HAPS is coming to Malaysia

According to thestar, a communications network provider QucomHaps Malaysia Sdn Bhd says it will deliver wireless broadband access via a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) service in the country in early 2009.

A High Altitude Platform Station or HAPS is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which is to remain relatively stationary at high altitude.

They can be used as communications platforms, for weather surveys, traffic reports etc. Because of their relative short distance from earth compared to satellites (20 km compared to up to 40,000 km of Geostationary satellite) they could even be used to provide mobile telecommunication, without the need for ground based base stations, and without the long delays associated with satellite communication.

The concept of HAPS has been there for quite some time but has never really take up commercially. I still remember when I visited Yokosuka Research Park a few years ago, the researchers there had shown me their works on HAPS.

Among the challenges, a HAP would have to be kept in a relatively fixed location and orientation, particularly if it is desired to use fixed–position antennae, so systems to maintain orientation will have to be designed and powered. Modulation schemes, spectrum utilization, technology and standards for inter–HAP links, etc. must all be designed.

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WiMax spectrum in Malaysia

Someone was asking me about the WiMax service provisioning in peninsular Malaysia. Will the 3 companies who have been awarded WiMax licence to operate in Peninsular to operate at the same place?

Well first, we look at the spectrum assignment (http://www.mcmc.gov.my/Admin/WhatIsNew/20374698WiMax%20Press%20release_160307_final_v2.pdf) :
In peninsular Malaysia, Bizsurf was awarded the 2330 to 2360 bandwidth, MIB 2360 to 2390 MHz, and Asiaspace 2300 to 2330 MHz. Meanwhile in East Malaysia, Redtone-CNX was awarded the 2375 to 2400 MHz bandwidth.

Judging from the overlapping of frequency band and near adjacent system frequency, the 3 service providers in peninsular Malaysia will have to coordinate in order to avoid excessive interference among the different networks. In addition, the subscriber market may be too small for the 3 service providers to install their own set of equipment. As discussed earlier, sharing of network equipment among the operators and let the radio network be planned by a company may be a way to achieve optimum network performance. Anyway, the actual deployment may subject to many commercial and political influences.

Can Wimax helps us improve broadband penetration rate?

The MyICMS plan hoped to achieve a household broadband penetration of 75% by 2010.
Accoding to MCMC, as at Q2 2007, there are 1.1 million (4.1% of population) broadband subscribers in the country. This is equivalent to only 12.8% household penetration.

Referring to the statistics from MCMC below (source: MCMC), the ADSL penetration has not increased much over the last few quarters. With the same rate of increment, we will not expect ADSL service to contribute much toward the target of MyICMS. However, we noted that the number of Wireless LAN subscribers has increased significantly over the last few quarters indicating the willingness of users trying out alternative broadband wireless access solution.

Most existing WLAN solutions are mainly WiFi based with no mobility support, limited coverage area, short coverage range, and relatively low transmission rate, typically at 11Mbps or 54Mbps. The actual throughput will be even lower, i.e. about half of the transmission rate.

The general public is hoping that WiMax service which has been planned to be available by end of this year will provide a better alternative to them . WiMax has much more to offer compared to WiFi: longer range, wider coverage area, higher speed of up to 75Mbps (depend on amount of spectrum allocated), mobility support and higher security. However, there are other factors that determine the success of a wireless broadband service provisioning business. One should not forget that there may be lack of low cost modem at this moment.

In addition, from the past history of broadband wireless service provisioning in Malaysia, we learn that sound business plan is one of the prerequisite for successful business operation. Should the operators depend too much on foreign technology and experts in service provisioning, they may follow the path of other pioneer of wireless broadband service providers toward failure. This will definitely hamper the effort of Malaysian government in achieving the 75% household penetration rate by 2010.

Wimax: sharing of infrastruture by service providers

Malaysia's four Wimax licence holders (Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd, Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd, Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd (a unit of YTL Corp) and Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd (formerly known as MIB Comm)) have set up a consortium to build a common infrastructure for their wireless broadband service.

As the Wimax ISP are providing service in different location, it is not possible for them to share the transmit towers or base station locations. However, they can share the usage of high speed backbone network. This make economic sense from trunking point of view as the backbone connection may not be fully utilised by any operator at any moment.

Wireless Mesh Networking Research Assistants wanted

Research officer vacancies in Wireless Mesh Networks.

NasionCom - in trouble?

On 15 Feb 2007, SC raps Nasioncom and directs company to re-issue 2005 financial statements

NHB had submitted false information to the SC with respect to revenue on sales that were not transacted, in its 2005 financial statements. The SC’s investigation revealed that NHB’s group revenue of RM194,984,186 as reflected in its 2005 financial statements contained a total of RM143,109,727 sales that were not transacted. These sales were recorded in the financial statements of two NHB subsidiaries, namely Nasioncom Sdn Bhd and Express Top-up Sdn Bhd.

Effective from 3 Aug 2007, Bursa Malaysia has put NasionCom Holdings Bhd as an affected listed company pursuant to Guidance Note No. 3/2006 (GN3) of the Listing Requirements

Internet Service Providers in Malaysia

I found this piece of information (from here) that I think is useful for future reference. It is a list of various ISPs in Malasyai, including Broadband, Cable, Wi-fi, Wi-MAX, Wireless, Hotspots & Dial-Up Access.

