YTL needs 1,920 base stations in Peninsular

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, one of four WiMAX licensees in the country, has yet to roll out its WiMAX service, but it has an ambitious plan to hook up the entire nation, starting with the peninsula, by 2010.

With an investment commitment of some RM2.5 billion, YTL’s proposal won the grudging approval of other WiMAX players in the country, who agree that nationwide connectivity is necessary to unleash the full potential of mobile WiMAX.

Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the deployment of the network will achieve the lofty goals YTL has set for itself.
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PM: YTL Wimax vital to national growth

PUTRAJAYA: Broadband penetration must increase dramatically for the nation to continue progressing — this was a key topic at the 12th International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said there needs to be broadband penetration on a massive scale for the country to go even further.

He quoted a World Bank report which said that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration there would be a 1.3% increase in economic growth.

He was speaking at a press conference after the IAP meeting on Tuesday.

Najib said the Government’s target of 50% broadband penetration by the end of next year, as outlined in the National Broadband Plan, is achievable. Currently 24% of Malaysian households have broadband.

“TM (Telekom Malaysia) is pushing hard while YTL (one of four WiMAX licence holders) has just launched its 4G (fourth generation wireless broadband) service, he said.

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YTL Comms appoints Clearwire VP to board director

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, November 16, 2009 – YTL Communications Sdn Bhd today announced the appointment of Ali Tabassi as a director to its board. Mr. Tabassi is senior vice president of global ecosystem and standards for Clearwire and as such is responsible for driving industry standards internationally to achieve Clearwire’s corporate objectives. He also leads the company’s global advocacy program and its network engineering, operations, product development, and IT services in Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Germany and Poland as the CTO of Clearwire International.

“We are pleased to leverage Mr. Tabassi’s vast experience helping to expand the burgeoning global WiMAX ecosystem,” said YTL Group Managing Director Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr) Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, CBE, FICE. “His insights and guidance will be invaluable as we roll out 4G services to improve the lives of people across Malaysia.”

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YTL Wimax targeting 14 million subscribers by Dec 2010

YTL’S premium properties, five-star hotels and resorts and upscale malls have helped make the brand synonymous with luxury and increasingly, the company is leveraging the premium attached to the brand to expand abroad.

Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, managing director of YTL Corp Bhd, says Starhill Towers and Gallery in Dubai will be completed next year and YTL has agreed to build another in Almaty in the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan. Starhill Gallery, a swanky shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle, was rebranded by Interbrand as a premier mall in 2005 and made Forbes Traveller’s 2007 list of Asia’s Amazing Malls. Last year, YTL signed an agreement with ETA Star Property Developers LLC of the UAE to launch the concept in Dubai. It will be the first development outside Malaysia to carry the Starhill brand.

A much-anticipated event next year is the launch of YTL e-Solutions’ (YTLe) Wimax network which will cost the company RM2.5 billion. “By December next year, the whole country will have access to YTLe’s wireless broadband service,” Yeoh says, adding that he targets 14 million subscribers.

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PM Najib launches YTL’s Wimax Innovation Network

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 10 (Bernama) — The signing of Malaysia’s 4G Innovation Network spells innovation which will transform the country towards more success, said Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Tueaday.

He said the usage of 4G wimax will expose every corner in Malaysia to the digital world and gather the best information needed for every aspect of life.

Quoting a report from the World Bank, he said every increment of 10 per cent in broadband penetration for a country will push its economic growth by 12 per cent.

“Can you imagine Malaysia with a very high broadband penetration rate, not only in Klang Valley but throughout the country, the rural, the countryside.

“We cannot build an optic fibre in Jeli (Kelantan), Pekan (Pahang). 4G wimax is the solution,” said Najib at the signing ceremony for the Establishment of a 4G Innovation Network in Malaysia, here.

