WiMAX services by Mid 2008

Malaysia may roll out WiMax services by the middle of next year, the official Bernama news agency reported Friday, citing Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Lim Keng Yaik.

WiMax refers to Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access which will allow significant high-speed internet access and file downloads from phones, laptops and mobile devices over greater distances.

In March, the government awarded the Wimax license to four Malaysian companies, namely Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd, MIB Comm Sdn Bhd, Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd and Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd.

Lim said he has held discussions with the WiMax license holders twice on the formation of a consortium to share the cost of building transmitter towers.

'I told them not to compete on infrastructure superiority but compete on service branding and cost superiority,' he said.

The cost to build the WiMax facilities could reach up to two billion ringgit, he said.

'If they are building it alone, they may be bankrupt before they start rolling out services,' he told reporters.

'If they agree to form a consortium owned by them to build the infrastructure, then they have to go for tenders and decide on the best vendor to provide seamless connectivity,' he said.

related: WiMAX winners announced by MCMC
WiMAX licences to be awarded before end-Feb

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