Research and Markets: Malaysia Telecommunications Report Q3 2011 - ASTRO Plans to Reach 167,000 High-Rise Residences by the End of 2011

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/01bb1b/malaysia_telecommu) has announced the addition of the "Malaysia Telecommunications Report Q3 2011" report to their offering.

BMI incorporated the latest data provided by Malaysia's telecoms regulator and operators. The number of mobile operators in the country exceeded 33mn, and the number of net additions in 2010 suggested the country's mobile sector broadly recovered from the global financial crisis in 2008/09. Consequently, we have upgraded the mobile subscriber forecasts and expect the number of subscribers to reach 40.055mn by end-2015. Although operators started to migrate their low-value prepaid subscribers on to more expensive postpaid and 3G platforms, BMI believe operators' ARPU levels will continue to trend downwards during this five-year forecast between 2011 and 2015. This is due to Malaysia's significantly larger proportion of prepaid subscribers. Prepaid subscribers accounted for 78.5% of the industry's total mobile subscriber base in December 2010, up from 78.4% in 2009 (which could be due to the economic downturn), but down from 79.6% in 2008 and 83.3% in 2007.

Although the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has yet to release further details about the auctioning of LTE licences, this has not prevented Malaysian telecoms operators from embarking on network roll-outs and sharing agreements. In the previous quarter, BMI highlighted that Celcom Axiata and DiGi formed a network sharing agreement. Since then, Celcom and U Mobile contracted Ericsson, Huawei Technologies and ZTE to build LTE-ready networks while Maxis and Asiaspace were reportedly in talks to explore the possibility of sharing network infrastructure. Local media reported Maxis could be in charge of building and running the LTE network while Asiaspace would provide additional spectrum in order to increase network coverage and capacity. Consequently, Asiaspace could act like a mobile virtual network operator and leverage Maxis' network infrastructure to offer LTE services.

Astro All Asia Networks (ASTRO) launched an IPTV service in partnership with fibre-optic network operator Time dotCom. The service will help the satellite TV operator diversify into broadband services in much the same way telecom operators have begun making inroads into the subscription TV market. The service is being offered as part of a broadband bundle, although Time dotCom's 3,600km of fibre-optic cables, including its extensive fibre-to-the-premises network which serves the Klang Valley region (including Kuala Lumpur) and the Penang region. ASTRO plans to reach 167,000 high-rise residences by the end of 2011, expanding coverage from the 60 high-rise condominiums and 11,000 homes signed to the service prior to its launch.

Lastly, Malaysia was ranked seventh in BMI's latest telecoms Business Environment Ratings for the Asia Pacific region. The country presents significant growth potential due to a combination of macro and industry specific factors, which allowed the country to rank above the world's most populous countries, India and China. On the macroeconomic front, the Malaysian economy registered stronger-than-expected growth in Q410, rising by 4.8% y-o-y to result in full-year expansion of 7.2% in 2010. BMI believe economic growth in 2011 and 2012 will moderate to 4.9% and 4.2% respectively, with the private consumption and investments serving as key drivers.

Companies Mentioned:

• Telekom Malaysia
• Maxis Communications
• Celcom

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/01bb1b/malaysia_telecommu