Astro, Maxis to roll out consumer packages by year-end
Business News 2012-09-05 14:02
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd and Maxis Bhd, which entered into a partnership today to provide the best of Astro TV and radio, high-speed broadband and voice to Malaysians, are to roll out their first phase consumer packages by year-end.

Under the tie-up, Maxis, the integrated communications service provider, has entered a 10-year partnership with exclusivity for Astro to be the Internet Protocol television (IPTV) content service provider for three years.

Maxis Chief Executive Officer Sandip Das said both parties are currently in the midst of developing the packages and would co-market the packages.

The packages combine Astro B.yond IPTV and Astro On-The-Go services, together with Maxis fibre Internet, mobile Internet, wireless Internet and Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line services.

"A number of packages are under construction and we expect to see them in the market in another quarter or two, and both parties will jointly market the packages through all the respective distribution channels," he told reporters after the signing ceremony.

"How quickly we move into the market and tailor to consumers' requirements would be the true test," he said, adding that Maxis foresees earnings via the partnership to roll in next year.

As at end of June, Maxis Home had a total of over 57,000 customers, including 9,352 Home Fibre Internet and over 27,000 Home Wireless Internet subscribers.

Its Home Fibre Internet service is currently available across 1.3 million homes while its Wireless Internet service has 82 per cent population coverage.

Astro broadcasts over 156 channels and has a 50 per cent penetration of TV homes in Malaysia or 3.1 million customers.

Astro Chief Executive Officer Datuk Rohana Rozhan said the collaboration with Maxis gives an additional 1.3 million fibre homes passed as immediate addressable market for Astro B.yond IPTV.

"And we are estimating that one million out of the 1.3 million houses are already Astro customers," she said.

She said Astro would continue to grow its relevance for all Malaysians by continuously evolving its products and services to provide better choice,experience and value.

Last June, Maxis signed a partnership with 14 content providers to deliver Video on Demand (VOD), 3D content as well as seven Free-to-Air channels for its Maxis Home Fibre Internet customers.

BROADBAND solutions provider Time dotCom Bhd has launched its Fibre 100Mbps (megabits per second) Home Broadband service which it claims is the fastest in the country.

Offered to customers living in high-rise buildings, the service is ideal for streaming high definition content, playing online games and downloading large files.

Home Broadband will bring Malaysians up to speed with other developed nations, said its Afzal Abdul Rahim, its executive director and chief executive officer.

"It is just the right time for Malaysians to enjoy a 100Mbps connection as more content providers will be offering higher definition media such as 4K videos," he said.

Users will have a usage quota of 100GB a month which is equivalent to about 200 days of surfing the Net. If a user exceeds the quota, their connection speed will be throttled down to 1Mbps.

Users can also make calls for a flat rate of 15sen per minute to all mobile and fixed lines nationwide. Time said its 100% pure fibre optic network reaches approximately 100,000 homes in the Klang Valley and Penang.

Home Broadband is available now for an introductory price of RM179 per month and users will have to sign up for a minimum of 24 months. The package will include a cordless phone and WiFi router. - CHONG JINN XIUNG

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