1. Airzed http://www.airzed.com/ Penthouse 2, Tower D, Plaza Mont Kiara, 2 Jalan Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
   
2. Arcnet NTT MSC Sdn Bhdhttp://www.arc.net.my/ 18th Floor, UBN Tower, 10 Jalan P Ramlee, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
   
3. Atlas One - Broadband Internet Provider http://www.atlasone.net/ Lot 47, Subang Hi Tech Industrial Park, Batu 3, 40150 Shah Alam
   
4. Biz Surf - Broadband Internet services http://www.bizsurf.com/ 74-1 Jalan 27/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur
   
5. Celcom.nethttp://www.celcom.net.my/ 15th Floor Menara Celcom, 82 Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur
   
6. Digi's Mobile Internet with GPRS & EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution)http://www.digi.com.my/mobile/edge/
   
7. Giga Broadband - VDSL http://www.vdslnetwork.com/ 29th Floor, Wisma Denmark, 86 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur
   
8. Gold Information Systems - Wireless broadband provider http://www.gissb.com/
   
9. iDiGi Internet Serviceshttp://www.idigi.com.my/
   
10. iZZi - Mobile wireless broadband, iBurst http://www.izzi.com.my/
    
11. Jaringhttp://www.jaring.my/ Mimos Berhad, Taman Teknologi Malaysia TPM, 57000 Kuala Lumpur
    
12. Jaring Online System (Top-Up Account, Manage Password, Support & FAQ)https://www.online.jaring.my/
    Jaring Webmail - Check your Jaring mail from anywherehttp://webmail.jaring.my/
    Jaring Wireless Broadband & my015 telephony (with SOMA Networks)http://www.jaring.my/wireless/home_user.html
    Jaring Wireless Broadband Speed Test http://bandtest.jaring.my/
    
13. Maxis Nethttp://www.maxis.net.my/
    Maxis Wireless LAN (W-LAN) Servicehttp://www.maxis.com.my/corporate/data/wlan/wlan_main.asp
    
14. Metro FON - Fiber optic networks. Residential, office broadband provider, ETTH, ETTO http://www.metrofon.com.my/
    Optical Communication Engineering OCE 19 Jalan Semangat, 46200 Petaling Jaya
    
15. NasionComhttp://www.nasioncom.com.my/ 5-5 The Boulevard, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
    
16. Penang FON - Fiber broadband http://www.penangfon.com/ Optical Communication Engineering Sdn Bhd Wisma Cintra, 68 Lebuh Cintra, 10100 Penang
    
17. PutraNet http://www.putra.net.my/ Smart Global Network (M) Sdn Bhd.Level 16, Menara Genesis, 33 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
    
18. Time Nethttp://www.time.com.my/ TIME dotCom Berhad.Level 1, Wisma TIME, 249, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
    
19. Time Broadband http://timebroadband.time.net.my/
    
20. TMnethttp://isp.tm.net.my/ 3300 Lingkaran Usahawan 1 Timur, 63300 Cyberjaya
    TMnet Hotspots - Wireless Broadband Internet Access http://isp.tm.net.my/hotspot/
    TMnet Technical Supporthttp://www.tmmsupport.net.my/
    TMnet Streamyxhttp://isp.tm.net.my/streamyx/ House of Internet, Kelana Park View Tower, 1 Jalan SS6/2, 47301 Petaling Jaya
    TMnet Webmail - Check your TMnet mail from anywherehttp://webmail.tm.net.my/
    
21. Webbit - Time Wireless Broadband http://timebroadband.time.net.my/webbit/ Level 1, Wisma TIME, 249 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur
    
22. ZapZone Wireless Hotspot http://www.zapzone.com.my/ Suite 8.01, Level 8, Menara Tan & Tan, 207, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur

WiMax Spectrum

Many Malaysian thought that WiMax system can only be operated by the 4 companies who have been awarded the 2.3GHz WiMax license recently. This is not true. According to the IEEE 802.16-2004 standards (in which WiMax system is based on), a WiMax system can operate from 2 – 11 GHz or 10 to 66GHz.
Thus, any telecommunication service provider in Malaysia who has unuse spectrum in that frequency ranges can theoretically operate WiMax system if it wants. Other possible frequency bands below 11 GHz are the 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz and 5.8GHz.

4 companies awarded WiMax licenses

Government of Malaysia awarded four companies on 16 March 2007 with licences to operate WiMax networks. The companies are: Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd, MIB Comm Sdn Bhd, Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd and Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd.

Bizsurf, MIB Comm and Asiaspace Dotcom will cover peninsular Malaysia while Redtone-CNX Broadband will serve Sabah and Sarawak.

According to the Star, MCMC expects the winners to roll out their WiMAX services to 25% of the population in the areas given to them by year-end. Also, it expects the Internet access speed to be no less than 1Mbps. MCMC also stipulated that the wireless 1Mbps service should be at “an affordable price.” At the end of third year, the companies are expected to roll out the services to at least 40% of the population in the areas they control. MCMC also wants each company to invest between RM250mil and RM300mil during the first three years of WiMAX implementation.

MIB Comm Sdn Bhd (owned by YTL-e and Green Packet) may get WiMax License

A news from TheStar says that the companied owned by YTL-e and Green Packet may be awarded the WiMax license.