KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Communications Bhd plans to launch its digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H) service in the first quarter of next year, said head of new products and new businesses Dr Nikolai Dobberstein.
The service will allow users to view TV programmes on their DVB-H-enabled mobile phones in a more convenient manner and receive high-quality audio-visual.
Dobberstein said Maxis had completed a three-month trial run in the Klang Valley.
The launch, however, is subject to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission awarding the mobile TV spectrum to sister company Astro All Asia Network plc.
Pay TV station Astro is actively pursuing the mobile TV content provider business, and DVB-H enables TV programmes to be broadcast directly to handsets that support the technology.
"The area of coverage, whether it will be nationwide or otherwise, depends on the spectrum assigned to Astro," Dobberstein told a media briefing yesterday.
He said mobile phone users would get "the actual TV viewing experience" as it would be simpler to switch on the mobile TV and change channels.
Besides offering higher audio-visual quality, the DVB-H technology also enables a lower usage of battery power compared with viewing via conventional networks such as General Packet Radio Service or Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution.
Maxis tested the service on 100 users in the Klang Valley, who were given access six TV channels and three radio channels on their phones.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Maxis to tap BlackBerry personal users market via new smartphone
KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Communications Bhd eyes the BlackBerry individual market segment with the launch of its BlackBerry Curve smartphone and entry-level BlackBerry service package here yesterday.
“For as low as RM20 per month, Malaysians are able to send and receive email and even continuously chat online, while on the go,” its chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said.
“We target to sell more than 2,000 units (of the BlackBerry) by year-end,” he said, adding that the new smartphone, targeted at individual entry-level users, would increase the company‘s individual users by year-end.
Eddy said 70% to 80% of the company’s current BlackBerry market were from enterprise consumers serving over 200 corporations in the country, with the rest from the individual segment. He said the company’s BlackBerry market had been growing over 80% year-on-year.
“We see a huge growth potential in the individual market segment and we are happy to announce that we have more than 10,000 BlackBerry consumers now. Since we launch our BlackBerry Pearl last February, we saw a shift of more individual consumers picking up Blackberry. We have over a couple of thousands sales and we see no reason this new package won’t reach the same sweet spot,” he said at the launch.
He said the BlackBerry Curve 8300, priced at RM1,999, featured a smooth and friendly handset design and offered renowned BlackBerry email and messaging experience.
He added that the smartphone also comes with intuitive trackball navigation system, 2 megapixel camera, fast web browsing and powerful multimedia capabilities.
“It also comes with value-added applications like Namimail, a Japanese read and write e-mail solution as well as a mobile stock trading solution,” Eddy said, adding that Maxis would be introducing a mobile banking solution in the near future.
“For as low as RM20 per month, Malaysians are able to send and receive email and even continuously chat online, while on the go,” its chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said.
“We target to sell more than 2,000 units (of the BlackBerry) by year-end,” he said, adding that the new smartphone, targeted at individual entry-level users, would increase the company‘s individual users by year-end.
Eddy said 70% to 80% of the company’s current BlackBerry market were from enterprise consumers serving over 200 corporations in the country, with the rest from the individual segment. He said the company’s BlackBerry market had been growing over 80% year-on-year.
“We see a huge growth potential in the individual market segment and we are happy to announce that we have more than 10,000 BlackBerry consumers now. Since we launch our BlackBerry Pearl last February, we saw a shift of more individual consumers picking up Blackberry. We have over a couple of thousands sales and we see no reason this new package won’t reach the same sweet spot,” he said at the launch.
He said the BlackBerry Curve 8300, priced at RM1,999, featured a smooth and friendly handset design and offered renowned BlackBerry email and messaging experience.
He added that the smartphone also comes with intuitive trackball navigation system, 2 megapixel camera, fast web browsing and powerful multimedia capabilities.
“It also comes with value-added applications like Namimail, a Japanese read and write e-mail solution as well as a mobile stock trading solution,” Eddy said, adding that Maxis would be introducing a mobile banking solution in the near future.
Celcom to boost business mobile market with enhanced PowerTools
KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd, in a move to strengthen its business mobile market, has launched its enhanced PowerTools service offerings that could boost the usage by another 25%, its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said.
"We expect to achieve 500,000 (from the estimated 400,000 corporate lines excluding the data lines as at end June 30) by end of this year," he said.
He added that the company is already the country’s largest business service provider with a majority share of business lines and revenue.
"To cement our leadership position, we had enhanced our PowerTools suite to provide a range of reliable and customisable business products and services to make businesses more efficient, and to drive down their costs," he said.
Shazalli said its PowerTools portfolio, primarily for medium-sized businesses and corporate customers, would provide reliable, efficient and quality communications for their managers, field workers and internal business processes.
Shazalli
The services offered under PowerTools fall into three categories — Workforce Mobility, Business Solutions (Mobile Office) and Value-Added Services.
"For instance, (one of) our business solutions offerings comprises Power 38, which offers free calls between colleagues with a minimum monthly commitment of just RM38 per month," he said.
Shazalli added that the enhanced offerings also featured its BlackBerry services, which consisted of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) and BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS).
"With our Workforce Mobility solutions, enterprises’ field personnel can quickly access corporate applications and work orders while they are out in the field," he said, adding that the new BlackBerry Bonneville will be introduced early next month.
Shazalli said Celcom was also currently the largest machine-to-machine (M2M) provider in the country, with close to 50,000 data lines already deployed for remote meter reading, fleet management, wireless point of sales terminals and ATM machines.
"We expect to achieve 500,000 (from the estimated 400,000 corporate lines excluding the data lines as at end June 30) by end of this year," he said.
He added that the company is already the country’s largest business service provider with a majority share of business lines and revenue.
"To cement our leadership position, we had enhanced our PowerTools suite to provide a range of reliable and customisable business products and services to make businesses more efficient, and to drive down their costs," he said.
Shazalli said its PowerTools portfolio, primarily for medium-sized businesses and corporate customers, would provide reliable, efficient and quality communications for their managers, field workers and internal business processes.
Shazalli
The services offered under PowerTools fall into three categories — Workforce Mobility, Business Solutions (Mobile Office) and Value-Added Services.
"For instance, (one of) our business solutions offerings comprises Power 38, which offers free calls between colleagues with a minimum monthly commitment of just RM38 per month," he said.
Shazalli added that the enhanced offerings also featured its BlackBerry services, which consisted of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) and BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS).
