5 th November, 2009 Kuala Lumpur - As the major WiMAX players in Asia meet in Kuala Lumpur for the WiMAX Strategies Asia conference (3-5 th Nov), Green Packet’s Group CEO and Managing Director, CC Puan, comments on the future of WiMAX in Asia and his Company’s strategy to take full advantage of the opportunities.
Green Packet Berhad (“Green Packet”) is a leading developer of Next Generation Mobile Broadband and Networking Solutions and one of the top four WiMAX players in the world. Green Packet has the advantage of first-mover experience via its subsidiary, Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (“P1”), through which it handles all elements of the WiMAX ecosystem – infrastructure, outdoor, indoor and USB CPEs, software and customer services. Green Packet has also recently announced its intention to expand its WiMAX services into Singapore in 2010 Via its newly set up, Packet One (S) Pte Ltd.
Puan said Green Packet sees WIMAX as a driver of converged technologies leading to a different communications business model encompassing an entirely new range of end-user devices and services.
“WiMAX allows a limitless range of devices to be permanently connected. While the application of this to mobile phones, PDAs and PCs is perhaps more familiar, the opportunity goes way beyond that. Consider a world where your camera or even your car is permanently online, or where cargo, products and equipment are permanently connected to a network. That’s the beauty and future of WiMAX,” said Puan.
Green Packet has a two-pronged approach positioning itself as both a leading operator as well as a hardware and solutions developer so that it can be a global leader in the WIMAX world and in the larger picture of the converged services space, globally.
Puan said that the big question in the minds of the investors and analysts is “how will legacy mobile players respond?”
“The investment community sometimes compares this to a VHS v. Betamax battle, but the comparison is fundamentally flawed,” Puan said. “VHS and Betamax arrived on the scene at the same time and thus it was a head to head battle of essentially similar technologies, with VHS eventually winning based on Sony’s ability to leverage its content. WIMAX however is about 4 years ahead of LTE, giving it a window during which consumer and market expectations are changing. The questions remains, however, but it’s not an either/or scenario. It is a with/without option for the legacy telcos,” Puan said.
Puan believes some Telcos will choose to wait until LTE is available then invest in costly network upgrades, which will in time bring them to parity with WIMAX enabled networks. Others will choose a hybrid model, leveraging the superior functionality and the immediate availability of WIMAX to supplement their current network to offer a broader range of products and services to its customers and alleviate current network congestion.
Puan said those that choose a hybrid model will have first-mover advantage over the other legacy players, giving them the necessary edge in a highly competitive environment.
GP as both an operator (via P1) and a solutions developer (via GP Solutions) has an exceptional understanding of how to secure and manage its own subscribers and thus grow an independent operator model. However, it is also positioned to supply and service legacy players with access to its networks and capacity. Thus the strategic issue for Green Packet is coverage.
Within any given market, the key success driver both as an independent and as a WiMAX network provider would be to have the best and largest in-market network. The bigger picture however, is to offer the best in-market network coupled with the best international roaming proposition. To that end Green Packet’s central strategy is to grow its international footprint through securing or partnering WiMAX licenced operators in other emerging markets.
Puan said, “For our partners this is a win-win formula. Green Packet brings to the table a combination of network experience, technology and value added services alongside a growing local and international subscriber base which differentiates GP from all other players in the sector. No other WiMAX player in the world shares GP’s combination of operator and technology experience, not to mention a growing international footprint.”
Green Packet sees that, in time, it will have a role to play as a strategic partner to the more dynamic legacy players as well as servicing its own end-user subscribers with a differentiated and customized connectivity option.
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