a lot of money investing in this stock.
Its balance sheet had been flawed with red ink and in 2007 it reported RM160mil net loss. Afzal joins the group in late 2008.
Today TDC is a different creature.
From merely owning fibre, TDC has shaped up to have a data centre, a global IPT network, an equity in the Trans Pacific Cable System - running from Singapore to Japan and onto the United States in which Google is also a partner. It now carries some traffic from Thailand to Malaysia and onto the US.
It is carrying digital TV content for Astro and has 30,000 buildings wired up. It is fiberalising DiGi's network.
After Barcelona he sprang a surprised - TDC delivered triple growth in net profit to RM107mil for FY10. Revenue was up 27% - percentages never heard of previously - to RM317mil.
All this was led by higher contributions from data, particularly wholesale and global bandwidth segment. But its market share is only a meagre 5%, incumbent TM has the rest.
He is tough and results-orientated and wants the market share to rise to 10% and his aim is for TDC to be a regional wholesale player. This is another big ambition!
It will be tough as he is up against TM, and also the mobile boys, which are beefing up operations to ride the big data boom and they are all out for the same small and medium enterprises and corporate market.
TDC also has its share of problems. Deployment is its biggest issue, bureaucracy a hurdle, it is a capital intensive business and there is no common utility planning.
It is also not on analyst radar screens and by market capitalisation it is no where near TM, whose market cap is seven times bigger than that of TDC. It is RM14.2bil versus RM1.92bil.
Afzal is the 14th CEO of TDC. Perhaps TDC has finally gotten its acts right.
And no doubt Afzal has delivered seven quarters of profit, the journey is far from over as the war of fibre has yet to be fought. Its advantage - being small it has control over cost and pricing and can be as competitive as the bigger boys.
With the better results, Afzal has already waved his magic wand, perhaps he now needs a better instrument to fight the fibre war.
Deputy news editor B.K. SIDHU finds Afzal very witty.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/4/business/8187328&sec=business
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