"With our Workforce Mobility solutions, enterprises’ field personnel can quickly access corporate applications and work orders while they are out in the field," he said, adding that the new BlackBerry Bonneville will be introduced early next month.
Shazalli said Celcom was also currently the largest machine-to-machine (M2M) provider in the country, with close to 50,000 data lines already deployed for remote meter reading, fleet management, wireless point of sales terminals and ATM machines.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Telco battle heats up
KUALA LUMPUR: Competition in the mobile telecommunications postpaid segment is expected to intensify in light of the implementation of the mobile number portability (MNP) next year, while the prepaid price war will likely taper off, said analysts.
While consumers will cheer as the three major telcos — Celcom (M) Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd — slog it out for market share, analysts said the precarious situation for the telcos could lead to value destruction.
Analysts have said that the fight would now likely take place in the marketing front and in the quality of service, as well as attentiveness to market needs and demand in order to retain customer loyalty.
CIMB Investment Research expects competition to intensify in the postpaid segment, while the prepaid price war would likely taper off.
It said DiGi and Maxis have been locked in a prepaid price war, with Celcom joining the fray recently.
CIMB Investment said nationwide prepaid tariffs were now mostly between 35 sen and 38 sen per minute, compared to a few months back when local long-distance calls were priced between RM1.20 and RM2.40.
“We do not think it would escalate into all-out combat, given that all the players have fairly similar market shares and stand to lose if prices decline further. Also, Celcom’s latest pricing did not cut very deeply,” it said.
“We do not think the lower prices will impact prepaid revenues significantly in the short term. Prepaid users are price sensitive and normally adjust quite quickly by increasing their usage when prices fall,” it said in a report last Friday.
The research house said DiGi, which has doubled its postpaid market share to 17% over the past two-and-half years, expects to gain more market share in the postpaid segment with Celcom chasing it aggressively.
It added DiGi could afford to be more aggressive in its pricing as postpaid revenue contributed only 15% to its mobile revenue versus an estimated 30%-35% among its rivals.
“Overall, we expect postpaid competition to intensify, especially as we approach the deadline for MNP in 2Q08,” it said.
Nonetheless, CIMB Investment Bank did not expect an irrational price war among the players to materialise.
It said DiGi would enjoy the lowest risk and highest revenue growth potential among the telcos on easing competition in the prepaid segment.
“We think the company will be aggressively challenging its rivals in the postpaid market to gain market share and drive its next phase of growth,” it said.
Meanwhile, OSK Investment Research said telcos in Malaysia would continue to focus on defending and improving their revenue market shares in light of the MNP with customer service and network quality being essential areas.
It said telcos would continue to ramp up acquisition, retention and usage activities with more bundled offerings for data usage for mobile broadband, and increased efforts to widen market share in the lucrative enterprise space.
A research analyst with OSK said in an email reply to The Edge Financial Daily last Friday that there was a huge potential for telcos to create demand as over 95% of Malaysian companies were made up of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Price wars will always benefit consumers. We have always maintained our view of heightened competitive risks for the telecommunications sector from 2H07 leading to number porting in 2008.
“We do not discount the possibility of irrational price competition that may result in greater value destruction over the ensuing months,” he said.
While consumers will cheer as the three major telcos — Celcom (M) Bhd, Maxis Communications Bhd and DiGi.Com Bhd — slog it out for market share, analysts said the precarious situation for the telcos could lead to value destruction.
Analysts have said that the fight would now likely take place in the marketing front and in the quality of service, as well as attentiveness to market needs and demand in order to retain customer loyalty.
CIMB Investment Research expects competition to intensify in the postpaid segment, while the prepaid price war would likely taper off.
It said DiGi and Maxis have been locked in a prepaid price war, with Celcom joining the fray recently.
CIMB Investment said nationwide prepaid tariffs were now mostly between 35 sen and 38 sen per minute, compared to a few months back when local long-distance calls were priced between RM1.20 and RM2.40.
“We do not think it would escalate into all-out combat, given that all the players have fairly similar market shares and stand to lose if prices decline further. Also, Celcom’s latest pricing did not cut very deeply,” it said.
“We do not think the lower prices will impact prepaid revenues significantly in the short term. Prepaid users are price sensitive and normally adjust quite quickly by increasing their usage when prices fall,” it said in a report last Friday.
The research house said DiGi, which has doubled its postpaid market share to 17% over the past two-and-half years, expects to gain more market share in the postpaid segment with Celcom chasing it aggressively.
It added DiGi could afford to be more aggressive in its pricing as postpaid revenue contributed only 15% to its mobile revenue versus an estimated 30%-35% among its rivals.
“Overall, we expect postpaid competition to intensify, especially as we approach the deadline for MNP in 2Q08,” it said.
Nonetheless, CIMB Investment Bank did not expect an irrational price war among the players to materialise.
It said DiGi would enjoy the lowest risk and highest revenue growth potential among the telcos on easing competition in the prepaid segment.
“We think the company will be aggressively challenging its rivals in the postpaid market to gain market share and drive its next phase of growth,” it said.
Meanwhile, OSK Investment Research said telcos in Malaysia would continue to focus on defending and improving their revenue market shares in light of the MNP with customer service and network quality being essential areas.
It said telcos would continue to ramp up acquisition, retention and usage activities with more bundled offerings for data usage for mobile broadband, and increased efforts to widen market share in the lucrative enterprise space.
A research analyst with OSK said in an email reply to The Edge Financial Daily last Friday that there was a huge potential for telcos to create demand as over 95% of Malaysian companies were made up of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Price wars will always benefit consumers. We have always maintained our view of heightened competitive risks for the telecommunications sector from 2H07 leading to number porting in 2008.
“We do not discount the possibility of irrational price competition that may result in greater value destruction over the ensuing months,” he said.
Friday, August 10, 2007
DiGi hires new CTO
KUALA LUMPUR: DiGi.Com Bhd has appointed Kjersti Wiklund as its chief technology officer with effect from Aug 13, replacing Jon Eddy who resigned from the company last February.
In a statement yesterday, DiGi said Wiklund is the executive vice president and head of information systems of Telenor Nordic.
“She has extensive experience in the areas of information technology and telecommunication,” it said.
In a statement yesterday, DiGi said Wiklund is the executive vice president and head of information systems of Telenor Nordic.
“She has extensive experience in the areas of information technology and telecommunication,” it said.
Celcom’s data revenue to gain from new BlackBerry service
KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom (M) Bhd launched its new BlackBerry Internet service for personal users here yesterday that is expected to boost its data service revenue, its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said.
