If you are following the news here and here, recently six NasionCom directors has been fined.
The Mobile Content Challenge 2007 was co-organized by Maxis, KTAK and MCMC to encourage young Malaysians to develop mobile content and promote the growth of the local mobile content industry.
Since last year, there are hundreds of complaints out there from users who received SMSes or charged for SMS that they never requested, probably there are some thousand of users out there that choose to ignore these SMSes and was not aware that they were charged for it.
The Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik has announced that the WiMAX roll-out has been delayed till next year.
Mobile messaging technology enabler Macrokiosk Bhd believes its Automated Mobile XChange (AMX) solution is the answer to service problems faced by telecommunications companies and their subscribers.
The product is to help telcos in the region fight unsolicited SMSes, launch their own external content provider programme, provide a content delivery mechanism, and handle number portability.
It was launched during CommunicAsia 2007 in Singapore recently.
"We believe telcos will find this a timely solution for resolving issues of overcharging, spamming, inability to opt-out, illicit downloads, unsolicited text messages, and billing errors," said Macrokiosk chief executive officer Kenny Goh.
"It will save time, manpower and effort for the telcos.
But more importantly, it will create a high confidence level for their mobile users." Goh said the homegrown solution, which took eight months to build, is a telco-grade product that has four modules — filtration, charging, content delivery and portability.
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authorising the making of false statements in NasionCom Sdn Bhd’s documents required under the Companies Act 1965 for profit and loss accounts and balance sheets.
(Those documents comprised sales invoices, bank deposit slips, dealer agreements and debtor ledgers)
Fifteen most sought-after titles were conferred at the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Telecoms Awards banquet which was officiated by the Deputy Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, YB Dato' Shaziman Abu Mansor, and attended by some 200 members of the industry.
The evening culminated in a surprise when the most prestigious title of the Awards -- the Service Provider of the Year -- was jointly conferred to both Maxis and TM, in what was a never-before-seen decision of its kind in the history of Frost & Sullivan Awards globally.
Manoj Menon, partner at Frost & Sullivan, said, "It is truly a time to celebrate for the Malaysian telecoms industry. Together, as an industry, we have competed hard and created a very strong and vibrant local market. This has helped local companies emerge as very strong regional players – and this is just the beginning."
"The benefits of these investments in overseas markets will be seen in the next three to five years. Importantly, each of the three key telecom service providers, viz. Telekom Malaysia, DiGi and Maxis, have in their own way produced outstanding performances which compare well not only locally, but also regionally," he added.
The Malaysian ICT industry has also been doing very well on the innovation front. The Government's industry development policies, as well as access to capital markets have helped in the development and growth of companies in the areas of mobile content, call center outsourcing, security, IP telephony and managed services. These segments represent the next wave of growth opportunities in Malaysia and the region."It is heartening to note that a new wave of young Malaysian companies in emerging technology segments are also making significant inroads, both, in the local and regional markets. Congratulations to all the award recipients for setting high benchmarks for your competitors," said Menon.
The deserving recipients were selected following a meticulous process in which a team of Frost & Sullivan's leading analysts short listed, researched and evaluated the top contenders in each category, applying the same thorough approach that has been the hallmark of Frost & Sullivan globally. The findings of the detailed evaluation were then presented to an independent panel of judges comprising influential decision makers from the telecommunications sector, industry leaders and the media, who have in themselves pushed the boundaries of innovation and corporate excellence, in determining the recipients in each category. The line-up of judges included representatives from Frost & Sullivan, Juniper Networks, DiGi, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens Networks, Time dotCom, Ericsson, Maxis, Motorola Electronics, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, REDtone and Business Today. The contenders were evaluated based on a variety of actual market performance indicators which include revenue growth; market share and growth in market share; leadership in product innovation; breadth of products and solutions; major customer acquisitions; subscriber base and growth in subscriber base; ARPU (average revenue per user) and growth in ARPU; data strategy; next generation service strategy; and business and market strategy. Benchmarked against the highest standards of measurement criteria, the recipients of these awards indeed represent the best-in-class.
