Yes 4G: one of the Most advanced Wireless Networks in the World

Through innovation, Yes sets the standard for mobile networks of the future, designed to perfectly meet the explosion in the demand for mobile data

Kuala lumpur — October 24, 2011 — YTL Communications’ drive to bring positive change through innovation is today validated with an IDC study that finds the Yes 4G network and its related services to be one of the most advanced in the world. In addition, IDC says that the Yes 4G network, which is perfectly designed to meet the explosion in mobile data usage, is an excellent model of a wireless network for the future.

The study which looked at the state of mobile communications industry in Malaysia, highlights YTL Communications’ core believe in delivering positive change to Malaysia and Malaysians through innovation. In addition, the study gives a clear indication of the advanced nature of the YTL Communications WiMAX-based Yes 4G network incorporating features and services that are truly unique and not currently available anywhere else in the world. This is an amazing feat for a network that is just only coming to its first anniversary this November.

“IDC’s findings bring credence to what we have been saying all along. Yes is the most advanced 4G network in the world and Malaysians should be proud of this fact. With the Yes network, Malaysia has become a model country for how mobile networks of the future should be engineered and built. This is truly amazing considering that it has only been a year since we began commercial operations in November 2011,” said Wing K. Lee, Chief Executive Officer, YTL Communications.

Several key innovations built into the Yes 4G network that sets it apart from other wireless networks currently available in the world include:

At its core, the Yes 4G network architecture is among the best and most advanced in the world, capable of offering services not available anywhere else such as user ID-based unified communications, session concurrency for data and telephony and a high-performance mobile data network that delivers superior data connectivity even at high speeds (mobile connectivity at speeds up to 160km/h)

A highly flexible mobile telephony and text messaging service that sets the standard for mobile networks of the future. Yes is the only network in the world that allows multiple and concurrent connections providing subscribers with flexibility and significant cost savings because they only need one account for telephony and data services even when using multiple devices and locations.

A suite of applications called Yes Life that is free for all customers. Yes Life works perfectly on Mac and Windows computers as well as iOS (iPod touch, iPhone, iPad) and Android devices. Yes Life enables these devices with full mobile phone functionality. Harnessing the power of the Yes ID, which comes with a dedicated mobile number, Yes subscribers can make and receive calls and SMSes from anywhere in the world (including Malaysia), on their favourite devices at a low RM0.09/min of voice call or RM0.09/text message to all Malaysian numbers. Customers can also enjoy the benefits of not paying expensive roaming charges when using Yes Life when traveling overseas.

A true mobile broadband service with consistent speeds three to five times faster than any wireless network in the country.

Commenting on the mobile communications landscape in Malaysia, the IDC study also looked into the two dominant 4G technologies in the country – LTE and WiMAX – and the prospects of the two technologies in Malaysia. IDC found that although LTE would be a strong competitor to WiMAX in the future, it is doubtful that the future LTE operators in Malaysia would deploy networks in a similar manner to Yes’ unified communications approach (with VoIP being a very integral part of the network) for fear of cannibalizing 3G voice cash flows.

Furthermore, YTL Communications’, monumental deployment of over 2,000 base stations currently and an extensive 65% population coverage footprint since day one (largest 4G network in Malaysia) is not likely to be emulated by other operators looking to deploy its own 4G network. This network is currently support by a sales channel that has grown rapidly from 600 outlets in December 2010 to over 2,000 to date.

In essence, the IDC study reveals that while technology standards play an important role in the development of 4G networks in Malaysia, what is even more important is the willingness for operators to undergo a paradigm shift from a predominantly voice-centric business model to a data and service-centric business model.

While operators are willing to adopt new technologies to deliver better data performance, innovating the traditional mobile communications business, can prove to be an even bigger challenge.

“We are tremendously inspired by IDC’s findings and this will spur us to bring even more innovations to our customers. More importantly our short-term goal will be to expand the reach of the Yes 4G network even further thus enabling communities to leap from 2G to 4G to enjoy the many benefits of our advanced network services ” Wing concluded.

Earlier this month, Yes was awarded “Best New Service” at the prestigious 2011 Broadband InfoVision Awards. With the win, YTL Communications joins an elite list of operators from around the world including, British Telecoms, Australia’s Telstra and Hong Kong’s PCCW, all of which have been past winners at the annual Broadband InfoVision Awards.

