TM to gain between RM400m and RM600m in lease fee over 10-15 years

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Telecommunications giant, Telekom Malaysia (TM) Bhd, will gain between RM400 million and RM600 million in lease fee over the next 10 to 15 years from the TM Next-Gen Backhaul Services agreement signed with Celcom Axiata Bhd and DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd.

Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa said under the agreement, Telekom Malaysia will provide wholesale bandwidth connectivity for aggregation and access sites jointly owned by Celcom and DiGi in Peninsular Malaysia.

 “TM will optimise its extensive nationwide network infrastructure coverage to provide cost-effective and high-capacity bandwidth,” he told reporters after the agreement signing.

Zamzamzairani signed the agreement for TM, Celcom Axiata was represented by its Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly while DiGi Chief Executive Officer Henrik Clausen signed on behalf of his company.

Deputy Minister of Communication and Multimedia Datuk Jailani Johari witnessed the signing. Also present was Malaysian Communications and Mutimedia Commission Chairman Datuk Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi.

The tripartite agreement will support Celcom and DiGi's transmission requirements for the rollout of 4G long-term evolution (LTE) rollout, while enabling the two companies to optimise cost and efficiently utilise TM's infrastructure.

Zamzamzairani said the collaboration will be developed in two phases, the first phase will be over a three-year period from next year, covering 3,000Km to  3,500Km in Peninsular Malaysia.

Shazalli said the collaboration will ensure Celcom subscribers benefited

from quality data and voice services.

 “We're committed to improving our nationwide network for coverage and speed in the long-run and this represents one of many key investments into network quality that Celcom is currently implementing,” he said.

Clausen said the collaboration enabled DiGi to obtain quick access to fibre infrastructure to support the company's future network capacity demands.

 “Infrastructure sharing among industry players is gaining traction around the world.

 “Our collaborative effort today marks another clear move to be more operationally efficient as an industry and by leveraging on synergies created, we will be able to build and utilise our assets more efficiently, optimise cost and avoid duplicating network infrastructure,” he added. — Bernama