GOOD NEWS: Lee speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the IAP meeting in Putrajaya last week.

A 4G Innovation Network will help facilitate YTL Communications Sdn Bhd’s 4G (fourth generation) wireless broadband service across the nation next year.

The network will be employed to develop applications and devices for use with its 4G mobile Internet service, said Wing K. Lee, chief executive officer of YTL Communications.

He was speaking at a press briefing on the sidelines of the International Advisory Panel meeting in Putrajaya last week.

One of the four WiMAX ­licensees in the country, YTL will design, build and operate the 4G infrastructure and network, which is scheduled to be ­operational by end 2010.

It has partnered with Cisco Systems Inc, Clearwire Communications, GCT Semiconductor Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd to develop the 4G Innovation Network.

YTL describes 4G as the next-generation mobile broadband technology that combines the convenience of a WiFi hotspot with the mobility of a cellular service, and provides high-speed connections at low cost.

The service provider, which is competing against the other WiMAX licensees Packet One Networks, Redtone International and Asiaspace, declined to reveal how fast its 4G service would be or unveil its pricing structure.

“Our 4G products and services will be optimised to provide high bandwidth with low latency,” Lee said.

He also said the service would give Malaysians a truly connected lifestyle, with new levels of communication freedom.

Some 4G services that have been highlighted in the past include anytime, anywhere e-mail access and instant ­messaging, Internet browsing, social networking, and location-based services.

4G is claimed to be faster and more efficient at transferring data packets than 3G (third-generation) technology. This would be most useful to users who watch streaming video on handheld devices or make video calls.

Many hands

US-based Clearwire brings its suite of advanced high-speed Internet services for consumers and businesses to the ­partnership.

It will also support approved application-developers by ­providing access to software developer kits, to help bring the best options to YTL’s service subscribers.

Clearwire now provides 4G services using WiMAX technology in 16 markets. It also provides pre-WiMAX communications services in 40 markets across the United States and Europe.

Cisco will help build and ­integrate YTL’s WiMAX core network, as well as offer ­interoperability testing labs to quickly develop and launch new services for YTL.

GCT is the primary chipset provider for the initiative, ­offering 4G-enabled devices to aid in the application ­development and testing phases of the project.

Samsung will serve as technical advisor during the 4G Innovation Network’s ­rollout and will support approved developers in testing the interoperability of proposed applications prior to launch.

YTL is building a state-of the-art complex in Sentul Park, Kuala Lumpur, that will house its network operations centre, ­datacentre and testbed facilities for its 4G Innovation Network. This will open early next year.

To encourage application developers to build services and devices for the 4G Innovation Network, YTL will sponsor a global competition in 2010, with a total of US$1mil (RM3.4mil) in prizes.

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www.ytlcomms.my

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