PETALING JAYA: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has made no secret of its interest in the mobile business despite having demerged it from its operations a few years ago.
The telecom giant had said in the past that it was not ruling out the possibility of collaborating with industry players to offer mobile broadband. This time, however, TM is venturing on its own to join the long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G bandwagon.
In its pre-request for proposal briefing in May, TM said it would invite tender for LTE deployment, with the letter of award to be prepared in mid-September.
“TM is currently exploring the expansion of its wireless broadband services in underserved areas, looking at the best technology evolution path in the optimisation plans for our current Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, and in line with our broadband services delivery strategy for the nation,” TM said when contacted.
According to a document made available to StarBiz, TM said the network provider would propose an end-to-end network and IT solution with some integration to existing TM infrastructure for the deployment of the LTE. In addition, TM will opt for the establish-operate-transfer (EOT) model for the network and IT infrastructure for at least 24 months.
The document also revealed the timeline for the deployment of the 4G services. The first commercial service is expected to be rolled out by Feb 12, 2014, with the end of rollout slated for Oct 15, 2014. TM plans to use 800MHz as its LTE frequency band, providing it with better signal transmission.
In addition, TM aims to have 100,000 users by 2014 and more than one million by 2017.
Telco analysts said the time was right for TM to enter the 4G scene now, as deployment would take a while. They said TM’s focus had always been on fixed lines and its high-speed broadband Unifi. Eventually, TM will have to look for opportunities to extend its reach to enlarge its market.
“We think that TM is looking at wireless broadband to complement its fixed broadband, thus posing a credible threat to the incumbents,” CIMB Research analyst Kelvin Goh said.
He said TM would pose a “credible threat” to the incumbents in wireless broadband. However, it was unlikely that TM would make much headway into mobile voice, at least in the near term, given the limited penetration of LTE-enabled phones, he added.
“We believe TM’s 4G roadmap would likely get clearer when the contract is awarded,” an analyst said, adding that competition was going to be fierce and could not be avoided in relation to TM’s impending entry into the 4G arena.
Analysts said TM currently complemented its fixed data and broadband services with a host of wireless solutions, including WiFi, fixed wireless technology via CDMA as well as Evolution Data Optimised.
Cellular operators like Celcom Axiata Bhd, Maxis Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd have sizeable grasp on the local scene, while Axiata Group Bhd has leverage in the regional arena. Futhermore, Maxis and Celcom have already introduced their 4G services, and DiGi is expected to do so this month.
Celcom has also entered into a master collaboration agreement with Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd for its 4G service rollout.
Fitch Ratings expects TM to face stiffer competition in the fast-growing, increasingly important data segment this year, especially from the resellers. The rating agency said competition in the Malaysian data segment would intensify, as the LTE spectrum owners, who won spectrum in December 2012, would start launching their respective services in 2013.
CIMB’s Goh said TM’s extensive fibre optic network would allow it to roll out a wireless network in a quick and cost-effective manner.
He pointed out that TM had two 10MHz blocks at the 850MHz level, which is covered by the LTE standard, with superior in-building and geographical coverage. The other telcos are launching LTE at 1800MHz and 2.6GHz, which have inferior propagation qualities. However, without the optimal 2x20MHz block, TM’s LTE speed would not be able to reach the theoretical peak download speed of 300Mbps.
“The impact on the incumbent celcos is likely to be limited because wireless broadband contributes to 4%-6% of their revenues,” Goh said.
The telecom giant had said in the past that it was not ruling out the possibility of collaborating with industry players to offer mobile broadband. This time, however, TM is venturing on its own to join the long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G bandwagon.
In its pre-request for proposal briefing in May, TM said it would invite tender for LTE deployment, with the letter of award to be prepared in mid-September.
“TM is currently exploring the expansion of its wireless broadband services in underserved areas, looking at the best technology evolution path in the optimisation plans for our current Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, and in line with our broadband services delivery strategy for the nation,” TM said when contacted.
According to a document made available to StarBiz, TM said the network provider would propose an end-to-end network and IT solution with some integration to existing TM infrastructure for the deployment of the LTE. In addition, TM will opt for the establish-operate-transfer (EOT) model for the network and IT infrastructure for at least 24 months.
The document also revealed the timeline for the deployment of the 4G services. The first commercial service is expected to be rolled out by Feb 12, 2014, with the end of rollout slated for Oct 15, 2014. TM plans to use 800MHz as its LTE frequency band, providing it with better signal transmission.
In addition, TM aims to have 100,000 users by 2014 and more than one million by 2017.
Telco analysts said the time was right for TM to enter the 4G scene now, as deployment would take a while. They said TM’s focus had always been on fixed lines and its high-speed broadband Unifi. Eventually, TM will have to look for opportunities to extend its reach to enlarge its market.
“We think that TM is looking at wireless broadband to complement its fixed broadband, thus posing a credible threat to the incumbents,” CIMB Research analyst Kelvin Goh said.
He said TM would pose a “credible threat” to the incumbents in wireless broadband. However, it was unlikely that TM would make much headway into mobile voice, at least in the near term, given the limited penetration of LTE-enabled phones, he added.
“We believe TM’s 4G roadmap would likely get clearer when the contract is awarded,” an analyst said, adding that competition was going to be fierce and could not be avoided in relation to TM’s impending entry into the 4G arena.
Analysts said TM currently complemented its fixed data and broadband services with a host of wireless solutions, including WiFi, fixed wireless technology via CDMA as well as Evolution Data Optimised.
Cellular operators like Celcom Axiata Bhd, Maxis Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd have sizeable grasp on the local scene, while Axiata Group Bhd has leverage in the regional arena. Futhermore, Maxis and Celcom have already introduced their 4G services, and DiGi is expected to do so this month.
Celcom has also entered into a master collaboration agreement with Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd for its 4G service rollout.
Fitch Ratings expects TM to face stiffer competition in the fast-growing, increasingly important data segment this year, especially from the resellers. The rating agency said competition in the Malaysian data segment would intensify, as the LTE spectrum owners, who won spectrum in December 2012, would start launching their respective services in 2013.
CIMB’s Goh said TM’s extensive fibre optic network would allow it to roll out a wireless network in a quick and cost-effective manner.
He pointed out that TM had two 10MHz blocks at the 850MHz level, which is covered by the LTE standard, with superior in-building and geographical coverage. The other telcos are launching LTE at 1800MHz and 2.6GHz, which have inferior propagation qualities. However, without the optimal 2x20MHz block, TM’s LTE speed would not be able to reach the theoretical peak download speed of 300Mbps.
“The impact on the incumbent celcos is likely to be limited because wireless broadband contributes to 4%-6% of their revenues,” Goh said.
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