So it seems Malaysia has a new 4G operator.

Yesterday, Puncak Semangat Sdn. Bhd. (PSSB) announced that it will be the first Bumiputera company to offer telecommunications services based on LTE. It’s Managing Director, Datuk Abdullah Kadir Bacha says that the services PSSB will offer will reduce the digital gap between rural and urban areas by offering broadband access and related content to all Malaysians — all the same-old, same-old PR speak.

PSSB says that it wants to deploy a nationwide 4G network based on LTE but there was no timeline given on when this network will be deployed.

PSSB is a privately owned company that was founded in 1993 with five other subsidiaries under its name.

A quick check on Google revealed very little about PSSB and its MD that’s relevant to this news. Building a mobile network is tremendously complex and requires huge sums of money. In the course of the mobile industry in Malaysia, many have tried and many have failed. In terms of 4G, out of the four, all but only two WiMAX operators are actively in business at the moment. Even established 3G operators are cautious when it comes to 4G deploymen though Maxis and DiGi have indicated that they are looking to deploy LTE networks sometime in 2012.

So the question is, does PSSB have what it takes to deploy a nationwide 4G network? We’re not saying “no” but looking at past records of other operators and judging by the lack of background info on PSSB, its difficult to say “yes” as well.

What do you think?

[source]

	Industry in General, LTE, Players on the Field, Technologies
	4g, Datuk Abdullah Kadir Bacha, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim, lte, MCMC, PSSB, Puncak Semangat Sdn. Bhd., rais yatim, skmm

They were suppose to get back on their conclusion during that “week“. So far there was no mention about BlackBerry Ban and the rest of us moved on as if nothing had happened. We have always wondered what was the outcome of their “info gathering” as they left everybody in Limbo.

Now there’s a new update from Parliament. While replying to an enquiry by Selayang MP, Rais Yatim says that there is no plan to restrict Blackberry usage as they are convinced with its security in terms of data storage and transfer. After having discussions with RIM, he assured that users can continue to use BlackBerry services especially when it offers tremendous benefits to the business community. He also added that RIM expressed readiness to cooperate with our Malaysian government to obtain information and channel for continued use of the service.

BlackBerry users can now breathe a sigh of relief, unless of course the government starts lingering with the idea of banning again.

[ SOURCE ]

	BlackBerry, MCMC/SKMM, Mobile Devices
	blackberry, Blackberry ban, blackberry ban in malaysia, blackberry ban malaysia, blackberry banned in malaysia, blackberry banned malaysia, blackberry malaysia, blackberry malaysia ban, blackberry malaysia banned, malaysia ban blackberry, malaysia blackberry ban, malaysia to ban blackberry, rais yatim, rim

After threats by the Indian goverment to suspend BlackBerry services in the country by August 31, news reports have confirmed that RIM, the makers of BlackBerry have agreed to give India access to its BlackBerry messenger service beginning September 1 to address security concerns raised by the Indian governement.

RIM share prices slid US$2.57, or 4.8 percent, to US$50.83 on NASDAQ following the announcement. Its biggest dive this month. The stock has lost 25% this year.

RIM will first give agencies access to messenger services on a manual basis, with information provided for individual phone numbers on request of the government, the Bloomberg report revealed. RIM will provide a more automated solution to tracking BlackBerry smartphone messages by November.

In addition, RIM engineers will meet with technical staff from India’s Department of Telecommunications tomorrow to work on a solution that allows access to corporate emails inside the BlackBerry servers.

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	BlackBerry, Mobile Devices
	blackberry, blackberry ban in malaysia, blackberry ban malaysia, BlackBerry banned in India, blackberry banned in malaysia, blackberry banned malaysia, blackberry malaysia ban, blackberry malaysia banned, India BlackBerry ban, malaysia ban blackberry, malaysia to ban blackberry, rais yatim, rim

If you’re planning a trip to Dubai in October and plan to keep in touch with your friends and colleagues with BIS and BBM, well you can very well forget about it or consider doing all your mobile stuff on another device that’s not a BlackBerry.

The Emirates’ telecoms regulator have confirmed that travelers to the city-state of Dubai and the important oil industry center of Abu Dhabi will — like the 500,000 local subscribers — have to do without BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services starting October 11, even if their BlackBerrys are supported by carriers from other countries.

This doesn’t bode well for the country’s ambitions to be a business and tourism haven considering that about 100,000 travelers pass through Dubai’s airport every day, making it the busiest in the Middle East. The new restrictions could leave time-pressed business travelers hurrying through, many of them changing planes for other destinations, without access to their e-mail or the Web. That would put BlackBerry services out of reach for business travelers and others passing through the busy Mideast airport hub of Dubai, which handled 40.9 million passengers last year.

