Maxis Communications
Photograph by LaMenta3on Flickr.
The offer Maxis Communications is to be formally made by Usaha Tegas, a company owned by Krishnan, on May 3, 2007, while the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange suspends trading of the Stored Communications Act company s shares until May 3. Under the urging of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Maxis announce that it will re-list the Maxis Communications company in Bursa Malaysia on November 11, 2009. Maxis is progressively upgrading its entire 3G network to 3.5G capability.
And the fourth satellite, MEASAT 1R, was damaged during transport to the launch site and is under reconstruction. Saudi Telecom Company bought 25% of Maxis. Maxis officially launched its 3G services Maxis Communications on July 1, 2005 (the 3G datacard service was soft-launched earlier in February 2005). The deal was offered by Ananda Krishnan, who pledged Maxis RM17.46 billion (US$5.1 billion) in exchange for all remaining shares of the company.
This means 3G service will be rolled out only in areas Maxis Communications where data traffic is heavy, or with strategic importance (example, Putrajaya which is the government s administrative centre). Their mobile services are provided over the 900 & 1800 MHz GSM band and as July 2005, the 2100 MHz UMTS band. Maxis provides a variety of mobile communication products and services.
In 1999, Maxis introduced the popular pre-paid brand Hotlink , which currently has 10 Million customers. On April 27, 2007, an offer was made to buy out Maxis and privatise the company in preparation for expansions into the Indonesian and Indian markets. The initial public offering, which constitute 30% Maxis Communications of the company and involve its Malaysian operations, will raise at least MYR 11.7 billion.
It uses the dialling prefix identifier of 012 , 017 and “0142”. They are currently heavily promoting a new IDD 132 service, which offers discounted calls to landlines in selected countries, at a rate of 20 sen (roughly 6 US cents) per minute which is, at certain times for many subscribers, even cheaper than a local call. Maxis is currently involved in a price war with its competitors (particularly DiGi) in the prepaid SIM market which has driven its Hotlink starter pack prices down to RM6 (about USD$1.2). There are several high profile celebrities who have signed on as spokespersons for Maxis, including big names such as Siti Nurhaliza, all the Akademi Fantasia s stars, along with many other local celebrities. Currently, Maxis is the default carrier for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. In 2002, Maxis purchased Timecel, a rival mobile service provider, from TimedotCom Berhad.
The 3G service is available in selected regions of the country since nationwide coverage does not make economic sense (due to the high CAPEX involved). Maxis also provides an online Music store for its customers to download multimedia content. Maxis most popular service is its prepaid brand Hotlink, which currently serves over 8 million customers in Malaysia.
Maxis Communications Berhad is a leading mobile phone service provider in Malaysia. They offer prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans, global roaming, MMS, WAP (over both GSM and GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services, Broadband Internet plans, and as of early 2005, 3G services to both prepaid and postpaid subscription customers. For business customers, Maxis offer VSAT services (satellite based communications) and BlackBerry based mobile services besides regular services.
The main coverage areas include: Maxis appears to be adopting a thick coverage strategy for 3G. Maxis is the largest mobile phone operator in Malaysia, and the major competitors to Maxis are Axiata Group Berhad s Celcom, U Mobile and DiGi. XOX COM · TuneTalk · Happy izzi Advanced Info Service · Bharti Airtel · Hong Kong CSL · CTM · Globe Telecom Maxis Communications · Optus · Singapore Telecommunications · SK Telecom · Taiwan Mobile · Telkomsel .
Now, subscribers can choose between the two. It was started in the year 1995.
The IPO is expected to be the biggest in Asia to date. Maxis Communications is part of Ananda Krishnan s business empire. Prior to the purchase, Maxis offered phone numbers beginning with 012, and TimeCell 017.
The rest of the country will be served by 2.5G (GPRS; nationwide coverage) which is progressively being upgraded to 2.75G (EDGE or E-GPRS). The key shouting points for Maxis 3G appear to be: In Sept 2006, Maxis launched 3.5G (HSDPA) as part of the wireless broadband modem service which is targeted at mass market consumer/home users (instead of business or corporate). It integrates Touch n Go and Visa Wave from Maybank.
