Out of the blue, a new 4G operator emerges

So it seems Malaysia has a new 4G operator.

Yesterday, Puncak Semangat Sdn. Bhd. (PSSB) announced that it will be the first Bumiputera company to offer telecommunications services based on LTE. It’s Managing Director, Datuk Abdullah Kadir Bacha says that the services PSSB will offer will reduce the digital gap between rural and urban areas by offering broadband access and related content to all Malaysians — all the same-old, same-old PR speak.

PSSB says that it wants to deploy a nationwide 4G network based on LTE but there was no timeline given on when this network will be deployed.

PSSB is a privately owned company that was founded in 1993 with five other subsidiaries under its name.

A quick check on Google revealed very little about PSSB and its MD that’s relevant to this news. Building a mobile network is tremendously complex and requires huge sums of money. In the course of the mobile industry in Malaysia, many have tried and many have failed. In terms of 4G, out of the four, all but only two WiMAX operators are actively in business at the moment. Even established 3G operators are cautious when it comes to 4G deploymen though Maxis and DiGi have indicated that they are looking to deploy LTE networks sometime in 2012.

So the question is, does PSSB have what it takes to deploy a nationwide 4G network? We’re not saying “no” but looking at past records of other operators and judging by the lack of background info on PSSB, its difficult to say “yes” as well.

What do you think?

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