Telekom Malaysia Berhad (“TM”) today entered into two (2) Partnership Agreements with Konsortium Jaringan Selangor Sdn Bhd (KJS) and D’Harmoni Telco Infra Sdn Bhd (D’Harmoni) separately for the provision of Connectivity Services to network operators residing in KJS and D’Harmoni’s telecommunication tower facilities.

The agreements were signed by Rafaai Samsi, Executive Vice President, Wholesale on behalf of TM, while KJS was represented by Datin Zawati Abd Rahman, Director, Finance and Admin of KJS and D’Harmoni was represented by Haji Sukarno bin Sayuti, Chief Executive Officer of D’Harmoni.

Under the five-year agreement, the parties committed to leverage on their core competencies in providing backhaul connectivity and telecommunication tower facility services in supporting large capacity requirements and wider coverage for telecommunications industry. KJS and D’Harmoni will provide telecommunication facilities (towers), and TM will provide Wholesale Ethernet and HSBB (Transmission) services to the sites with speeds of up to 1Gbps. TM has identified between 100 to 150 potential tower sites in Johor and Selangor.

“TM’s partnership with KJS and D’Harmoni will indirectly allow network operators such as Mobile and WiMAX operators to utilise TM’s network to enhance their service offerings to customers across the country, especially in the area of mobile broadband. This is in line with the Government’s aspiration to enable more people to enjoy the benefits of broadband utilization via infrastructure sharing among network operators,” said Dato’ Adnan Rofiee.

Dato’ Adnan added that the partnership will benefit other network providers to ride on TM’s infrastructure including HSBB network, strengthen its position as a neutral wholesale service provider and complement the rollout of HSBB-enabled services to the nation.

“Through KJS’ partnership with TM Wholesale, we look forward for further opportunities to move up the value chain by providing Connectivity services to our current and potential customers,” said Senator Dato’ Ikhwan Salim Dato’ Sujak

“We are honoured to be among the first partners to collaborate in promoting the Connectivity service including the new HSBB services. Like TM, we too believe in working together to bring the nation closer to its national broadband aspirations,” said D’Harmoni Chairman Dato’ Punijan Sutarjo

TM expects to enter into similar collaborations with other telecommunications tower owners and operators in the country this year. Through these strategic partnerships with Wholesale partners, TM aims to continue playing a strong and supporting role in achieving the Government’s broadband penetration target of 50% by end of 2010.

“We foresee significant interest in this area. We are currently in discussions with more tower operators and will make further announcements once the deals are finalised,” added Dato’ Adnan.

TM’s Wholesale Ethernet and HSBB (Transmission) services are high speed, highly scalable and future proof offerings for Wholesale customers seeking bandwidth flexibility and multiple class and quality of service options. The services allow network operators to grow their network according to their own business expansion plans and enable them to support multiple IP and Next Generation Network applications.

HSBB (Transmission) provides Wholesale customers that have large bandwidth needs and require enhanced service level guarantees to provide backhaul as well as video and data transport services. It involves the carriage of data communications between transmission points via a virtual circuit. Under the service, customers can subscribe to bandwidth per link of between 20Mbps and 1Gbps, in increments of 10Mbps.

About TM

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), Malaysia’s leading integrated information and communications group, offers a comprehensive range of communication services and solutions in broadband, data and fixed-line. As a market leader in the broadband and fixed-line businesses, 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.

With its extensive global connectivity, TM is poised to position Malaysia as a regional Internet hub and digital gateway for South-East Asia. In line with this, TM is evolving into a Next Generation Network service provider enabling the Group to enhance its efficiency and productivity while providing enriched products and services.

On the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) front, the Group has always been a major corporate contributor towards responsible activities in the belief that these practices are a fundamental tenet of good corporate governance. The Group promotes 3 major platforms i.e. education, sports development and community/nation-building. Under education, TM has spent some RM800 million to develop Multimedia University into one of the top universities in Malaysia with more than 20,000 students. TM has also provided scholarships to over 10,000 graduates pursuing academic programmes locally and overseas. On the sports front, TM is actively contributing towards the upliftment of football at all levels while under the community/nation-building platform, the Group contributes towards causes that bring value to the community and nation at large. TM was awarded the prestigious STAR-BIZ ICRM Corporate Responsibility Award under the workplace category for 2008.