YTL 4G good for building Malaysia into high-income nation

Posted: March 31st, 2010 | Filed under: Market | 2 Comments »

MALAYSIA’S first nationwide 4G WiMAX network has the potential to change how people work, live and communicate, according to YTL Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh.

More importantly, it (4G services) could enable businesses to be conducted more efficiently, which is in line with the Government’s New Economic Model (NEM) to transform the country into a high-income nation, he said.

“A 10% improvement in broadband penetration increases gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3%.

“Currently, our broadband penetration is only 25% and if we move it to 75%, we will have a 6% increase in GDP” and would create a more sustainable economy dependent on knowledge workers, he said at InvestMalaysia 2010 yesterday.

The 4G service is being developed by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a unit of YTL.

Yeoh said the Government was aware of the importance of enhancing broadband as it would not only help spur economic growth and development but also allow individuals to gain knowledge and various expertise that could help them achieve higher income.

The 4G service and network is expected to be rolled out before year-end and so far, YTL has invested over RM2.5bil in the development of 4G services in the country.

On the New Economic Model, Yeoh said the private sector was supportive of the model and was now looking forward to its execution and implementation in June.

“The Government must have the political will to make policy changes and be consistent with the policy changes for the good of the nation and its people, despite that fact that it may hurt certain quarters in the short term,” he noted.

The two-month grace period before the policies are implemented is to allow various industry players to have their say and possibly to iron out any issues.

---