He said: “The growth is there. If we can continue to boost our data services, not only just through enterprises but also personal users, we presume the numbers will show an upward trend for the second half of this year.”
In the first half of this year, Celcom’s data service sector accounted for 20% of the company’s total revenue compared with 17% a year earlier.
Together with the recent launch of its new mobile broadband service on July 31, Shazalli said the latest BlackBerry Internet service for personal users would give a tremendous push for its data services revenue.
He expected the second half of this year to see a higher 3G average revenue per user (ARPU) compared with the RM123 per month in the second quarter. Its postpaid ARPU in the second quarter was RM117 per month, and prepaid ARPU RM53 per month.
On the new BlackBerry Internet service for personal users that was targeted at the mass market, he said it was an additional offering to its BlackBerry enterprise server, which was launched in June at CommunicAsia in Singapore.
“Now highly mobile and busy individuals can stay connected anytime and virtually anywhere, while on the go,” he said.
He added that its new service allowed mobile users to access to Internet-based email accounts while staying connected through instant messaging from Yahoo!, Gmail and Blackberry messenger.
“For this particular new service, we have signed up with more than 600 IT resellers to complement our current mobile phone vendors,” he said, adding that the complexity of this new service was more attuned to IT retail outlets.
Currently, he said the new BlackBerry Internet service is available at the 18 Celcom branches and five Blue Cube outlets. “Hopefully in two weeks, the extension of this product will be available at these outlets (IT resellers),” Shazalli said.
The new BlackBerry Internet service comes in two packages — RM98 for the advance package, and RM38 for the basic package a month. Celcom also offers two BlackBerry smart phones with the Blackberry 8707v (3G-enabled) priced at RM2299, and the Blackberry Pearl at RM1799 for the package.
Celcom’s BlackBerry enterprise server, which caters to the enterprise market, was initially launched last September under a partnership agreement with UK-based Vodafone Group.
He said the company planned to expand its international roaming service, which is currently offered in119 countries, to South America and Africa in the near future.
He said: “The growth is there. If we can continue to boost our data services, not only just through enterprises but also personal users, we presume the numbers will show an upward trend for the second half of this year.”
In the first half of this year, Celcom’s data service sector accounted for 20% of the company’s total revenue compared with 17% a year earlier.
Together with the recent launch of its new mobile broadband service on July 31, Shazalli said the latest BlackBerry Internet service for personal users would give a tremendous push for its data services revenue.
He expected the second half of this year to see a higher 3G average revenue per user (ARPU) compared with the RM123 per month in the second quarter. Its postpaid ARPU in the second quarter was RM117 per month, and prepaid ARPU RM53 per month.
On the new BlackBerry Internet service for personal users that was targeted at the mass market, he said it was an additional offering to its BlackBerry enterprise server, which was launched in June at CommunicAsia in Singapore.
“Now highly mobile and busy individuals can stay connected anytime and virtually anywhere, while on the go,” he said.
He added that its new service allowed mobile users to access to Internet-based email accounts while staying connected through instant messaging from Yahoo!, Gmail and Blackberry messenger.
“For this particular new service, we have signed up with more than 600 IT resellers to complement our current mobile phone vendors,” he said, adding that the complexity of this new service was more attuned to IT retail outlets.
Currently, he said the new BlackBerry Internet service is available at the 18 Celcom branches and five Blue Cube outlets. “Hopefully in two weeks, the extension of this product will be available at these outlets (IT resellers),” Shazalli said.
The new BlackBerry Internet service comes in two packages — RM98 for the advance package, and RM38 for the basic package a month. Celcom also offers two BlackBerry smart phones with the Blackberry 8707v (3G-enabled) priced at RM2299, and the Blackberry Pearl at RM1799 for the package.
Celcom’s BlackBerry enterprise server, which caters to the enterprise market, was initially launched last September under a partnership agreement with UK-based Vodafone Group.
He said the company planned to expand its international roaming service, which is currently offered in119 countries, to South America and Africa in the near future.
Celcom gung-ho on prospects of postpaid and prepaid services
KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom (M) Bhd’s recent aggression in launches of its postpaid and prepaid services may be seen by some as being excessive, particularly the media blitz, but its chief says it’s a strategy to create the buzz.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly believes that its slew of products launched so far and those slated for the rest of the year would not crowd the market and confuse customers as the offerings catered to all the different segments.
He said there was a distinct difference in all its products and the benefits that customers derived from them, adding that Celcom had always had competitive products.
“In the past, we did not make it a practice to call for press conferences for most of our launches, which led to a perception that we lacked products.
“We are now changing our strategy to make our presence more felt,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.
“There are many of the products and additional offerings that we have introduced into the market since early this year for the prepaid segment.
“The second half of 2007 will see more postpaid product launches,” he said.
Shazalli said Celcom had timed the launches before the Merdeka celebrations so as to avoid a clash, and it was aiming for all its new products to be introduced before festive seasons for the rest of the year.
“Once the products are in the market before the festivals, we can then focus on creating market awareness during the festivities and offer better value to customers as part of the celebrations,” he said.
He said Celcom had been working on enhancing its postpaid billing platform to move beyond voice calls and to go into data services.
“The network and billing platforms must be ready as our product range caters to all the different segments,” he said.
Celcom’s recent moves saw the launch of the 1+3 plan that offers free voice calls, short messaging service and video calls within a family group.
The telco has also signed a deal with mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd to roll out mobile services targeted at the foreign workers’ market.
“I am quite comfortable that the nagging fundamental issues we faced last year have been fixed. The significant improvement leads to greater confidence for us to go out with more innovative yet simple products,” said Shazalli.
Telecommunication analysts are, however, not too convinced with Celcom’s numbers so far, as they want to see concrete evidence of the improvement in the telco’s postpaid subscriber base.
Kenanga Research said Celcom’s three consecutive losses in postpaid subscribers was a worry.
Celcom’s parent Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has given a reassurance that the worst was over and that Celcom had registered more than 4,000 postpaid net adds in June.
“With improved customer service and better value packages and solutions, management is confident that Celcom’s fortune is on the mend,” TM said.
Kenanga Research said: “We are however less sanguine about it and would want to see more concrete evidence.”
It said the introduction of new packages with lower tariffs was expected to create a more difficult market environment, going forward.
It said with market saturation looming and mobile number portability around the corner, all key operators would become more aggressive in terms of customer retention and acquisition.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly believes that its slew of products launched so far and those slated for the rest of the year would not crowd the market and confuse customers as the offerings catered to all the different segments.