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YTL’s 4G Innovation Network to award USD1 million to innovators

Nov 10, 2009 – KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – YTL Communications Sdn Bhd today announced the formation of a 4G Innovation Network in Malaysia in cooperation with some of the preeminent players in technology, including: Cisco, Clearwire, GCT Semiconductor, Inc. and SAMSUNG. High-ranking executives from each participating company marked the official start of the initiative during a ceremony at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur witnessed by the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia Y.A.B Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak.

To inspire the developers who take part in the 4G Innovation Network to create exciting new products and services that address consumers’ needs, YTL Communications will sponsor a global competition-the mY Prize-in 2010. A total of USD 1 million will be awarded to help entrepreneurs and innovators realize their best ideas and then offer them to consumers on a nationwide level. More details will be announced by January. Developers are invited to visit the Company’s web site to request more information at: www.ytlcomms.my.
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YTL in 15-year agreement to rent TM’s infrastructure

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Com) signed a 15-year agreement with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) to use part of the latter’s core network to roll out its services on its own 4G WiMAX network.

Besides TM, YTL Com recently signed a similar agreement with Fibrerail to use the latter’s network for back haul infrastructure in town areas for its WiMAX network deployment.

Using TM and Fibrerail’s back haul infrastructure eliminates the need for YTL Com to build its own backhaul infrastructure, thus saving the company millions of ringgit, and such a move quickens the whole process of building its network.

YTL Com executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong said Fibrerail’s network would be used to deploy services in the major cities and towns and TM’s in the rural areas. To roll out services by its targeted July timeline, YTL Com needs to add servers at various locations and transmitters to TM’s 200 towers and over 100 of Fibreail’s.
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YTL promises 60% population coverage by mid-2011

PETALING JAYA: Three of the four WiMAX licensees have been slapped with fines for not rolling out their networks on time, industry sources said.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is said to have issued letters on the fines to the WiMAX operators more than a week ago.

The players fined are YTL e-Solutions (RM1.9mil), AsiaSpace (RM1.7mil) and REDtone International (RM200,000) for failure to meet the 25% population coverage by the end of March.

The quantum correlates to the level of coverage achieved as at the deadline. However, all three players are appealing against their fines.
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YTL sponsors competition to get best content and devices for 4G WiMAX

PUTRAJAYA: YTL Power International Bhd unit, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Com), and its global partners will sponsor a global competition that will help entrepreneurs and innovators create content and devices which will run on its 4G WiMAX network when it is commercially available in July.

This will thrust Malaysia forward in terms of innovation and Internet connectivity as the initiative makes Malaysia the test bed for WiMAX content and devices which can be marketed globally.

At the same time, the initiative harnesses talent globally and it will have a connectivity to the best minds in Silicon Valley, making it an attractive proposition for device vendors that want to create devices for WiMAX, which are presently very limited.

A total of US$1mil will be awarded to help bring the best ideas to fruition but competition details will only be announced in January.
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Samsung joins YTL’s Wimax Center of Excellence

SEOUL, Korea—Samsung Electronics is racking up more mobile WiMAX contracts. The company on Wednesday announced it won additional supply contracts from UQ Communications in Japan.

Samsung says that as UQ Communications’ major mobile WiMAX equipment vendor, it already has deployed mobile WiMAX in major metro centers of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. UQ launched commercial mobile WiMAX service in July.

The latest contract is for mobile WiMAX base stations for delivery early next year; the value of the contracts was not disclosed.

Samsung also said it has joined the WiMAX Center of Excellence, led by YTL Communications in Malaysia. Other global companies in the WiMAX industry such as Clearwire, Cisco and GCT Semiconductor also participate in the program. Samsung will take the role of knowledge provider and technical assistant, providing its interoperability test lab in Malaysia for approved developers.

The news comes as Samsung is hosting a group of U.S. journalists this week in its homeland to highlight the work it has done in WiMAX. An estimated 250,000 people are using commercial WiMAX services in South Korea.

Samsung is one of the vendors for Clearwire, which just got an infusion of $1.56 billion in cash as part of a new equity investment round.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/News/2009/11/Samsung-Asian-WiMAX-Contracts/