MAXIS AND U MOBILE ENTER INTO MALAYSIA’S FIRST ACTIVE 3G RADIO ACCESS NETWORK SHARING AGREEMENT

MAXIS AND U MOBILE ENTER INTO MALAYSIA’S FIRST ACTIVE 3G RADIO ACCESS NETWORK SHARING AGREEMENT



~Multi-billion ringgit benefits to be realized for both parties


~Greater efficiency in delivering services


~Reduce environmental impact, foster sustainability


Kuala Lumpur, 21 October 2011– Maxis Broadband Sdn Bhd (Maxis) and U Mobile Sdn Bhd (U Mobile) today entered into a landmark multi-billion ringgit agreement to share Maxis’ 3G radio access networks (RAN), making the partnership the first active 3G RAN sharing arrangement to be deployed in Malaysia. The agreement will be for an initial period of 10 years.



The agreement also encompasses LTE sharing when the spectrum becomes available and the technology is rolled out which will deliver even better benefits to customers.




This collaboration marks a milestone in the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as it shares the active telecommunication systems and operating frequency spectrum and goes beyond the existing physical (passive) infrastructure sharing which has been practiced for long time between operators in the industry.




As a result of the collaboration, Maxis will receive a significant new source of revenue and will enhance utilization of its network in areas that are currently underutilized.




At the signing ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of Maxis, Sandip Das, said: “As an industry leader in the country, this collaboration is significant for Maxis as it reflects our commitment to promote non-duplication of infrastructure. Active sharing results in greater cost savings which in turn translates to increased direct revenue for both companies. More importantly it allows us to focus on providing innovative services and giving more value to customers, while having the benefit of doing all these in a more environmentally friendly manner. As a strong advocate of network-sharing, this will add to our existing carbon footprint reduction initiatives. To date, over 54% of our base stations sites are shared with other operators. This partnership will also accelerate broadband penetration in the country, paving the way towards achieving Digital Malaysia aspirations.”




This newly signed agreement is equally beneficial to U Mobile as it enables the company to accelerate the speed of its 3G network rollout by 4 to 5 times and at the same time achieve significant cost-savings through network sharing with Maxis. The shared locations will exclude urban market centers, such asKlang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru and Ipoh, where U Mobile is committed to continue providing high speed mobile broadband services.




At the signing ceremony, Dr. Kaizad commented, “U Mobile is delighted to bring another first-of-its-kind innovation in the Malaysian market through this Active RAN Sharing partnership with Maxis. While active RAN sharing has been successfully done by some of the most innovative operators in the world, we are delighted to be the pioneer in Malaysia, and possibly the region. This will certainly set a new benchmark in the industry.”




Dr. Kaizad further added that “This mutually beneficial partnership with Maxis will accelerate the expansion of our current 3G footprint to more than 4,000 3G sites in Malaysia by early-2013. Furthermore, the extensive savings generated from this agreement will enable U Mobile to bring even more product and service innovation for our customers while at the same time assisting the government initiative of “Broadband for All”.




The RAN partnership also responds to the Government’s call for telcos to reduce duplication of network assets, enabling operators to deliver better services. In addition, this pact promotes increased competition at the service level rather than at the infrastructure level.




Mobile operators around the world are looking for cost efficiencies across the industry. In a mature market such as Malaysia, RAN sharing can considerably reduce CAPEX and OPEX, increase the speed of network rollouts, enhance coverage and more importantly to meet the rapidly increasing demands for data and voice capacity.

MAXIS AND U MOBILE ENTER INTO MALAYSIA’S FIRST ACTIVE 3G RADIO ACCESS NETWORK SHARING AGREEMENT