Creating Malaysia's First 4G Campus-wide Network

YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YTL Comms) today entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in a joint collaboration to provide 4G campus-wide network in UTM Skudai. This effort is in support of the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) aim to reach 50% broadband penetration rate by end-2010.

This landmark initiative will be the first of an extensive program spearheaded by YTL Comms to bring 4G converged service, offering data, voice and mobility into all public universities in Malaysia.

As a result, YTL Comms will make available that high-speed wireless broadband connectivity to more than 400,000 students by year-end and correspondingly increase broadband penetration rate throughout the country.

“The signing of our agreement with UTM today marks an important milestone to build a new generation of immersive and progressive students that are able to access information and knowledge instantly at their finger tips. The YTL Comms Education Partner Program (EPP) provides the ability for these students to access the IntraNET and Internet anytime, anywhere within the campus. The EPP allows our students to do things differently and bring about a wave of positive changes in a YTL Comms 4G enabled education environment that will eventually contribute to the larger future success of the nation. ” said Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr) Francis Yeoh, Executive Chairman of YTL Communications.

Under this arrangement, YTL Comms will at its own cost undertake the following:

• Design, build, operate and manage a 4G campus-wide network (for the provision of data and voice services within the university’s Skudai campus).
• To complement and enhance UTM’s existing ICT infrastructure.
• Provides free broadband access to every student, allowing data and voice services of 300 megabytes per user per month within the campus.
• Provides the program for a period of 3 years from launch.

The 4G campus-wide network is a high performance, high-capacity wireless network, which is optimized for dense mobile broadband access with voice services. It will support UTM’s commitment to develop a highly advanced learning environment for all their students and help the University, to enhance its position as a cradle of technology excellence in the nation and the world. Thus, this will make UTM to be more competitive in attracting top-class student applicants and faculty staff.

“We’re on the cutting edge of new technology, the first university in Malaysia to gain exposure to high-speed 4G broadband wireless connectivity,” said Prof. Dato’ Dr. Ir Zaini Ujang, Vice Chancellor of UTM.

“Having 4G campus-wide network makes UTM unique, it provides a competitive edge to demonstrate to prospective students that we are progressive in developing new technologies and also provide current students with immersive learning”, added Dato’ Dr. Zaini.

The low latency, high bandwidth 4G technology supports fast data rates, is highly spectrally efficient, and is developing a robust device ecosystem. As an all-IP technology, it is optimized for web services. Members of UTM Skudai community will soon be using and evaluating new learning approaches enabled by high speed wireless broadband. In particular, they are focusing on immersive learning environments harnessing advanced multimedia techniques.

The event commemorates the launching of YTL Communications EPP and the signing of the MoA with UTM, the first university under this program by YB Dato’ Seri Utama Dr. Rais bin Yatim, Minister of Information, Communications and Culture.