The sharing agreement comes in response to the Malaysian government’s call for telecoms companies to reduce their duplication of network assets and Maxis claims that it will also pave the way towards achieving Malaysia’s National Broadband Initiative.
By entering into the agreement both companies expect to achieve cost savings while also maximising the use of spectrum. It is claimed that Maxis and REDtone will be able to offer the fastest 4G broadband speeds in Malaysia, up to 150Mbps, as a result of the spectrum combination.
“Data networks are onerous and have to be built carefully. The demand for data is not disputed, but the inflection point is some time away. Sharing will get REDtone up and running quickly and also fetch adequate returns on our investments, besides conserving spends at a national industry level,” said Sandip Das, CEO at Maxis.
REDtone managing director, Dato’ Wei Chuan Beng, said that the company’s capex would have been RM390 million ($120 million) to comply with its 50% roll-out requirement but now this has been mostly replaced by using Maxis’ existing infrastructure and leasing capacity from the company.
Both companies are looking to launch 4G LTE services early next year beginning in areas of the Klang Valley.
