Telekom, Maxis win 3G licences
Telecoms giant Telekom Malaysia and top cellular operator Maxis Communications have been awarded third generation (3G) mobile phone spectrum licences, the communications regulator announced Tuesday.
"The government has decided to award only two third-generation telecommunications licences, one each to Telekom Malaysia Bhd and to Maxis Communications Bhd," said Nuraizah Abdul Hamid, chairman of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
"Only two qualified. The commission believed only two met the requirements," she told reporters.
Nuraizah said the award of the 3G licences to Telekom and Maxis was conditional on the companies submitting business plans by year-end providing details on how they will fulfill six major criteria.
The criteria are service roll-out and coverage, infrastructure sharing, roaming, financial considerations, industry development and management and technical experience.
The government will not hesitate to take back the provisional 3G licences if the requirements are not met, she added.
Nuraizah also said it is possible for more 3G licences to be awarded through a future tender process as it is uncertain if two licences are adequate for the market.
"We'll leave our options open ... we have to make sure, first, how the market is going to be because even now we don't know. Too many things are happening," she said.
Sppedy access
In May the government announced it would award 3G licenses to three companies with each 15-year licence priced at RM50 million.
Five companies bid for the licences - Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd, E-Touch Sdn Bhd, state-owned Telekom Malaysia Bhd, TIMESat Sdn Bhd and UMTS (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.
UMTS is a unit of Maxis Communications, Malaysia's largest mobile phone operator. Recently listed Maxis is controlled by Usaha Tegas, the investment firm of tycoon Ananda Krishnan, who built the world's tallest buildings, Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers.
The 3G networks, which allow speedy access to data and video through the Internet, are expected to be rolled out by the end of next year or early 2004. — AFP
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