FIBERAIL ACCORDED NEW LICENCE CONDITION

Fiberail, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today announced that it has been given a new licence condition that allows the Company to operate its network facilities and services throughout Malaysia effective 19 January 2006 as compared to its previous licence condition.

This means that Fiberail will now be able to offer its services to a wider range of customers in the country.

“We are excited about the revised licence condition as it now allows Fiberail to operate throughout Malaysia without restrictions in the licensing area. With the removal of the restrictions, we believe we are in a better position to support the Government’s plan to increase the broadband penetration rate in both the urban and rural areas. This would also enable us to play a pivotal role in bridging the digital divide,“ said N. Balasingam, Chief Executive Officer of Fiberail.

Fiberail began its operations in 1995, as a network facilities and services provider holding a special condition telecommunications licence, limiting its business activities to the geographical scope of Malaysia’s railway corridor. Hence, Fiberail’s operations were severely limited as most of its customers did not have their point of presence at the railway corridor or anywhere near it.

Even when Fiberail migrated to the new licencing regime under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 where it was given individual licences for Network Facilities Provider (NFP) and Network Services Provider (NSP) in May 2001, this special condition was still applicable. In view of the constraint imposed by the special condition to Fiberail’s business, the Company applied to the Minister through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for the removal of the geographical limitation in November 2001.

This application was granted in a modified form through a Ministerial Declaration in 2004 where the scope of both Fiberail’s NFP and NSP licences were expanded to cover areas adjacent to railway tracks throughout Malaysia. Although this variation enhanced Fiberail’s service offerings to a certain extent, it still prevented Fiberail from offering its services to urban and rural areas that were not considered as adjacent areas.

In order to remove this restriction, Fiberail again applied to the Minister in July 2005 to reconsider Fiberail’s position and the implications posed by the special licence conditions despite the modification. As a result, the Minister issued a Ministerial Declaration in December 2005 allowing Fiberail to operate its services throughout Malaysia and the new licence condition was delivered to Fiberail in January 2006 by MCMC.

“We are grateful to the Minister and the Commission for its approval of Fiberail’s application. With our new status, we believe we will be able to play a more active role in supporting the Government’s aspirations in establishing Malaysia as a global hub for communications and multimedia besides playing a meaningful role within the industry by providing wider reach and coverage to our customers. “

“In having the ability now to expand the scope of our business operations, Fiberail will complement and draw upon the synergies within the TM Group to help it expand its business, ” added N. Balasingam.

Fiberail is joint-venture company between TM and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). Fiberail operates an extensive fiber optic cable network along the railway corridor from Padang Besar in Perlis to Johor Baharu and from Gemas in Negeri Sembilan to Rantau Panjang in Kelantan. The network passes through almost all major towns in Malaysia and is suitable for the conveyance of data, voice and video traffic.

Fiberail is the first telecommunications company in Malaysia to be awarded the ISO 9002 certification for company wide operations in April 2000. The scope of certification covers planning, development, operations and maintenance, business management and support services of the fibre optic network.

About TM
TM, a leading regional information and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in fixed-line, mobile, data and broadband. As one of the largest listed companies on Bursa Malaysia with an operating revenue of more than RM13 billion, TM is driven to deliver value to its stakeholders in a highly competitive environment.

The Group places emphasis on continuing customer service quality enhancements and innovations. Currently, with investments and operations in 12 countries around Asia and globally, TM is focused on achieving sustainable growth in both the local and international markets.

For further information on TM, visit www.tm.com.my.

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