As reported by Malaysian Wireless before, Maxis now has more 3G base stations compared to Celcom. Maxis recently confirmed by announcing that it now has more than 5,000 3G base station covering 80% of the population in Malaysia.
Press Release from Maxis below.
Kuala Lumpur, 14 April 2011- Maxis Berhad, (Maxis) Malaysia’s leading integrated communications service provider, today announced a major milestone in the Malaysian Broadband industry by becoming the first service provider to surpass 5,000 sites spanning both East and West Malaysia. With this, Maxis now delivers High speed Wireless Broadband and Mobile Data capabilities to 21 million Malaysians covering over 80% of the Malaysian population. This industry breakthrough was made possible through the massive expansion that Maxis embarked on in 2010, with a capital expenditure of over RM1.4 billion. With its end-to-end smart network, Maxis provides better data experience for its customers, from simple voice usage to meeting the growing demand for data-intensive applications delivered across an exciting range of smart devices.
Sandip Das, Chief Executive Officer, Maxis said, “We are very excited with this achievement. Over the last 2 years we have worked hard at revamping our system, modernising our network, creating new transmission and building our IP networks to prepare ourselves for the surge in demand for data and broadband. This ticks another leadership box for Maxis. The strength and quality of our coverage will help bring to life the rich content, applications, downloads and relevant services that Maxis can offer, across a wider footprint than any other service provider in Malaysia. This leadership position in Wireless Broadband complements Maxis’ leadership in fibre footprint and strategically positions us as an integrated player. It provides us with the capability to offer seamless experience regardless of the delivery and access network to our customers.”
The Company recently launched its Maxis Home Services on 31 March 2011, the first multiple-play service in the country. For customers residing in a fibre-connected area, as Maxis customers, they will be able to benefit from Maxis Home Services which offer High Speed Internet packages that bundle a number of existing services. Additionally, customers will also have the opportunity to experience a range of enriched categories of content, including interactive applications that can be enjoyed on their laptops, tablets and smartphones. Customers can expect to receive the full suite of the services by Quarter 3 of 2011.
Mark Dioguardi, Executive Vice President, Network and Technology, added, “By providing the widest and fastest broadband network coverage in the country, our customers can take the Internet with them essentially wherever they go. With our enhanced broadband footprint, we are enabling them to enjoy wider coverage as we cover more tertiary and secondary towns.”
With this new accomplishment, Maxis is “blanketing” Malaysia with increasingly seamless Wireless Broadband coverage. Customers connecting to the Internet on Maxis’ Wireless Broadband network can now experience a sense of security – trusting that reliable connectivity and wide coverage will be available to them as they move around Malaysia. In addition to all major urban cites, the recent expansion has occurred in towns such as Batu Pahat, Labis, Bahau, Gemencheh, Kuala Pilah, Palong, Sik, Hutan Melintang, Padang Besar, Labuan, Beaufort, Kuala Penyu, Keningau, Tambunan, Kota Marudu, Ptas, Kudat, Lahad Datu, Papar, Sandakan, Bera, Semantan, Jengai, Semporna, Sipitang, Tawau, Tuaran, Bau- Lundu, Betong, Kanowit-Julau, Limbang-Lawas, Marudi, Meradong-Dalat, Mukah, Niah, Padawan, Saratok, Sarikei, Serian, Sri Aman, Tatau, Asajaya-Simunjan.
Moving forward, Mark enthused, “Maxis has also recently completed trials of Next Generation LTE technology which promises quadruple data speed and network capacity. The Maxis High Speed IP network is in place to now support even more advanced services and we expect to be able to deploy the LTE networks within the next few months.”
Maxis was the first to get off the blocks to trial LTE successfully. The lab testing commenced in June 2010 and Maxis has since started the live field testing at four sites in the Klang Valley, namely at Bandar Utama, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Damansara Utama and Damansara Jaya