Frost & Sullivan congratulates all the outstanding recipients of the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Malaysia Telecoms Awards
Category Award Recipient
Service Providers
Mobile Service Provider of the Year: DiGi
Mobile Data Service Provider of the Year: DiGi
Mobile Content Developer of the Year: Nextnation Communication
Alternative Voice Service Provider of the Year: REDtone
Broadband Service Provider of the Year: TM Net
Data Communications Service Provider of the Year: Telekom
Managed Security Service Provider of the Year: SCAN Associates
Most Innovative Application/Product of the Year: Genico(R) 3G Pocketsports by NGC Systems
Vendors
Network Security Vendor of the Year : Juniper Networks
Telecoms Equipment Vendor of the Year : Ericsson
Best of the Best
Service Provider of the Year Jointly conferred to: Maxis Communications % Telekom
Most Promising Service Provider of the Year: HeiTech Padu
Time dotCom Bhd and Green Packet Bhd was said to be the "possible" companies to tie-up or might be take over by DiGi.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission last month named the successful applicants for the 2.3GHz broadband wireless access spectrum tender exercise, but Green Packet had begun gearing up for the new venture over a year before that.
Says chief executive officer Puan Chan Cheong, “I would say we're ahead of the other licensees.”
Green Packet believes it already has the technology, skills and cash pile – Puan calls it “our little war chest” – to be a competitive service provider in the broadband market. The plan is for Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd, the subsidiary that was awarded the WiMAX licence, to begin offering its services by the end of the year.
The adoption of WiMAX is at an early stage and there is still much work to be done in other areas (such as hardware and content development), but Puan sees the technology as a force that will lower the odds against recent entrants to the telecommunications sector.He points out that there is no way the new players can wire every home as the incumbent telcos have already done. There have to take the wireless route and WiMAX offers that opportunity.
In a news release in response to the award of the WiMAX licences, Green Packet explains, “WiMAX, which stands for World Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a wireless digital communications system that is intended for wireless broadband access.
“In areas without pre-existing physical cable or telephone networks, WiMAX can be a viable alternative for broadband access that has been economically unavailable.”
The others licensees are Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd, REDtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd and Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd. The first two are also subsidiaries of Mesdaq companies. Bizsurf comes under YTL e-Solutions Bhd, while REDtone International Bhd is the parent company of REDtone-CNX.
Headed by chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Abdullah, Asiaspace is described on its website as “an infrastructure company for broadcasting and telecommunication network” and is best known as a builder of telecommunications towers for cellular operators.
An early start
Green Packet's desire to secure in a WiMAX licence became public knowledge on July 18 last year, when it announced its proposed purchase of a 55% stake in Packet One, then known as MIB Comm Sdn Bhd, which had submitted a bid for the 2.3GHz spectrum.
Puan says MIB Comm was chosen as an acquisition target because it has a Network Facilities Provider licence, a prerequisite for application for the WiMAX spectrum.
“MIB Comm is a very clean vehicle. Starting from scratch will take us too long,” he adds. Although there is no shareholder agreement to provide for Green Packet increasing its shareholding in the subsidiary, Puan does not rule out that possibility.
In fact, Green Packet had been getting ready for the new business well before it had signed the MIB Comm deal. The first step was to raise funds. In December 2005, it said it planned a private placement of up to 10% of its paid-up share capital. This was completed on June 30 last year.
Capitalising on its status as favoured stock, the company undertook a second private placement, which was completed last December. The gross proceeds from both exercises amounted to RM272.5mil. It was clear that the management had decided to move in a new direction, one that requires substantial capital expenditure.
Says Puan: “Our existing core pillar is solutions. That will continue with its high-growth pattern because of our industry and regional focus. Now we are building a new pillar.
“A lot of the products that we have developed are very good for wireless broadband. And we have been given the opportunity to hold all the licences. This allows us to use our technology to contribute to the national broadband policy. We feel the broadband market is underserved.”
Pivotal in Green Packet's broadband strategy is the company's SONmetro range of products, which enable the provision of wireless broadband connectivity “at GSM-type coverage with DSL/cable data speeds and high-speed mobility at a substantially low-cost”.
By building a network that combines the capabilities of SONmetro and WiMAX, Green Packet believes it can offer wireless broadband services at reasonable rates.
The company we will be spending RM500mil on this approach for the next three years, mostly for infrastructure and backend systems, such as for the billing of customers.
It will take time
The transformation at Green Packet will be major. For one thing, it will take on a business-to-consumer dimension, which requires new ways to gain and retain customers. “To change from our largely B2B (business-to-business) model, we are mindful of the need to get a new team and new skills,” says Puan.
