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AtlasONE preps wireless broadband plans for consumers
By CHAN LEE MENG
KUALA LUMPUR: AtlasONE Malaysia Sdn Bhd (www.atlasone.net), a broadband service provider, has confirmed that it would roll out wireless broadband services for consumers in the Klang Valley.
Its chairman Mohammad Badry Hanafi Atlas said the service, which works much like a cellphone within a cellular network, will be available in September.
Users would be provided with wireless receivers, and the data would be transmitted on the 2.5GHz spectrum from base stations.
The company is using a digital wireless technology called TDD/ CDMA (Time Division Duplex CDMA), a variant of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) currently used in some 3G networks.
The wireless receivers, which are about the size of a personal digital assistant or PDA, are connected to PCs via its USB ports.
The company will also offer a PC card (PCMCIA card) wireless receiver when the service is launched.
While the service would be targeted at residential users, it would also be a boon to travellers and highly mobile users, Mohammad told In.Tech last week.
For example, if a travelling salesman’s territory covers the whole of Klang Valley, he would be able to access the wireless broadband service at all locations covered by AtlasONE, according to Mohammad.
AtlasONE chief executive officer Abdul Karim Abdul Sallam said the company’s solution offers better coverage than WiFi because it has a maximum range of around three to five kilometres, compared to WiFi’s maximum range of one to 1.5km.
AtlasONE will set up 65 base stations initially in the Klang Valley, with plans to increase the total to 100 by year-end, he said.
The company also plans to expand its wireless broadband services to the rest of Malaysia by the end of next year.
“By the year 2004, Malaysia will enjoy the 2.5GHz broadband services anywhere anytime,” Mohammad said.
However, AtlasONE still would not provide any details on rates and equipment costs; Mohammad would only say that the service would be “competitive and affordable.”
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) recently announced that it awarded three blocks each of the multimedia multipoint distribution service (MMDS) spectrum to AtlasONE, and to TT Dotcom Sdn Bhd, a unit of local telco Time Dotcom Bhd (see In.Tech, July 8).
AtlasONE currently has a 45 Mbps connection (T-3 line) to the rest of the Internet and will upgrade its capacity later this year, said Abdul Karim.
The company already offers wireless broadband services to Klang Valley corporate customers, but its current solution utilises the 3.5GHz spectrum.
AtlasONE’s technology partner is Thales Multimedia & Broadcast SA., a French broadcast products and systems supplier. |
