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TM puts RM600mil into Metro.e service
[May 21, 2007]

TM puts RM600mil into Metro.e service


(New Straits Times Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) TELEKOM Malaysia Berhad will spend RM600 million over the next three years to provide businesses nationwide with carrier-class, high-speed bandwidth access and Ethernet-based services across a metropolitan area network (MAN) through its newly launched Metro.e service.



With bandwidth fully scalable from four megabits per second (Mbps) to one gigabit per second (Gbps), the company believes the service is a compelling alternative for businesses that need robust and secure high- speed connectivity.

According to TM's chief executive officer, Malaysia business Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa, the company has already invested RM100 million to make the service available.


"We'll be pumping in more investment as the rollout gets more extensive. At present, we already have five companies subscribing to Metro.e - Alliance Bank, Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), Motorola Malaysia, Utusan Melayu Berhad and Eon Bank," he said after launching Metro.e and streamyx 4Mbps broadband connection for consumers in Kuala Lumpur last Thursday.

Zamzamzairani pointed out that the advantages of Metro.e are three-fold. First, Metro.e customers not only can rely on the sustained bandwidth that they subscribe to, but also be assured of maximum capacity never offered before.

Second, customers are promised scalability of bandwidth through easy upward provisioning. Businesses can start with a minimal 4Mbps capacity and move up in flexible increments of 1Mbps when needed.

And third, customers are guaranteed of a future-proof investment. The same infrastructure is capable of delivering the various increments of speed without additional investment in new equipment. It can handle various traffic requirements (voice, data and video) and be used for applications such as voice over Internet protocol, video collaboration, video streaming and network-attached storage.

Metro.e supports traffic prioritisation with four classes of services offered: multimedia, mission-critical, standard and economy data.

Asked about efforts TM is taking to handle increasing bandwidth demand by both businesses and consumers, Zamzamzairani said a new cable system aimed at addressing the issue will be launched next year through a consortium called Asean American Gateway (AAG), of which TM is a lead member.

"This will be the first time that we are going to have a cable connecting Malaysia directly to the US. Normally, it takes two or three segments to connect Malaysia to the US. This cable starts from Malaysia straight to the US with branching units in several countries going into Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Hong Kong.

"It will provide ample capacity for services that TM will be rolling out. It is also being laid away from the Pacific Ring of Fire to avoid disasters. This will position Malaysia as a telecommunications hub catering to neighbouring countries." The AAG project, coupled with TM's partnership with tier-one Internet service provider Horizon that will see the establishment of a tier-one node in Malaysia, is expected to strengthen the country's competitiveness.

Zamzamzairani earlier witnessed the launching of TM's new services by Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik held in conjunction with World Telecommunications Day. Also present at the event was TM's chairman Tan Sri Md Radzi Mansor.

TM has provisioned a total of 16,000 ports that will provide 16,000 customers with the option to select either the streamyx 2Mbps or 4Mbps package. Streamyx 4Mbps is now available in 119 buildings covered by 46 exchanges in selected areas of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Putrajaya. The basic package (download speed at 4Mbps and upload speed at 512 kilobits per second) includes streamyx 4Mbps broadband access at an introductory subscription fee of RM198 per month (normal subscription fee is RM268 per month).

The existing streamyx 2Mbps, which was previously made available at five exchanges, also has been extended to cover the same areas as streamyx 4Mbps.

Copyright 2007 The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire.

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