A key move, according to observers, was the appointment of Michael Lai as head of Green Packet International Sdn Bhd.
As the ex-CEO of TM Net Sdn Bhd, Lai is widely credited for the big jump in the number of broadband Internet subscribers in Malaysia. Analyst agree that his marketing expertise may well be instrumental when Green Packet begins establishing a subscriber base.
Puan says the aim is to first target enterprises rather than homes and individuals. He explains, “The ARPU average revenue per user) is higher, and the service providers and enterprises can better absorb the prices of the CPE (customer premise equipment, that is, the devices used by the customers to gain access to the wireless networks).
He acknowledges that the WiMAX venture is probably riskier than anything else Green Packet has previously done, but argues that the prospects look bright.
“In any business anywhere, the No. 1 and No. 2, and maybe even the No. 3, are likely to be profitable. We believe that Green Packet has a very good chance to be No.2 in the Malaysian broadband market. We believe people are dying for alternatives. We still consider ourselves a start-up and we're very hungry,” he says.
However, he cautions that the pay-offs will not be immediate. Like any new technology, he points out, WiMAX allows people to dream of possibilities. “But we have to get back to earth. It takes time for the whole ecosystem to mature,” he adds.
He cites the example of 3G services, whose introduction in recent years had been preceded by massive hype. In parts of Europe, for example, 3G licences had been given out about a decade ago, but customers have yet to fully experience the services promised.
The cost of the CPE, which is about US$200 to US$300, is an obstacle. To Puan, the ideal price point is US$50. To get to that, there has to be a huge increase in sales volume. That will not happen until the manufacturers begin churning out a lot more WiMAX-compatible hardware, such as notebook computers and mobiles devices.
On Green Packet's ambition to move up the telco industry ladder, Puan says: “We are building, if you like, a Nokia or a Cisco with products such as SONaccess, SONbuddy and SONmetro. We are using a lot of our technology to build another vehicle. It's similar to the Vodafone model."
“We plan to do this not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries. In Malaysia, we've been lucky to get spectrum and licences. But this will not be the case in the other countries because of the different regulatory environments. So we will partner with others.
“We bring the technology and investments, and piggyback on the local partners' licences. This way, we can create a recurring revenue division.”-TheStar
Peter Tham, its group managing director, said that if the licence were to be withdrawn it would affect the hundreds of customers who rely on NasionCom's wireless broadband service.
"How will we address this?" he asked, adding that the move would also affect the 9,000 shareholders of the company.
He hoped the Government would allocate an alternative frequency if it were to go ahead with its plan.
"That way, we can migrate our customers over," he said in an e-mail interview.
On Thursday, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said use of the 3.5GHz frequency by the wireless broadband service providers was interfering with the operations of the Measat-3 communications satellite.
He blamed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which had given out the licences, for the predicament.
Measat-3 also uses the frequency, which is employed by the broadband service providers to offer fast wireless Internet access to the corporate sector, as well as other related services.
The other 3.5GHz frequency licence holders are Airzed Broadband Sdn Bhd, TM Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd, EB Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd, TTDotCom Sdn Bhd and Atlas One, according to the MCMC website.
"We hope to resolve the issue in a win-win situation," said MCMC corporate communications head Adelina Iskandar.-The Star
REDtone’s managing director Wei Chuan Beng sheds some light on what to expect from the group with TheStar's Bizweek.
BIZWEEK: How different are things for REDtone now as opposed to a year ago?
Wei: It’s been pretty good for us of late. What we have been planning over the past year is beginning to bear fruit. We laid the groundwork to transform REDtone and it seems to be showing positive signs. We are now on track.
If you look at our past releases, you will see that we planned two things quite specifically. One was our foray abroad and second, to have balanced growth in Malaysia by having a few products and services, while maintaining the existing discount call business.
The new areas we have gone into include travel phones, and the provision of data and broadband services. This gives us a balance in business, earnings stream and revenue for the company. This transformation with the two-pronged strategy is now beginning to show ... early fruits, which we can reap.
Things are definitely looking up for your ventures in Pakistan and China. Can you elaborate?
Wei: They have improved tremendously. Moving forward, for the Pakistan venture, we are in negotiations with a potential new investor. But nothing is firmed up yet.
We have been in Pakistan for two years; we have a very strong network in the country.
The management is one of the important factors for the turnaround in the Pakistan venture. Stability at a senior management level is a factor.
