P1 to enter East Malaysia starting mid-2010

Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd’s (P1) broadband service, P1 Worldwide Interoperability for Micro­wave Access (WiMAX) is expected to make its presence into East Malaysia starting from the middle of next year.The good news was announced by Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd, a member of the WiMAX Forum recently.

P1’s chief executive officer, Michael Lai explained that the company has exceeded the expecta­tions, having covered over 25 per cent of the populated areas in Peninsular Malaysia, a cornerstone that sets sail for its East Malaysian expansion.

“The greenlight to operate in East Malaysia will further attest P1’s technological prowess in enriching the digital lifestyle of all Malaysians. We are greatly honoured that P1 can now offer high-speed wireless broadband internet services to more Malaysians of different corners.

“According to the statistics released by MCMC for year 2008, both Sarawak and Sabah registered 13.6 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively for the broadband internet access against their household populations. Take Sabah for example, only some nine households out of 100 had broadband internet access. This only suggests that there is enormous potential to fulfill the market needs,” Lai said.

Lai hinted that major towns in Sarawak such as Kuching, Sibu, Miri, and in Sabah for instance Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan are among the first to enjoy P1 WiMAX services by the middle of next year if everything goes according to plan.

He said P1 commands an encouraging market pre­sence in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, accounting for two-thirds of its subscriber base.

The company is making inroads into Johor, Kedah and Penang, among others.

P1 keeps accelerating its momentum towards implementing its master plan of providing WiMAX access to at least 45 per cent of Malaysian households by the end of next year.

The company is already executing a RM1 billion, five-year investment plan that aspires to cover 65 per cent of populated areas across Malaysia by 2012.

“WiMAX plays an important role in both emerging markets and mature markets. And broad­band is becoming a necessity for many residential and business subscribers worldwide. WiMAX is certainly the next ‘in’ thing, Lai added.

Commenting on the future of WiMAX technology, Lai is positive that the fourth generation of wireless technology will only narrow the gap of digital divide among all walks of life and shorten the distance among remote places.

“WiMAX seeks to serve users’ increasing demands for high data throughput (broadband) services such as streaming media on the internet, live video confe­ren­cing, and mobile TV on computers as well as handsets and PDAs. WiMAX is expected to be integrated into the next generation mass market consumer devices. And this trend is unstoppable.

“Broadband is not a privilege, it’s a right for all,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, P1 offers WiMAX Office Standard, WiMAX Office Premium, WiMAX Home Plus, WiMAX Home Pro, WiMAX Home Lite and WIGGY.

P1 is also targeting the startup market and first-time broadband users by offering the ‘stimulus package’ at RM49 per month for a 5GB plan.

Find out more about P1 offerings at www.p1.com.my.


Masterskill to give students RM10m worth of netbooks

Masterskill University College of Health Science is offering over RM10 million worth of netbooks to students who enrol with the college starting from the January 2009 intake.Masterskill chief operations officer Alicia Nathan said in a press release that the college has come up with a simple and fair method to every student, as the college is unable to allocate netbooks to everyone.

“Students who confirm their enrolment in Masterskill’ programme since January 2009 will be eligible for the netbooks, subject to terms and conditions,” said Alicia.

Meanwhile, Masterskill group chief executive officer Datuk Edmund Santhara said the college realised the importance of netbooks as basic tools for students.

“After all, we care about our students and we want them to do well in their studies,” said Edmund.

He said that the netbook giveaway will enable more people to have equal opportunities to access information and encourage knowledge-sharing for everyone, as technology plays a crucial role in the progression of the healthcare industry.

“With this programme, we hope that we can build a capable and professional nursing and allied health workforce to meet increasing demands of the country as well as worldwide,” said Edmund.

Edmund added that Masterskill puts great emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the college aims to nurture wholesome individuals who not only excel academically but in other aspects as well.

“Our CSR exercises are aimed at helping to inculcate positive values among our students and staff, while at the same time contribute ultimately towards cultivating a caring society,” he said.

Masterskill was incorporated in 1997 and attained university college status in July last year, offering vast variety of health science programmes at foundation, diploma, degree and masters levels.

Information and details of the netbook giveaway programme and the institution’s academic programmes can be obtained by calling 1-300-88-9080 or from www.Masterskill.edu.my.