KUCHING: REDtone International Bhd is investing up to RM20mil in two years to roll out its WiMAX services in Sabah and Sarawak.

Group chief executive officer Zainal Amanshah launched the WiMAX service for Sarawak yesterday, about eight months after the roll-out in Sabah.

He said four base stations each in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching were now operational, and that the number would be increased to 10 in both cities by December.

“The base stations in Kuching are in Muara Tabuan, BDC Crystall, Jalan Pending and Bukit Djin,” he told a media briefing yesterday. Each base station provides a 5km radius coverage.

Zainal said the company had targeted 200 subscribers in Sarawak for a start, and was expected to sign up 10 clients on a trial basis by next week.

He said the company was primarily targeting the corporate sector, small and medium enterprises as well as small office/home office for the WiMAX service. “REDtone WiMAX not only provides seamless data connectivity and greater bandwith speed but at a comparatively lower price too,” he said

“Customers can expect to pay up to 40% less compared with traditional leased lines. We have also bundled VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) lines with our REDtone WiMAX packages to offer greater value to customers,” he added.

Zainal said to cater to the different needs of customers, five packages priced from RM138 to RM1,088 a month were now available.

On expansion to other major towns in Sarawak, Zainal said the company was currently studying the cost involved and related infrastructure needed to be deployed.

As it would be very costly for REDtone to rent government-owned Sacofa telecommunication towers for its WiMAX services, he said the company had appealed to Sacofa to lower the charges to enable it to pass the savings to consumers through more competitive packages.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story. ... ness/3608295&sec=business

Lowest @ RM138 oh

still expensive.