MALAYSIA TO HAVE SEA’S FIRST 4G EXPERIENCE CENTRE AND TEST LAB

HONG KONG, 15 November 2011 – The cutting-edge 4G technology is getting a timely boost with the setting up of a Southeast Asia’s first 4G LTE TDD* Technology Experience Centre and Test Lab in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This breakthrough is the result of the collaboration between Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”), P1’s consulting arm Packet One International Pte Ltd (“P1i”), and ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”). It also gains support from China Mobile Communications Co. Ltd Research Institute (“China Mobile”).

The 4G Experience Centre and Test Lab will be established in early 2012 at P1’s headquarters known as Packet Hub. Operators and vendors who want a taste of blazing wireless speeds of 120 Mbps and beyond are welcome to utilize the facility.

Malaysia is the choice location for the set-up because P1 is based in Kuala Lumpur and has, for over the last three years, been operating one of the largest 4G WiMAX networks in the world. P1 is very advanced in its preparations to progress from 4G WiMAX to a dual 4G WiMAX/LTE TDD network.

Michael Lai, CEO of P1 said, “The impact of 4G technology on our lives will be phenomenal. P1’s customers today utilize a whopping average of 17.5GB of data per month, an increase of two and a half times the amount of data utilization since our commercial launch in 2008. What’s even more mind-boggling, data utilization is growing by the day with the proliferation of high-definition screens and nifty handheld devices. Telco operators have no choice but to be ready for this mega trend of fibre optics in the air and the great paradigm shift from voice to data business model. P1 is ready and hence the 4G Experience Centre and Test Lab will hopefully fast-track 4G LTE TDD technology deployment in this region.”

Managing Director of P1i Dr. Tang Pen San commented that in the last three years since P1’s commercial deployment, its headquarters has received over 70 telco operators and vendors from 60 countries to understand how a 4G network is being deployed and managed. “P1i’s role is to assist aspiring 4G operators to a smoother adoption of this cutting edge technology,” Dr. Tang added.

Dr. Wang ShouChen, President of the ZTE LTE TDD product line commented in the same event, “As the leader of LTE TDD technology and one of the major LTE TDD solution providers, ZTE is excited and proud to be part of this collaboration. We have established a strong partnership with P1 in last two years. This 4G Experience Centre and Test Lab allow us to extend this partnership and bring it to a higher level. The Centre helps to better promote the migration towards LTE TDD technology and demonstrate the values come with this transition.”

Huang Yuhong, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute when attending the LTE TDD/FDD** International Summit held here commented, “LTE TDD is flexible in resource and spectrum configuration, therefore better meets the demand of mobile data traffic. LTE TDD benefits from the global roaming and global scale created by the convergence of LTE TDD and FDD. The commercialization of LTE TDD takes off in 2011, with early adopters including incumbent mobile operators, greenfield operators, and WiMAX operators. The 4G LTE TDD Experience Centre and Test Lab will provide a base for testing and investigating interoperability among LTE TDD, LTE FDD and WiMAX. It will promote the LTE deployment and WiMAX transition in Asia and Africa and build a global success.”

Lai said, “For any technology mass adoption, the eco-system must be in place. In this case, the DNA or Device, Network and Application have to evolve in tandem and coherently. The 4G Experience Centre and Test Lab is a clear and steady roadmap to encourage over 530 WiMAX operators in 150 countries towards a smooth and natural migration to LTE TDD technology. After all, WiMAX and LTE TDD are from the same Internet-Protocol family of technology. This will be achieved through sharing our experience and advice on multi-mode deployment, interworking with 2G, 3G and WiFi, WiMAX, LTE TDD/FDD network planning and optimization in the 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands.”

The Centre will initially utilize P1’s 2.6GHz spectrum for LTE TDD technology showcase and interoperability testing of the latest 4G devices. By the first half 2012, the network will also utilize P1’s 2.3GHz spectrum.

*Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex
** Frequency Division Duplex
NB: LTE TDD and TD LTE essentially mean the same