He said there was a distinct difference in all its products and the benefits that customers derived from them, adding that Celcom had always had competitive products.
“In the past, we did not make it a practice to call for press conferences for most of our launches, which led to a perception that we lacked products.
“We are now changing our strategy to make our presence more felt,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.
“There are many of the products and additional offerings that we have introduced into the market since early this year for the prepaid segment.
“The second half of 2007 will see more postpaid product launches,” he said.
Shazalli said Celcom had timed the launches before the Merdeka celebrations so as to avoid a clash, and it was aiming for all its new products to be introduced before festive seasons for the rest of the year.
“Once the products are in the market before the festivals, we can then focus on creating market awareness during the festivities and offer better value to customers as part of the celebrations,” he said.
He said Celcom had been working on enhancing its postpaid billing platform to move beyond voice calls and to go into data services.
“The network and billing platforms must be ready as our product range caters to all the different segments,” he said.
Celcom’s recent moves saw the launch of the 1+3 plan that offers free voice calls, short messaging service and video calls within a family group.
The telco has also signed a deal with mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd to roll out mobile services targeted at the foreign workers’ market.
“I am quite comfortable that the nagging fundamental issues we faced last year have been fixed. The significant improvement leads to greater confidence for us to go out with more innovative yet simple products,” said Shazalli.
Telecommunication analysts are, however, not too convinced with Celcom’s numbers so far, as they want to see concrete evidence of the improvement in the telco’s postpaid subscriber base.
Kenanga Research said Celcom’s three consecutive losses in postpaid subscribers was a worry.
Celcom’s parent Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has given a reassurance that the worst was over and that Celcom had registered more than 4,000 postpaid net adds in June.
“With improved customer service and better value packages and solutions, management is confident that Celcom’s fortune is on the mend,” TM said.
Kenanga Research said: “We are however less sanguine about it and would want to see more concrete evidence.”
It said the introduction of new packages with lower tariffs was expected to create a more difficult market environment, going forward.
It said with market saturation looming and mobile number portability around the corner, all key operators would become more aggressive in terms of customer retention and acquisition.
Tune Money-Celcom Card to be introduced regionally
KUALA LUMPUR: Tune Money Sdn Bhd plans to market the soon-to-be-introduced Tune Money-Celcom Card, Malaysia’s first mobile-enabled Visa card service, in neighbouring countries next year.
The company has targeted between 500,000 and one million new customers for its upcoming prepaid Visa card services by end-2008.
Its chief operating officer Kaneswaran Avili said the Tune Money-Celcom card, to be launched in December, would be offered to Celcom’s existing 6.4 million mobile subscribers nationwide including its high-end postpaid customers.
“It is like taking mobile commerce to a bigger scale. We will announce details (of the launch) towards the end of the year but it will be the most reasonably priced product in the market,” he told reporters yesterday after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tune Money and Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd for Malaysia’s first mobile-enabled Visa card service.
Tune Money’s chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz said it plans to introduce the Tune Money-Celcom Card in neighbouring countries next year.
“We are looking into Indonesia (and planning to launch) by the first quarter of next year,” he said, and added that it would expand its card business into Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore by the first half of next year.
He said the features of the card include domestic and international remittances, fund transfers, bill payments and mobile reloads. He added that customers would be able to transfer money via simple mobile phone-to-mobile phone transactions besides withdrawing cash from automatic teller machine network with the Visa Plus mark.
Celcom’s chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said the Visa prepaid card would be linked to the over 115,000 Visa merchant outlets nationwide. He said the Visa card project would have a positive impact on Celcom’s subscriber base next year.
Celcom’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and development, Azwan Khan Osman Khan, said the company would spend some RM5 million to RM10 million in working capital including producing the prepaid cards and setting up the electronic mobile payment systems.
The company has targeted between 500,000 and one million new customers for its upcoming prepaid Visa card services by end-2008.
Its chief operating officer Kaneswaran Avili said the Tune Money-Celcom card, to be launched in December, would be offered to Celcom’s existing 6.4 million mobile subscribers nationwide including its high-end postpaid customers.
“It is like taking mobile commerce to a bigger scale. We will announce details (of the launch) towards the end of the year but it will be the most reasonably priced product in the market,” he told reporters yesterday after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tune Money and Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd for Malaysia’s first mobile-enabled Visa card service.
Tune Money’s chief executive officer Tengku Zafrul Aziz said it plans to introduce the Tune Money-Celcom Card in neighbouring countries next year.
“We are looking into Indonesia (and planning to launch) by the first quarter of next year,” he said, and added that it would expand its card business into Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore by the first half of next year.
He said the features of the card include domestic and international remittances, fund transfers, bill payments and mobile reloads. He added that customers would be able to transfer money via simple mobile phone-to-mobile phone transactions besides withdrawing cash from automatic teller machine network with the Visa Plus mark.
Celcom’s chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said the Visa prepaid card would be linked to the over 115,000 Visa merchant outlets nationwide. He said the Visa card project would have a positive impact on Celcom’s subscriber base next year.
Celcom’s senior vice president for corporate strategy and development, Azwan Khan Osman Khan, said the company would spend some RM5 million to RM10 million in working capital including producing the prepaid cards and setting up the electronic mobile payment systems.
Celcom targets more prepaid subscribers
PETALING JAYA: Celcom (M) Bhd has launched its prepaid “Xpax Who Says” campaign that targets to acquire more youth customers and retain its existing subscribers.
The telco introduced two bonuses at the launch of the “Xpax Bonus” campaign. They were the “Every Month Bonus” and “Birthday Bonus”. For its “Every Month Bonus”, Xpax users would get to enjoy free bonus airtime that would be automatically credited into customers’ account with a minimum of RM50 reload per month.
Meanwhile, its “Birthday Bonus” would reward its customers with free calls and SMSes (Short Messaging Service) to their 8pax (8 members in their friends and loved ones’ list) on their birthday and the next six days.
“Besides the two bonuses, we will be launching another two more very soon,” chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly told reporters after the launch of the “Xpax Bonus” campaign here yesterday.
The telco had also introduced its new Xpax call rate of 35 sen per minute and one sen SMS Revolution, in conjunction with the launch of its “Xpax Bonus” campaign. Under the one sen SMS Revolution, Shazalli said the customer would be able to send messages to friends and loved ones for as low as one sen per SMS, beginning from 12 midnight until 5.59am.