We are already making profits in China, where we are now looking to balance our revenue contribution. Besides voice, we are also actively looking at data business. For this, we are in negotiations for certain acquisitions which can enhance our presence.
China is going to be interesting with the contribution from voice, data, broadband and the Internet in the near future.
What brought about the turnaround?
Wei: Most new ventures will initially be loss making. They have a gestation period. Two years ago, we ventured into Pakistan and last year, we went into China.
Since last month, we have been recording EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) profits. This month onwards, China will contribute about 8 million or about RM4mil a month.
For the new financial year (FY08) starting June, China will contribute more than RM50mil. The margins may not be that high but we have the economies of scale. To record a profitable EBITDA position within a year is remarkable, especially in the telco business, considering the competition.
But China can be very competitive. How do you see REDtone competing with the local players?
Wei:I think REDtone as a company is able to withstand competition. It just needs an environment where it can fully expand its capabilities. We must seize the opportunity and move along.
We have our core competencies, our technology and our innovative products and packages, which allow us to add value to the customers, support the channel well and serve the market effectively. This also allows us to grow in a particular market ... this is how we grew in China amidst the competition amidst the well-educated Shanghai consumers.
It must have been a trying time for you these past few years when things were not going too well.
Wei: People used to say that REDtone is so dependant on the long distance calls, discounted calls and is subject to competition. They said REDtone is vulnerable and so on.
We agree that was the impression in the past. The management has thoroughly assess the market(s) and we've done the changes accordingly. Admittedly, some of these changes take time to show itself in a positive way.
This is our transition year and we will be back on a higher growth path in the new financial year.
Quarter-on-quarter, revenue has come down, then stabilised, and tapered off a little bit. So, we foresee Q4 and Q1 next year to start to show growth. I think it’s a very important indication to us.
If we merely dependent on one product line, we wouldn't have been able to do this.
There is speculation that REDtone may list its travel phone business. Is this on?
Wei: There is a lot going on. In fact the telco business is a very international business; it has to integrate with the world’s telco structure, the connectivity and the network of different entities.
Our travel phones presence in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Pakistan will allow us to have connectivity with more than 70 to 80 carriers across the world. In the telco business you must have connectivity with other telco’s. There must be inter connectivity as you cannot live on your own.
Our presence in all these countries also gives us the economies of scale. We are in talks with telcos for other opportunities such as voice, data or international links.
The listing of the travel phone business is still very preliminary. The business can be very substantial, but I think it hinges on a few factors, one of which is how soon we can get a strategic partner on board, to expand the business. We plan to form a tie up and penetrate markets.
A tie up can benefit the strategic partner tremendously as well as you are looking at bringing subscribers from outside their network to them.
When this takes off, we will be looking at a different phase of growth. But until then, it's still an integral part of REDtone.
The entity that seems more ready to go to the market is the Chinese venture ... it is seems more ready.
What about the recently awarded WiMax licence, many say that with a high capex (capital expenditure) of about RM300mil, it will be difficult for REDtone considering its focus will be on East Malaysia. Can you comment?
Wei: Most of the business has been in Peninsula Malaysia. Chances are when they do roll out more broadband data services, peninsula is likely to make a lot more monetarily.
For the time being, we are actively making assessments on what could be the appropriate plan for Sabah and Sarawak. But there are still a lot more plans in the pipeline, which should become clearer over the next two weeks. Some important initiatives have yet to be announced. WiMax is part and parcel of our data and broadband strategy. -The Star
FEW areas of licensing in Malaysia, if any, have been more controversial in recent years than spectrum allocation. After all, the spectrum is a national asset whose use touches so many aspects of everyday life. As such, allocating frequency bands involves the interests of many parties and the stakes are high.
Access to the spectrum gives businesses a decent shot at making serious money. On the other hand, everybody expects these businesses to offer reliable and affordable services.
Each time the outcome of a tender exercise for spectrum allocation is announced, there's bound to be an intense debate. There's so much fodder for discussion and speculation – for example, the reasons for choosing the winners and spurning the losers, the merits (or lack of such) of the winners, the rollout plans, and what's next for the losers.
Continue here,The Star.
THESE days, REDtone International Bhd’s office in the IOI Business Centre in Puchong is bustling with activity. The pace has visibly picked up and there is a palpable feel-good element in the air. But that's putting it mildly.
