AXIATA PLANS CHEAPER HIGH-SPEED NET ACCESS
Firm working with Telekom Malaysia on fixed wireless broadband nationwide
AXIATA Group Bhd will be making a “significant” investment as early as next year in a move to offer high-speed Internet access nationwide at cheaper cost.
President and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said Axiata would be expanding its fixed wireless broadband nationwide within the next two to three years.
According to technology news portals, fixed wireless broadband can be a better choice for telecommunications companies as setting up digital subscriber line or fibre infrastructure was expensive.
Instead of using cable, fixed wireless broadband brings Internet signal to homes via radio waves transmitted by base stations.
“We are expanding fixed broadband in Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been moving ahead because Dialog is there. In peninsula, we are looking at mostly fixed wireless as opposed to fixed fibre broadband for now,” he said after announcing Axiata’s second-quarter financial performance ended June 30, here, yesterday.
“We have started in Sabah and the space is less crowded. We are working on the possibility of a collaboration plan with Telekom Malaysia Bhd to use their network into some of the homes. We are still in discussion.”
Axiata posted a net loss of RM3.41 billion in the first half ended June 30, from RM741.11 million profit a year ago.
It recorded a net loss of RM3.32 billion for the second quarter ended June 30, from RM479.08 million profit previously.
Jamaludin said it was mainly due to a one-off non-cash impairment provision of RM3.4 billion as a result of the de-recognition and reclassification of Idea Cellular Ltd from associate to simple investment.
Revenue declined to RM5.87 billion from RM6.06 billion in the same period last year.
He said all its operating companies had shown strong underlying growth in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.
“However, our profit after tax and minority interest was affected by higher depreciation and amortisation charges due to our aggressive capital expenditure in data investment in the previous years,” added Jamaludin.
Axiata has proposed to declare an interim dividend of five sen per share for the quarter under review.