“We currently have an SMS rate of up to 60 million per day, and it will probably reach 100 million per day by end of the year,” he said.
He said the company strategy’s for the second half of this year was to acquire new customers, increase loyalty with heavy bonuses and to continue its upward trend within its pre-paid sectors.
“There will be consumer excitement programmes throughout the remaining half of the year,” he said.
Shazalli said the response for its new mobile broadband service, which was launched two days ago, had been very encouraging with five signing up every 15 minutes.
The telco introduced two bonuses at the launch of the “Xpax Bonus” campaign. They were the “Every Month Bonus” and “Birthday Bonus”. For its “Every Month Bonus”, Xpax users would get to enjoy free bonus airtime that would be automatically credited into customers’ account with a minimum of RM50 reload per month.
Meanwhile, its “Birthday Bonus” would reward its customers with free calls and SMSes (Short Messaging Service) to their 8pax (8 members in their friends and loved ones’ list) on their birthday and the next six days.
“Besides the two bonuses, we will be launching another two more very soon,” chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly told reporters after the launch of the “Xpax Bonus” campaign here yesterday.
The telco had also introduced its new Xpax call rate of 35 sen per minute and one sen SMS Revolution, in conjunction with the launch of its “Xpax Bonus” campaign. Under the one sen SMS Revolution, Shazalli said the customer would be able to send messages to friends and loved ones for as low as one sen per SMS, beginning from 12 midnight until 5.59am.
“We currently have an SMS rate of up to 60 million per day, and it will probably reach 100 million per day by end of the year,” he said.
He said the company strategy’s for the second half of this year was to acquire new customers, increase loyalty with heavy bonuses and to continue its upward trend within its pre-paid sectors.
“There will be consumer excitement programmes throughout the remaining half of the year,” he said.
Shazalli said the response for its new mobile broadband service, which was launched two days ago, had been very encouraging with five signing up every 15 minutes.
Celcom confident of better 2H
KUALA LUMPUR: Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd is confident its revenue growth for the second half (2H) of this year would be better than the first half as it has performed well in June and July in terms of net advertising revenue and sales volume for its BlackBerry package.
“As announced on July 26, we are confident we will hit all our key performance indicators at the revenue, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), profit after tax and minority interest (PATAMI) and return on capital employed (ROCE) levels,” said its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly after launching Celcom’s new mobile broadband service yesterday.
Celcom posted a net profit of RM398 million on the back of revenue totalling RM2.16 billion in the first half of 2006.
Shazalli said Celcom would be spending RM1 billion on capital expenditure this year.
On its newly-launched Celcom Broadband, he said that with the service, Celcom is now the only mobile operator in the country to offer daily unlimited mobile broadband services to its subscribers, making it the fastest mobile broadband provider with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps based on high-speed data packet access (HSDPA) technology.
The new service comes in two different plans, namely the Daily Unlimited (for prepaid and postpaid users) and Monthly Unlimited (for postpaid users), both of which run on the GPRS or 3G networks.
The Daily Unlimited plan is priced at RM8 for 24-hour access with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps while the Monthly Unlimited comes in a RM68 package per month with speeds of up to 384 kbps.
To improve its mobile broadband services, Celcom, which has the highest number of HSDPA-enabled sites in Malaysia, intends to increase the sites to over 2,000 by the end of this year. “We do have plans to roll out beyond 2,000 by year-end (from the current 1,815 sites),” said Shazalli.
On the challenges for its 3G service, he said the company had been in discussions with the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to acquire more tower sites as quickly as possible.
He expects the take-up rate for its 3G service, which totalled 330,000 subscribers at end-June, to exceed the targeted 450,000 mark by year-end.
Shazalli also denied rumours that he was leaving Celcom to join its largest rival, Maxis Communications Bhd, saying he was committed to seeing through its transformation from the perceived “underdog” of the local mobile industry into a more aggressive brand.
“As announced on July 26, we are confident we will hit all our key performance indicators at the revenue, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), profit after tax and minority interest (PATAMI) and return on capital employed (ROCE) levels,” said its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly after launching Celcom’s new mobile broadband service yesterday.
Celcom posted a net profit of RM398 million on the back of revenue totalling RM2.16 billion in the first half of 2006.
Shazalli said Celcom would be spending RM1 billion on capital expenditure this year.
On its newly-launched Celcom Broadband, he said that with the service, Celcom is now the only mobile operator in the country to offer daily unlimited mobile broadband services to its subscribers, making it the fastest mobile broadband provider with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps based on high-speed data packet access (HSDPA) technology.
The new service comes in two different plans, namely the Daily Unlimited (for prepaid and postpaid users) and Monthly Unlimited (for postpaid users), both of which run on the GPRS or 3G networks.
The Daily Unlimited plan is priced at RM8 for 24-hour access with speeds of up to 3.6 Mbps while the Monthly Unlimited comes in a RM68 package per month with speeds of up to 384 kbps.
To improve its mobile broadband services, Celcom, which has the highest number of HSDPA-enabled sites in Malaysia, intends to increase the sites to over 2,000 by the end of this year. “We do have plans to roll out beyond 2,000 by year-end (from the current 1,815 sites),” said Shazalli.
On the challenges for its 3G service, he said the company had been in discussions with the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to acquire more tower sites as quickly as possible.
He expects the take-up rate for its 3G service, which totalled 330,000 subscribers at end-June, to exceed the targeted 450,000 mark by year-end.
Shazalli also denied rumours that he was leaving Celcom to join its largest rival, Maxis Communications Bhd, saying he was committed to seeing through its transformation from the perceived “underdog” of the local mobile industry into a more aggressive brand.
Maxis takes wireless broadband to next level
KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Communications Bhd has become the first company in the country and among the first in Asia-Pacific to implement the high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA) technology in a live network.
Maxis yesterday announced its first successful data transmission using HSUPA demonstrating further progress in achieving a new level of performance in wireless broadband.
In a statement, Maxis chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said HSUPA would enable a threefold improvement in uplink data speeds, up to 1.4 megabits per second compared with 384 kilobits per second previously.
He said its wireless broadband coverage expansion and the introduction of HSUPA were key factors in differentiating Maxis from other 3G and wireless broadband operators.
“HSUPA will improve the performance of applications which require faster uplink such as e-mails and photo sharing,” he said.
Currently, Maxis has more than 700 wireless broadband sites on air, covering residential areas in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang providing download speeds of 1.5Mbps to 3Mpbs using high speed download packet access (HSDPA).