Notable excerpts from the IDC report:
“YTL wants to differentiate its service from its competitors by offering true mobile broadband speeds with more consistent coverage than what the 3G operators are delivering today. At the same time, YTL wants its users to experience broadband UC such as video calling in the mobile environment, which is virtually impossible with 3G today in Malaysia.”

“YTL wanted from the outset an Internet compatible, SIM-less architecture that offers users device independence. Thus, the handset does not need to use a SIM card to access the network. Entry into the Yes service begins with the selection of a User ID (Yes ID) and each Yes ID comes with a Malaysian mobile number. YTL has also designed a novel mechanism to enable service concurrency. The end result is that for the first time, a customer can use the same account for all his devices and products. This simple but elegant approach results in tangible savings and added convenience for the customer.”

“One of the key challenges in the planning of the Yes network was to ensure that there would be enough coverage and capacity from day one so that users can experience continuous mobile broadband service even along the highways. YTL launched its Yes 4G service in November 2011 with coverage of 65% of the population with 1,200 BTS (base-stations). Over the last six months, it has increased coverage to 1,700 cell sites including full mobile Internet coverage on Malaysia's North-South Expressway that runs from the Singapore border to the Thai border — a first in Malaysian history. So far, YTL has invested some US$250 million. It has contracted Samsung to provide 2,500 BST which means it still has the ability to deploy and cover more areas and to further increase capacity.”

“In terms of its speed, at the time of writing, its average download and upload speeds surpasses all other major mobile operators including its 4G rival, P1.”

“The Yes 4G service offers what IDC would consider true mobile broadband bandwidth (i.e., more than 1mbps downlink most of the time) with consistent coverage, so that users can experience UC (unified communications) with video calling in a mobile environment which is virtually impossible with 3G today. The only technologies that can compete with 802.16e in terms of performance would be HSPA+ and LTE. LTE will not come into the picture until 2013 in Malaysia. As for HSPA+, Maxis just rolled out this service in a limited scale last year and Celcom has only moved forward with upgrade plans this year.”

“YTL chose a prepaid billing system with real-time charging but offers postpaid-like service packages. In particular, users can use their credit cards to top up their accounts on a pay-as-you-go basis or purchase reload cards. On top of that, YTL has provided the ability to carry over unused data, minutes, or SMS to the next month with its Valuepack offerings. The advantage of the prepaid billing system is that it has realtime charging capabilities and the postpaid services are actually provisioned on top of the prepaid system. This architecture gives YTL great flexibility to offer packages suitable to the changing needs of the market.”

“YTL's UC (unified communications) solution is unique in that it would work even if users do not have a WiMAX device. The Yes service allows inbound and outbound calls and SMS messaging through their mobile devices and desktop/laptop software, while still tied to the same mobile station international ISDN (MSISDN) number. YTL is pioneering the multi-device UC concept where the receiver of a call, when contacted via his phone number, will have a concurrent ring across devices. This gives the user the choice of accepting the call either on his/her mobile phone, computer, or regular PSTN phone connected through the Yes home gateway.”

“YTL launched its 4G WiMAX service in November 2010 in a market that is considered to be underserved in terms of fixed and wireless broadband access but well served in terms of mobile (GSM) voice access.”

“YTL's venture into the WiMAX space would represent the first in Asia/Pacific and possibly globally to offer mobile voice services over the WiMAX data channel putting it ahead of its 4G competitors; but this also means YTL will be in competition with the three big mobile players Maxis, Celcom, and DiGi.”

“YTL's Yes service currently offers two distinct competitive advantages compared to the other operators. It is the only provider to offer a UC solution with a single-number reach concept for the consumer. On top of that, network performance is above its competition. If YTL can execute its coverage expansion as planned and can deliver mobile broadband smoothly to end users while managing exploding traffic demands, then IDC believes it can play an exciting and disruptive role in the Malaysia mobile market by raising the bar for mobile broadband on the go and in the home or office”

“IDC believes that YTL, despite its network being new and needing more time to build a critical mass of users, has made technology and business choices that offer an excellent example of innovation that 4G operators (LTE and WiMAX) will need in order to survive the challenge of exploding traffic usage, broadband + social networking + video, and to have the tools to better understand user usage patterns in real time. Unlike most of the 3G community that are extremely cautious in deploying VoIP over LTE, YTL is not shying away from it but rather embracing it wholeheartedly.”