Lemak Lemang

Introducing ubiquitous (mobile) broadband in Malaysia

Apr 4, 2007 17:37

iBurst, an alternative mobile broadband Internet solution by Japan's Kyocera, has apparently set out to capture first-mover market share in mobile broadband before WiMAX services take shape in Malaysia.

Shortly after the successful bidders for the WoMAX spectrum were announced, Malaysia's VoIP service provider MoBif Wireless Broadband of MoBif Bhd began pumping up the scale with additional information about iBurst, a broadband Internet solution that is said to have taken Africa by storm.

More market rollout information is expected to be unveiled at the iBurst International Forum which will be held in Kuala Lumpur next week.

The first iBurst International Forum was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in March last year.

Seven months ago, MoBif and Kyocera joined hands to launch in Malaysia the iBurst Wireless Broadband Technology Trial System.

iBurst, a next-gen derivative of Japan's PHS system not assigned IEEE802.20 standard until December 2006, has received favorable reports regionally. Media reports said iBurst delivers much faster data rates than PHS, with portability of up to "60mph, IP end-to-end, robust base-station handover, heavy-duty security, and all this with only 5MHz of licensed spectrum".

This sounds like a wish come true for Dr Lim Keng Yaik, Minister of Energy, Water and Communication, who has been pushing for higher Internet penetration and keener competition among broadband players and competiting technologies.

Dr Lim is expected to deliver a keynote address at the iBurst Forum themed: Shaping the Future with iBurst: A Commercialised and Ubiquitous Application.

Malaysia has largely been stuck with ADSL, with a maximum of 1.5Mbps speed for residential users provided by a sole key player (Telekom Malaysia) as the major form of broadband connectivity nationwide.

At the forum, the Minister will be the witness to the signing of the MoU between MoBif Bhd and Kyocera Corp as the Strategic Partner in iBurst Commercial Project in Southeast Asian countries.

The MoU has been positioned as a key reference to the cooperation between iBurst Member Operators to provide international subscriber roaming access.

MoBif is said to have a market advantage in Asia Pacific as it has built a sizeable user community in Australia.

The iBurst Forum has lined up a two-day schedule where market trendlines and implementation roadmaps for the solution will be discussed. The highlights include:

• Keynote Address: Dawn of Wireless Broadband by Dr Martin Cooper, executive chairman, ArrayComm, LLC, USA


• Evaluation of iBurst's System Performance by Arnaud Saffari, director, OAK Global SA, France


• iBurst's Future and Kyocera's Vision by Eiichi Toriyama, managing executive officer, and Masashi Yano, deputy general manager, International Sales Division, Kyocera Corp


• Strategies for Ubiquitous Broadband in Malaysia by Toh Swee Hoe, senior director, Research and Planning Division, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)


• Operator's Progress and Challenges in all Phases of iBurst Commercialisation by Imad Tarabay, CEO, Cedarcom, Lebanon


• Wireless Backhaul Solutions for iBurst by David Keane, CEO, Longreach Wireless Pty Ltd, Australia


• Emerging Wireless Broadband Opportunities in South East Asia by Kevin Leong, Group CEO, MoBif Bhd, Malaysia


• Wireless Broadband Trends in Asia Pacific by Bryan Wang, director, Asia/Pacific, Instat, Singapore


• The Challenge of Launching a 4G Network in Europe by Patrick Clough, CEO, iBand, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands & France


• VoIP Solution and Triple Play Application under Wireless Environment by Rafael Zambrano, CEO, InterEdge Technologies, LLC, USA


• Proposal of Express Card for iBurst by Hiroyuki Miura, manager, Network Product Development Division, CosmoAIR Ltd, Japan


• Prospect of BWA in India by PK Tiwari, director (Regulatory & Policy), Department of Telecommunications of India


• Yamatech: Business Strategies of iBurst Commercialisation in Canada by Karl Holmqvist, CEO, Yamatech Group Inc, Canada


• Wireless Business Solutions (WBS): Triumph Story in South Africa by Sasan Parvin, CTO, Wireless Business Solutions (Pty) Ltd, South Africa


• Current Status and the Future of iBurst Standardization by Joanne C. Wilson, VP, Standards Division, Arraycom LLC, USA

Besides, two sessions of panel discussion will be held, namely:

I ) Roadmap and Advancement Strategies for the Deployment of iBurst
- Moderator: Dr Martin Cooper, executive chairman, ArrayComm, LLC, USA
- Panelists:

1. Sasan Parvin, CTO, Wireless Business Solutions Pty (Ltd), South Africa
   
2. Karl Holmqvist, CEO, Yamatech Group Inc, Canada


3. Arnold Saffari, director, OAK Global, SA, France

II ) Enriching the Market with iBurst and the Reality of Fixed Wireless Broadband Evolving to iBurst
- Moderator: Imad Tarabay, CEO, Cedarcom, Lebanon
- Panelists:

1. Nitin Bhat, vice president, ICT Consulting, Asia Pacific, Frost & Sullivan, Singapore


2. John Joseph, group managing director, Africa Online, Kenya


3. Lee Yew Kung, CTO, MoBif Wireless Broadband Sdn Bhd, Malaysia

Delegates of the forum will then be taken on a city tour of Kuala Lumpur to experience a live demonstration on the mobility function of iBurst and several related applications.

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