Two of Malaysia’s leading brands, Astro and Maxis, sign partnership to provide the best of TV and Radio, Broadband and Voice

Kuala Lumpur, 5 September 2012

Astro, Malaysia’s leading consumer media entertainment group and Maxis, Malaysia’s leading integrated communications service provider have come together in a strategic partnership to bring the best of Astro TV and Radio, high speed broadband and voice  to Malaysian consumers and households. Astro and Maxis will develop and co-market consumer packages combining Astro B.yond IPTV and Astro On-The-Go services, together with Maxis’ Fibre Internet, Mobile Internet, Wireless Internet and ADSL services. Additionally, Maxis customers will also have access to a specially developed content package from Astro.

With this partnership, Maxis has been appointed the value-added fibre broadband service provider to significantly expand Astro’s B.yond IPTV service footprint. Astro, meanwhile, will be the IPTV service provider for all Maxis fixed and wireless platforms. In the next few months, both Maxis and Astro will jointly develop the unique consumer packages, targeted to be launched into the market, in phases.

(From Left) Ms Liew Swee Lin, Astro’s Chief Commercial Officer, Yang Berbahagia Datuk Rohana Rozhan, Astro’s Chief Executive Officer , Sandip Das, Maxis’ Chief Executive Officer and Mark Dioguardi, Maxis’ Joint Chief Operating Officer at the signing ceremony of the strategic partnership, to bring the best of Astro TV and Radio, high speed broadband and voice to Malaysian consumers and households.

In addition to this partnership, Astro and Maxis have also tied up a co-marketing mobile partnership for Astro On-The-Go services to Maxis customers. Astro On-The Go (AOTG) delivers entertainment from Astro TV and Radio channels, live events, Video On Demand (VOD) and catch up TV  anytime, anywhere on both Apple and Android smartphones, tablets and PCs/laptops. Currently this service is available to all existing Astro customers and will be available to non Astro customers by end of this year.

The Astro-Maxis collaboration will ensure that consumers benefit from Astro and Maxis internet access packages, bringing unique content offerings and experiences delivered over the Maxis networks. Each company will jointly market these unique packages through all their respective distribution channels.

Dato’ Rohana Rozhan, CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad said, “Today Astro is in 3.1 million Malaysian homes, and our aspiration is to continue to grow our relevance for all Malaysians, by continuously evolving our products and services to provide better choice, experience and value for our customers whether at home or on-the-go.

Our collaboration with Maxis gives us an additional 1.3 million fibre homes passed as immediately addressable market for Astro B.yond IPTV, where our customers may enjoy the best of Astro TV and Radio, as well as high speed broadband.

We are also happy to announce that Astro On-the-Go, aimed at addressing the personal lifestyle space, is now available on Android as well as Apple devices and PCs. Astro customers can now watch Astro anywhere, anytime and over any device, as a value extension to their primary subscription.”

Sandip Das, CEO of Maxis said, “When we embarked on our integrated services journey and introduced 'Home' services, we had two large milestones to cross: the first was achieved with the signing of historic agreements with Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Telekom Malaysia Berhad, which allowed us access to millions of homes across the country. With the strategic partnership that we have now entered with Astro, Malaysia’s leading consumer media entertainment group, we have achieved the second and will bring the best of Broadband, Voice and Television, to our customers wherever they are. We are delighted to have secured the most popular television and video content from the market's leading service provider, delivering a value-added fibre broadband proposition at the home. This is a continuation of our promise to bring the best of content and services to our customers across any of their devices and at any location, be at their homes, workplaces or even when they are on the move.”

Maxis Home has been gaining good traction since its launch in 2011. As at end of Quarter 2 2012, Maxis Home had a total of over 57,000 customers on board, including 9,352 who are Home Fibre Internet and over 27,000 who are Home Wireless Internet subscribers, with the balance being ADSL and POTs subscribers. With its Home Fibre Internet service which is currently available to 1.3 million homes and its Wireless Internet service with 82% population coverage, Maxis offers reliable and fast internet to over 6 million homes in Malaysia.  Both services come packaged with fixed line telephony including free allocated minutes to fixed and mobile numbers.