Maxis collaborated with Ericsson, its 3G network supplier, to roll out HSUPA.
“The success of this first HSUPA data transmission establishes Maxis at the forefront of mobile initiatives, making them among the first operators in Asia to implement such powerful technology in a live network,” said Ericsson Malaysia president and country manager Krishna Kumar.
“Ericsson believes that wireless broadband on 3G HSDPA/HSUPA will play a significant role in meeting broadband access needs in Malaysia,” said
He added that the HSUPA would be able to support upload peak speeds higher than 5Mbps with future network upgrades and more advanced devices in the near future.
Maxis yesterday announced its first successful data transmission using HSUPA demonstrating further progress in achieving a new level of performance in wireless broadband.
In a statement, Maxis chief operating officer Jon Eddy Abdullah said HSUPA would enable a threefold improvement in uplink data speeds, up to 1.4 megabits per second compared with 384 kilobits per second previously.
He said its wireless broadband coverage expansion and the introduction of HSUPA were key factors in differentiating Maxis from other 3G and wireless broadband operators.
“HSUPA will improve the performance of applications which require faster uplink such as e-mails and photo sharing,” he said.
Currently, Maxis has more than 700 wireless broadband sites on air, covering residential areas in the Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang providing download speeds of 1.5Mbps to 3Mpbs using high speed download packet access (HSDPA).
Maxis collaborated with Ericsson, its 3G network supplier, to roll out HSUPA.
“The success of this first HSUPA data transmission establishes Maxis at the forefront of mobile initiatives, making them among the first operators in Asia to implement such powerful technology in a live network,” said Ericsson Malaysia president and country manager Krishna Kumar.
“Ericsson believes that wireless broadband on 3G HSDPA/HSUPA will play a significant role in meeting broadband access needs in Malaysia,” said
He added that the HSUPA would be able to support upload peak speeds higher than 5Mbps with future network upgrades and more advanced devices in the near future.
DiGi to be No 1 in East Malaysia
KUCHING: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd aims to be the number one operator in Sarawak and Sabah next year by securing a market share of more than 35% in the mobile phone business.
DiGi head of East Malaysia Region, Benny Wee, said the company’s target would be driven by aggressive marketing, strong sales and wider customer base.
“DiGi currently is number 2 in the mobile phone market share in Sabah and Sarawak.
To be the leader, we will launch more customer acquisition campaigns to boost the sales and subscriber base.
“We will also be introducing more innovative and simple products and new solutions throughout the year to provide more value-added services to our customers,” he told Bernama here yesterday.
DiGi head of East Malaysia Region, Benny Wee, said the company’s target would be driven by aggressive marketing, strong sales and wider customer base.
“DiGi currently is number 2 in the mobile phone market share in Sabah and Sarawak.
To be the leader, we will launch more customer acquisition campaigns to boost the sales and subscriber base.
“We will also be introducing more innovative and simple products and new solutions throughout the year to provide more value-added services to our customers,” he told Bernama here yesterday.
DiGi confirms talks to assess strategic tie-ups
DiGi.Com Bhd and its major shareholder Telenor ASA are in continuous business development discussions to assess the possibilities for strategic partnerships with various parties to enhance their business, the company said yesterday.
In a reply to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd it said it would make the necessary announcements if and when significant developments materialised.
This is the first time that DiGi has said that it is in talks to assess the possibility of a strategic tie-up with any party after having previously denied such developments whenever the subject was reported.
Yesterday, DiGi was responding to a query from Bursa Securities on a report in The Edge weekly on Monday that rumours were circulating again that DiGi and Time dotCom Bhd would be involved in a corporate exercise that would see both companies gain.
The report, citing sources, said that talks between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Telenor were progressing well and had received approvals, adding that the negotiations did not involve the management of DiGi or Time dotCom.
“Essentially, Khazanah has secured approval for a strategic tie-up between both companies. It will involve shares. Eventually, it will benefit both companies,” said the report.
The Edge said the structure of the deal involved Time dotCom’s wholly owned subsidiary, TTDotcom, taking up a 5% stake in DiGi.
“In return, DiGi would be given exclusive rights for use of the coveted 3G spectrum owned by TTDotcom. DiGi does not have a 3G licence, something that it could do with to expand its range of cellular services, especially the provision of mobile broadband services,” it said.
The Edge first reported in July 2006 that steps were being taken to match DiGi with Time dotCom, news that DiGi then had denied. DiGi also denied all subsequent reports on possible tie-ups with other parties.
In a reply to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd it said it would make the necessary announcements if and when significant developments materialised.
This is the first time that DiGi has said that it is in talks to assess the possibility of a strategic tie-up with any party after having previously denied such developments whenever the subject was reported.
Yesterday, DiGi was responding to a query from Bursa Securities on a report in The Edge weekly on Monday that rumours were circulating again that DiGi and Time dotCom Bhd would be involved in a corporate exercise that would see both companies gain.
The report, citing sources, said that talks between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Telenor were progressing well and had received approvals, adding that the negotiations did not involve the management of DiGi or Time dotCom.
“Essentially, Khazanah has secured approval for a strategic tie-up between both companies. It will involve shares. Eventually, it will benefit both companies,” said the report.
The Edge said the structure of the deal involved Time dotCom’s wholly owned subsidiary, TTDotcom, taking up a 5% stake in DiGi.
“In return, DiGi would be given exclusive rights for use of the coveted 3G spectrum owned by TTDotcom. DiGi does not have a 3G licence, something that it could do with to expand its range of cellular services, especially the provision of mobile broadband services,” it said.
The Edge first reported in July 2006 that steps were being taken to match DiGi with Time dotCom, news that DiGi then had denied. DiGi also denied all subsequent reports on possible tie-ups with other parties.
Maxis set to ‘fiercely’ defend postpaid market leadership
KUALA LUMPUR: Maxis Communications Bhd has launched four new postpaid packages known as the “Value Plans” aimed at defending its leading position in the postpaid market and converting existing prepaid users into postpaid customers.
Its chief marketing officer Tom Schnitker said Maxis would continue to “fiercely” protect its postpaid market share that currently stood at over 50% in the country.
Value Plans would be one of the company’s strategies to defend its market share due to its low cost proposition, he told reporters after unveiling the new postpaid packages here yesterday.
“They require minimum commitment and the rates are low. You will see an increase in usage,” Schnitker said.
Under the Value Plans, customers can choose from four postpaid packages, namely Value 50, Value 80, Value 150 and the Family Plus Plan, which are touted as offering the lowest rates for calls available to postpaid users currently in the market.
