Celcom Axiata plans another RM1b capex for 3G infra

by **hlk** Fri 09 Dec 2011, 18:32

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 9): Celcom Axiata Bhd, which invested RM1 billion
in the 3G infrastructure this year, plans to spend another RM1 billion
next year.

Its chief financial officer Chari TVT said on Friday the network was
long term evolution (LTE) capable for upgrading. (LTE is a standard for
wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data
terminals.)

“Currently, 86% of mobile phones in Malaysia still depend on the 2G
network. Over in Japan, they have only just phased out the 2G network
this year. Malaysia is roughly five years behind Japan, therefore we can
expect to phase out 2G TECHNOLOGY [] in about five years,” said Chari.

When asked about plans by Broadcast Australia to ink a deal on Monday
to be Celcom’s technical partner to bid for the RM2 billion digital
terrestrial television broadcasting (DTTB) project, Chari declined to
comment.

He said the details of the deal would be announced on Monday but said
that Celcom would ultimately be providing infrastructure for the DTTB
network and rent it out for stable income in the future.

“We have 98% of the infrastructure in place for the DTTB network,” said Chari.

On Celcom Axiata’s financial performance for the third quarter ended
Sept 30, 2011, Chari said it posted all-time record high profit and
revenue.

Its profit after tax and minority interests for the third quarter
rose 10% on-year to RM531million from RM509 million driven by revenue
which grew by 6% to RM1.826 billion from RM1.768 billion.

Chari said he expected the group to achieve its key performance
indicators and reach its targeted RM7.9 billion in revenue for the full
year.

Moving forward, Celcom would continue to modernize its network, and
accelerate its technology transformation by investing into network
fiberisation, 4G LTE, and alternative access technologies while focusing
on IT transformation.

Data makes up about 38% of Celcom’s revenue, but that figure is expected to reach 50% by 2015, he said.

He attributed the rapid growth of Celcom’s data business to the quickly expanding but highly competitive market.

“Smartphone penetration for our network has gone from 10% to 18%
within a year,” said Chari who expected smart phone uptake to continue
at a rapid pace as smart-phone prices continue to decline.