Axiata: Fibre access positive development

AXIATA Group Bhd president and group CEO Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim speaks to StarBizWeek:

SBW: Is the opening of fiber access given to all?

Yes, if done well, this is a positive development that will be very good for the industry and the public. This would save a lot of cost for the industry and introduce healthy competition while speeding up the rollout in rural and underserved areas. This will also allow industry players to optimise on existing infrastructure especially in rural and remote areas where cost of rollout will be capex intensive. But it must, however, be fair to the fibre owners and operators, so as to compensate fairly for their investment and to further encourage more rollout.

Your views on the entry of Tenaga Nasional Bhd into telecoms space?

This is a big plus for the industry as TNB has some infrastructure all over the country that is needed by the telecoms industry. We could access the ducts and poles to the homes which would not only save cost, but also speed up the deployment of broadband across the country. As a matter of fact, it is something that the industry have already started working on.

How can companies like Axiata help the government in providing broadband access to all?

We are fully supportive of the initiative by government as this is not only an industry agenda but a national agenda. Axiata can use our expertise and resources to deploy fibre broadband technology, or wireless technologies or even others such as High Throughput Satellite to bring 100% broadband coverage nationwide.

We believe this is something that Axiata can play a big role in as the industry is moving towards convergence.

We need to find the right balance between public needs, the long-term health of the industry and the government’s aspirations. Hence, a strong public - private partnership benefiting all parties such as mobile players, fixed operators, TNB and infrastructure providers, plus the government and regulators, will be required.

Does Axiata believe people in the suburbs and rural areas want broadband even if prices drop?

We do believe we will see a stronger take up in these areas as broadband becomes more affordable. It is important, however, for us to look at how we could reduce the cost of roll out by using a combination of different technologies in different areas, sharing of infrastructure/networks and reviewing key policies to enable a more efficient use of resources such as spectrum and even providing tax incentives.

This is equally important if we believe that broadband is key to national development and in almost everything we do in the digital world.

No one should be left behind!