PETALING JAYA, 4 May 2011- Michael Lai, CEO of Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (‘P1’) says Malaysia has progressed in broadband developments but there is still work to be done in making broadband access available to all Malaysians. Among the pertinent areas for improvement are cost of telecommunications infrastructure, spectrum utilization and affordability for consumers.
“Malaysia stands out as one of the broadband leaders in East Asia thanks to the foresight of the government particularly in the National Broadband Initiative. Not only has Malaysia exceeded 55 per cent of broadband penetration in just a few short years, we are leading the region in terms of 4G broadband services. This is one of the few windows of opportunity that Malaysia is at the forefront of a cutting edge megatrend technology,” said Lai who is the first and only Board Member from Southeast Asia appointed to the WiMAX Forum; the governing body of the world WiMAX movement.
Lai said this is evident in the fact that Malaysia is earmarked as host of the Broadband World Forum Asia 2011 at the KL Convention Centre on 10 and 11 May. Over 2,500 delegates from Asia’s telecommunications industry are expected to attend the Forum and Malaysian operators including P1, have been hand-picked to share their experiences in delivering broadband services.
Lai will be expounding on What is the Payback Time for a Greenfield WiMAX Deployment and When Is the Best Time to Bundle New Services In to the Broadband Proposition? His session comes on the second day of the event.
P1 was the first operator to launch 4G broadband services in Malaysia and SE Asia when it began operating its WiMAX network in August 2008.
A much sought after speaker at international forums and conferences, Lai has shared P1’s experiences with broadband players from both emerging and developed markets. He has also hosted numerous telco operators from all over the world who visited P1’s headquarters to learn more about WiMAX technology and P1’s successful 4G operations. Thanks to Malaysia’s renowned 4G WiMAX success since 2008, in November 2010 Kuala Lumpur played host to over 280 telecom operators, analysts and vendors from 23 countries at the inaugural WiMAX Forum Southeast Asia Regional Focus.
Lai said P1 will continue to increase its coverage and capacity to contribute towards Malaysia’s target of 75 per cent nationwide broadband penetration by 2015. “P1’s mission of Broadband for All strongly believes that broadband is a right and not a privilege. It should be a necessity for everyone and not a luxury for some. Today, many Malaysians can’t live without broadband at home and on-the-go. This trend is expected to continue towards mobile and personal broadband in the next three to five years.”