As its name implies, Value 50 requires a minimum monthly commitment of RM50 from customers, who will be charged 15 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 20 sen for those outside the Maxis network.
Customers who choose Value 80 had to commit at least RM80 every month and will be charged 12 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 15 sen for those outside the network.
Meanwhile, customers who opt for Value 150 will have to commit at least RM150 every month and they will enjoy a rate of 10 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 12 sen for those outside the network.
For those who opt for the Family Plus Plan, the monthly commitment fee will only be RM50 and they will enjoy free voice calls, short messaging service, and video calls as well as credit sharing among family lines.
Schnitker also reckoned that Value Plans could become the “first entry point” for cost-conscious prepaid users to switch to postpaid.
“Malaysia is a growing as a country and it is becoming more and more developed.
The trend in developed countries is they have more postpaid users,” he said.
He added that there was room to grow even though the mobile telephone penetration rate in Malaysia had exceeded 80%.
Its chief marketing officer Tom Schnitker said Maxis would continue to “fiercely” protect its postpaid market share that currently stood at over 50% in the country.
Value Plans would be one of the company’s strategies to defend its market share due to its low cost proposition, he told reporters after unveiling the new postpaid packages here yesterday.
“They require minimum commitment and the rates are low. You will see an increase in usage,” Schnitker said.
Under the Value Plans, customers can choose from four postpaid packages, namely Value 50, Value 80, Value 150 and the Family Plus Plan, which are touted as offering the lowest rates for calls available to postpaid users currently in the market.
As its name implies, Value 50 requires a minimum monthly commitment of RM50 from customers, who will be charged 15 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 20 sen for those outside the Maxis network.
Customers who choose Value 80 had to commit at least RM80 every month and will be charged 12 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 15 sen for those outside the network.
Meanwhile, customers who opt for Value 150 will have to commit at least RM150 every month and they will enjoy a rate of 10 sen per minute for calls within the Maxis network and 12 sen for those outside the network.
For those who opt for the Family Plus Plan, the monthly commitment fee will only be RM50 and they will enjoy free voice calls, short messaging service, and video calls as well as credit sharing among family lines.
Schnitker also reckoned that Value Plans could become the “first entry point” for cost-conscious prepaid users to switch to postpaid.
“Malaysia is a growing as a country and it is becoming more and more developed.
The trend in developed countries is they have more postpaid users,” he said.
He added that there was room to grow even though the mobile telephone penetration rate in Malaysia had exceeded 80%.
TM’s fixed line grows again
Click here to download TM's 2nd Quarter 2007 Financial Results
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), whose net profit rose 54.6% to RM701 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2007 from RM453.5 million a year earlier, has made a strong recovery in the fixed-line business.
Among other improvements, the company saw a 3% growth in fixed-line revenue against a 9% decline a year earlier. TM declared a gross interim dividend of 26 sen per share, totalling RM651.3 million, and representing a payout ratio of 50%.
“The performance improvement programme (PIP) has seen encouraging results in mitigating the decline in our fixed-line business where we’ve seen revenue improve by about 3% in 1H 2007 compared to a decline of 9% in 1H 2006.
“This has been made possible through key efforts in the aggressive push for broadband where our customers have surpassed the one million mark while our Let’s Talk packages aimed at stimulating the fixed-line usage and meeting the needs of our customers have started to show promising results in reducing churn from fixed line,” said TM group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar.
He said over 300,000 customers had signed up for the Let’s Talk packages. Wahid said TM would continue to introduce new packages to increase the fixed-line business’ contribution.
“We are delighted that Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd has come out stronger and Malaysia Business is gaining momentum in revitalising the fixed services,” he said. Its fixed-line customers remain stable at 4.4 million, an improvement of 2.3% versus 4.3 million a year earlier.
TM attributed the rise in the 2QFY07 net profit to higher operating revenue and other operating income, which comprises mainly the gain on placement of a 3.8% stake in its Sri Lanka subsidiary Dialog Telekom Ltd of RM194 million.
The group’s revenue rose 8.6% to RM4.32 billion from RM3.98 billion in 2Q 2006, mainly due to higher revenue from cellular, data, Internet and multimedia segments. The increase in mobile revenue was mainly contributed by Celcom and PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (XL) arising from more customers and usage.
The Internet and multimedia revenue rose 22.9% to RM269.4 million in 2QFY07 from RM219.2 million in 2QFY06, consistent with the plan to revitalise fixed-line business due to continued growth of broadband customers to 1.07 million.
For the first half, TM’s net profit rose 29.8% to RM1.3 billion from RM999.1 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 9.5% to RM8.5 billion from RM7.76 billion.
Its Malaysia Business revenue, which is made up of fixed line, data and Internet and multimedia, registered a revenue of RM3.8 billion for 1H 2007.
Wahid said mobile revenue now formed a key component of the group’s operations with increased contribution to group revenue at 54.3% in 1H 2007 compared to 51.3% in 1H 2006.
He said Celcom continued to register consistent improvements with a growth of 15.7% in revenue, an increase to RM2.5 billion from RM2.2 billion recorded in 1H 2006.
Wahid added that the turnaround of Celcom was within expectations. He said Celcom did not expect further erosion in postpaid customers as reflected in the net increase of 4,000 customers in June.
Celcom’s pre-paid average revenue per user (ARPU) stabilised at RM53 in 2QFY07, while its post-paid ARPU rose 3.5% to RM117.
Celcom’s EBITDA margin improved to 44.2% for 1H 2007 from 44% in 1H 2006, while net profit rose to RM489 million from RM398 million. With a net addition of 163,000 customers in 2QFY07, it had 6.4 million customers as at end-June.
“Our regional mobile customers also registered a robust growth of 33.1% to 31.8 million against 23.9 million in 1H 2006,” Wahid said.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin for the group was higher by 0.7 percentage points to 47.3% in 1H 2007 compared to 46.6% in the 1H 2006.
On the international front, Wahid said the group’s performance would continue to be affected by intense competition, difficult macroeconomics and also political issues in some countries.
TM said it was on track to achieve the main headline key performance indicators (KPIs) of EBITDA margin and return on equity.
“However, the revenue KPI will remain challenged due to the continued increase in competition, unstable political and regulatory environment and foreign currency translation losses from the stronger ringgit in the overseas market,” it said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), whose net profit rose 54.6% to RM701 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2007 from RM453.5 million a year earlier, has made a strong recovery in the fixed-line business.