The good thing is, unlike the infamous camera phone ban in Saudi Arabia circa the mid noughties, travellers into Dubai and Abu Dhabi are still allowed to carry their BlackBerrys into the country and they can still make phone calls with the devices.

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	BlackBerry, Mobile Devices
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In what can be considered as a perplexing move, Rais Yatim who earlier ruled out the banning of BlackBerry services in this country yesterday made a statement saying that the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission is currently gathering detailed information about the BlackBerry service in the wake of bans of the service in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Rais said that the report from MCMC is expected to be completed sometime this week and that his ministry will be evaluating the information to see if a ban in Malaysia is required.

Wonder if a BlackBerry ban is a big enough issue to be discussed in Parliament? It’s definitely heaps better than talking in Parliament about this topic.

Looks like the 1.5 million BlackBerry users in this country are pretty nervous right now. Keep it locked on to SoyaCincau.com for the latest development on this.

[source]

	BlackBerry, MCMC/SKMM, Mobile Devices
	blackberry, blackberry ban in malaysia, blackberry ban malaysia, blackberry banned in malaysia, blackberry banned malaysia, blackberry malaysia ban, blackberry malaysia banned, KPKK, malaysia ban blackberry, malaysia to ban blackberry, MCMC, rais yatim, skmm

(Update 0022hrs 11082010) Rais Yatim says MCMC gathering information on BlackBerry service for his ministry to evaluate and decide if a ban is necessary. More here.

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim has ruled out any move to ban on Blackberry in Malaysia which is currently used by an estimated 1.5 million users.

According to Malaysian Mobile Content Pro­viders Association’s president, there would be much opposition if they ban it here especially when the government themselves rely on Blackberry services including top government agencies and the police.

UAE and Saudi Arabia government had earlier announced the ban on Blackberry service as user communication data is encrypted with no possible monitoring by its government. The Indonesian government has also demand for local monitoring which could possibly lead to a similar ban if RIM does not comply.

With this announcement, blackberry users and our local telcos can now breathe a sigh of relief. Blackberry Torch 9800 anyone?

[ SOURCE ]

	BlackBerry, Mobile Devices
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Working in earnest to meet the 50% household broadband penetration target by the end of this year, the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture yesterday launched the BB Trail program in efforts to increase broadband awareness and uptake in rural areas.

The five month program beginning July 15, consists of road shows covering more than 500 locations across the country including Sabah and Sarawak.

In a press release made available to us, the Ministry says that:

At every stop, the BB Trail will conduct interactive games and contests related to Broadband, offering all interested participants the chance to win attractive prizes related to the National Broadband Awareness and Promotional Program.

The Program targets all age groups covering students and educators of all levels especially those in institutions of higher learning, entrepreneurs and small and medium businesses, parents, families and the public at large.

Through the implementation of the BB Trail, the public would be able to obtain choice information on how to subscribe to broadband easily, and get to select whichever service providers they prefer based on the different promotions and packages offered.

As of July 7, 2010, over 37% of Malaysian households have broadband connection. This equates to about 2.4 million homes out of the 6.3 million homes in Malaysia.

To achieve the 50% household penetration target by the end of this year, another 1 million homes will need to have broadband connectivity. With just five months left in 2010, about 200,000 homes will need to have broadband connectivity a month. That’s a huge ask and the Ministry has their work cut out.

As of Q4 2009, the country’s household broadband penetration stood at 31.7%. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for the 50% broadband penetration target but it’s looking like the Ministry might not hit it.

Let’s wait and see.

Press release after the jump.

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	MCMC/SKMM
	BB Trail, broadband penetration malaysia, Household Broadband Penetration, KPKK, MCMC, MICC, rais yatim, skmm

BERNAMA reports that the Government is looking into the possibility of reducing broadband access fee nationwide to ensure that the people, especially those in the rural areas, can afford to use broadband.

Speaking at the sixth Ministerial Forum on Information, Communication and Technology, our minister of Information, Communication and Culture Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Internet services in Malaysia can be cheaper. Rais compared local brodband prices with Singapore where broadband providers there can offer 2Mbps line for the equivalent of RM20. Here, the same speed is offers at a hefty RM130 – RM199. Rais said that local operators should look at how other countries within the region, like Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand set broadband prices.

With all due respect to the minister, we don’t think broadband prices are hampering progress of broadband subscription instead it is a matter of priorities. For the majority, broadband can be free in Malaysia for all they care but the reality is they will never use it.

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	MCMC/SKMM
	broadband malaysia, broadband penetration malaysia, cheaper broadband Malaysia, rais yatim