“Voice went mobile, now broadband is going mobile”- Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.
Mobile broadband is the quickest and most effective way to boost broadband penetration in Malaysia, says Ericsson.
According to Ericsson’s Mobile Broadband specialist, Mikael Persson, Malaysia can accelerate the process and fulfil unmet demand by adopting a two-pronged approach in developing both fixed and mobile broadband.
Persson was referring to the Government’s call to increase Malaysia’s low broadband penetration from the current 1% to 10% by 2008.
Persson also told reporters at Ericsson’s South-East Asian headquarters in Cyberjaya that positive growth trends in mobile communications are also clear indicators that Malaysians are ready to embrace mobile broadband. According to a survey done by the Ericsson ConsumerLab in 2004, the majority of consumers prefer a mobile phone as compared to a fixed phone. The survey also showed that 90% of the respondents, who live mostly in the urban areas of Malaysia, own a mobile phone.
This echoes the findings of the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), which reported a 31% increase in mobile subscriber growth in 2004. At the end of 2004, there were 14.6 million mobile phone subscribers in Malaysia, reflecting a 58% penetration rate. The penetration rates are much higher in the urban areas.
“People are already accustomed to high-speed surfing on the Internet, both at work and home, and have adapted to mobile phones and laptops being part of their everyday life,” Persson explained, adding that consumers demand services that are easy to use, reliable and secure wherever they are.
Referring to global trends, Persson said that a combination of factors make it compelling for operators to consider offering both voice and broadband services over the same network. These include rapid uptake of mobile telephony, a strong growth in laptop penetration and an equally strong demand for broadband access.
“To date, broadband access to the Internet has mainly been offered over fixed technologies such as fibre, cable TV or DSL technologies. With 3G technologies, it has now become possible to deliver similar services with the benefit of mobility over the mobile networks in a cost-effective manner,” Persson elaborated.
Persson also said that Ericsson is fully committed to making ‘Broadband Everywhere’ a reality.
“Ericsson believes in an all-communicating world where telecommunications is available for all. We will leverage on our technology leadership and global experience to assist operators in offering high-speed connectivity to their customers, no matter where they are – not only over wireline, but also over wireless networks.
“We are taking a leading role in helping 3G operators realise the mobile broadband opportunity. To date, we have supplied 35 out of 56 commercially launched WCDMA networks and is today the undisputed leader in radio network technology. The strength of this position allows Ericsson to ensure that mobile broadband will drive long-term profitable growth in the telecom industry and will become a significant revenue source for its customers,” he added.
Mobile broadband, enabled by ‘WCDMA Evolved’, provides a fast, always-on Internet access to all users. WCDMA Evolved, which is a natural and fully standardised WCDMA evolution with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), significantly improves the downlink peak data rate up to 14Mbps. Mobile Broadband will benefit from the huge economies of scale driven by the global deployment of WCDMA.
This will make WCDMA with HSDPA the most cost-effective solution not only for mobile telephony, but also for broadband services.
Mobile broadband services are ready to be deployed with any 3G technology (EDGE, WCDMA and CDMA2000), relying on Ericsson’s unique and superior radio features and high in service performance. Currently, the mobile infrastructure in Malaysia is ready for mobile broadband. DiGi, is already offering EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) services and Malaysian consumers will have soon have access to 3G/WCDMA services via Maxis and Telekom Malaysia.
At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes recently, Ericsson has demonstrated 11 Mbps high-speed data downloads and streaming applications over the air. The demonstration was the first time where HSDPA phase 2 is implemented in a live WCDMA system based on commercial products.
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.
Read more at http://www.ericsson.com/press
About Ericsson (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
In Malaysia, Ericsson's continued commitment to the nation is supported by almost 40 years of experience in building the country's communications infrastructure. Ericsson@MSC is the headquarters for its operations in South East Asia and serves as the gateway to the Asia-Pacific region for its pool of specialists.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Azlyn Abd Rahman, Media Relations, Ericsson Malaysia
Phone: +60 3 8314 6066; Fax: +60 3 8314 6069