Among other improvements, the company saw a 3% growth in fixed-line revenue against a 9% decline a year earlier. TM declared a gross interim dividend of 26 sen per share, totalling RM651.3 million, and representing a payout ratio of 50%.
“The performance improvement programme (PIP) has seen encouraging results in mitigating the decline in our fixed-line business where we’ve seen revenue improve by about 3% in 1H 2007 compared to a decline of 9% in 1H 2006.
“This has been made possible through key efforts in the aggressive push for broadband where our customers have surpassed the one million mark while our Let’s Talk packages aimed at stimulating the fixed-line usage and meeting the needs of our customers have started to show promising results in reducing churn from fixed line,” said TM group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar.
He said over 300,000 customers had signed up for the Let’s Talk packages. Wahid said TM would continue to introduce new packages to increase the fixed-line business’ contribution.
“We are delighted that Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd has come out stronger and Malaysia Business is gaining momentum in revitalising the fixed services,” he said. Its fixed-line customers remain stable at 4.4 million, an improvement of 2.3% versus 4.3 million a year earlier.
TM attributed the rise in the 2QFY07 net profit to higher operating revenue and other operating income, which comprises mainly the gain on placement of a 3.8% stake in its Sri Lanka subsidiary Dialog Telekom Ltd of RM194 million.
The group’s revenue rose 8.6% to RM4.32 billion from RM3.98 billion in 2Q 2006, mainly due to higher revenue from cellular, data, Internet and multimedia segments. The increase in mobile revenue was mainly contributed by Celcom and PT Excelcomindo Pratama Tbk (XL) arising from more customers and usage.
The Internet and multimedia revenue rose 22.9% to RM269.4 million in 2QFY07 from RM219.2 million in 2QFY06, consistent with the plan to revitalise fixed-line business due to continued growth of broadband customers to 1.07 million.
For the first half, TM’s net profit rose 29.8% to RM1.3 billion from RM999.1 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 9.5% to RM8.5 billion from RM7.76 billion.
Its Malaysia Business revenue, which is made up of fixed line, data and Internet and multimedia, registered a revenue of RM3.8 billion for 1H 2007.
Wahid said mobile revenue now formed a key component of the group’s operations with increased contribution to group revenue at 54.3% in 1H 2007 compared to 51.3% in 1H 2006.
He said Celcom continued to register consistent improvements with a growth of 15.7% in revenue, an increase to RM2.5 billion from RM2.2 billion recorded in 1H 2006.
Wahid added that the turnaround of Celcom was within expectations. He said Celcom did not expect further erosion in postpaid customers as reflected in the net increase of 4,000 customers in June.
Celcom’s pre-paid average revenue per user (ARPU) stabilised at RM53 in 2QFY07, while its post-paid ARPU rose 3.5% to RM117.
Celcom’s EBITDA margin improved to 44.2% for 1H 2007 from 44% in 1H 2006, while net profit rose to RM489 million from RM398 million. With a net addition of 163,000 customers in 2QFY07, it had 6.4 million customers as at end-June.
“Our regional mobile customers also registered a robust growth of 33.1% to 31.8 million against 23.9 million in 1H 2006,” Wahid said.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin for the group was higher by 0.7 percentage points to 47.3% in 1H 2007 compared to 46.6% in the 1H 2006.
On the international front, Wahid said the group’s performance would continue to be affected by intense competition, difficult macroeconomics and also political issues in some countries.
TM said it was on track to achieve the main headline key performance indicators (KPIs) of EBITDA margin and return on equity.
“However, the revenue KPI will remain challenged due to the continued increase in competition, unstable political and regulatory environment and foreign currency translation losses from the stronger ringgit in the overseas market,” it said.
Celcom, MiTV formalise domestic roaming deal
Celcom (Malaysia) Bhd has inked the country's first interoperator nationwide domestic roaming agreement with MiTV Corporation Sdn Bhd, two months after the parties signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU). In a statement yesterday, Celcom's parent, Telekom Malaysia Bhd, said the agreement would allow MiTV's 018 mobile customers to enjoy coverage via Celcom's nationwide mobile network. It said since the MoU, their engineers had been conducting tests enabling mobile phones equipped with MiTV's 018 USIMs to roam in Celcom's network successfully, making and receiving calls and SMS. MiTV chairman Datuk Rosman Ridzwan said it was on target to commercially launch the 018 service with a host of revolutionary products and services within the second half of this year. Celcom chief executive officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly said its networks now covered 97% of the populated areas in Malaysia, effectively making it the widest mobile network operator in the country for both 2G and 3G coverage.
DiGi 2Q net profit up 24.8% to RM250m
DiGi.Com Bhd posted RM250.32 million net profit in the second quarter ended June 30, 2007, up 24.8% from RM200.6 million a year ago boosted by higher mobile revenue and improvement in the average revenue per user (ARPU). Announcing the results on July 20, it also declared gross interim dividend of 68.5 sen per share, amounting to RM314.8 million. The entitlement date is Aug 8. Revenue rose 17% to RM1.05 billion from RM903.7 million a year ago. Earnings per share was 33.4 sen compared with 26.7 sen a year ago. For the first half, the net profit was RM496.32 million for the first six months ended 30 June 2007, up 29% from the same period last year. Revenue rose 17% to RM2.07 billion from RM1.76 billion, on the back of increased usage and a larger customer base. Total customer base rose 11% to six million amid intense competition and a maturing market. Attractive festive promotions and a segmented market approach led to higher voice traffic and increased blended average mobile revenue per user to RM58 from RM54 in 2006. DiGi chief executive officer Morten Lundal said he was pleased with the results, especially in boosting usage and growing customer base in target markets. “Our focus on operational efficiency has also paid off,” he said. DiGi’s higher revenue boosted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to RM999 million, up 25%. The solid revenue growth and increased cost efficiency also strengthened EBITDA margin to 48% from 45% previously in 2006. Lundal said he was confident the company would continue a good growth momentum in the second half of the year, targeting a mid-teens revenue growth. “We are ready for new challenges that come with a maturing market. We will continue our creative and competitive approach to further widen our customer base and grow revenue,” he said. This included the recently launched DiGi Postpaid 1Plan that offers only 13 sen per minute for calls to anyone on any network, anytime and anywhere in Malaysia with a minimal monthly commitment of RM70. DiGi’s cash and cash equivalents rose to RM1 billion as at June 30, 2007 from RM869.55 million as at Dec 31, 2006. Net assets per share was RM2.58.
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