P1 LOOKS FORWARD TO NEXT GENERATION 4G TECHNOLOGY IN 2013

PETALING JAYA, (19th Dec. 2012) – South East Asia’s pioneer and Malaysia’s first 4G service provider, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (“P1”) looks forward to another significant year ahead as the next generation 4G technology, Long-Term-Evolution (LTE), gears up momentum.

Summary 2012
The formation of Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI) in February 2011 has gained tremendous support from the operators. In less than 2 years, over 50 operators have joined GTI and a total of 12 commercial TD-LTE networks were launched globally. The industry is clearly seeing a rapid adoption of this next generation 4G technology.

On the home front, 2012 was an exciting year where we saw exciting introduction of smart mobile devices such as Samsung Galaxy S3 and Note II; Apple’s Iphone 5 and Mini Ipad; Microsoft’s Windows 8 smartphone and many more. Simultaneously, we saw operators showcasing trials on 4G LTE technology as well as discussions amongst operators on further strategic collaborations.  

Michael Lai, Chief Executive Officer of P1 said, “For a four year old toddler in the broadband business, P1 has established itself as the leading 4G player in both Malaysia and South East Asia. Being appointed as one of the nine Steering Committee Members of GTI representing Malaysia and South East Asia, we look forward to continue playing a major role in contributing to TD-LTE development in the region.

2012 has been a significant year for P1 as we surpassed the half a million subscriber base mark; expanded network coverage to East Malaysia starting with the state of Sabah; were awarded the allocation on 20Mhz of 2.6Ghz spectrum to roll out 4G LTE.”

Outlook 2013
Next year will be an interesting and significant year, as we will see the next generation 4G technology – both Time-Division (TD) and Frequency-Division (FD) Long-Term-Evolution gear up momentum.

Lai elaborated, “The year 2013 will be an exciting year. Firstly, we will see an active movement for 4G LTE’s DNA (Device, Network and Application). Be it TD or FD version of 4G LTE, telecommunications operators will start to embrace the technology. Thus we will see active deployments worldwide.

Additionally, 4G-enabled smart devices will start making inroads from the second half of 2013 and small screen will continue to dominate the mobile broadband space. As IDC 2013 predictions reported, smart mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, eReaders), will grow by almost 20% in 2013 and generate nearly 57% of the industry's overall growth. While for mobile, broadband’s applications, it will continue to take advantage and push the limits of 4G network and devices.

Secondly, ‘co-opetition’ among operators will become even stronger due to the scarcity of spectrum. For operators to fully tap into the true potential of 4G LTE, spectrum will be key. For instance, you need at least 40MHz of spectrum to fully tap into the technology potential of LTE-Advanced which offers 1Gbps speed. Hence, without the luxury of unlimited spectrum, many operators would have to join forces to face the onslaught of what I called the perpetual data tsunami.

Thirdly Cloud, M2M (Man-to-Man, Man-to-Machine and Machine-to-Machine) and MobileApps services are poised to take-off in the new 4G world. All the above mentioned have been talked about but have yet to showcase its full potential due to one main reason: ubiquity of high-speed mobile broadband. With the launch of 4G LTE, it will truly bring the benefits of Cloud, M2M and MobileApps services to life. Imagine the joy of downloading a 50MB file into your smartphone in just a minute or watching a high-definition Psy’s Gangnam Style Youtube music video on-the-go. The availability of 4G LTE is set to eliminate the barriers of businesses to adopting ICT. In the near future businesses do not have to own costly IT equipment when cloud, M2M and MobileApps services are all they need. These services are available mostly on subscription basis, thus reducing their operation cost tremendously.

At P1, we will focus on three areas in 2013. First, we will continue to expand and enhance our nationwide 4G coverage and rolling out TD-LTE. Second, we aim to support and help mobilise local business community, especially SMEs, to fully tap into the convergence of ICT. This will give SMEs the competitive advantage locally and globally. Last but not least, we will continue to bring innovative services using 4G, Fiber, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and Wireless Internet Leased Line to benefit both consumers and businesses,” Lai concluded.