Malaysian 'resort' town gets mesh Wi-Fi

PETALING JAYA, SELANGOR--One of Malaysia's most well-known townships is now suited up with wireless Internet services via mesh Wi-Fi technology implemented by a local broadband provider.

Under an agreement signed Monday, WiMax licensee, Packet One Networks (P1), will provide wireless broadband service to Malaysia's commercial and residential property developer, Sunway Group.

The deal covers six major areas within the Bandar Sunway township--developed by the Sunway Group--activating over 100 Wi-Fi hotspots. The broadband service is live and immediately available to users.

Areas covered in the deal are: Sunway Pyramid shopping mall, Sunway Lagoon theme park, Monash University Sunway Campus, Sunway University College, Sunway Metro and Sunway Mentari. These locations represent about 70 percent of the Bandar Sunway township, according to the Sunway Group, which markets the town as "resort living within a city".

Of the six Wi-Fi sites, users at the Sunway Pyramid can surf for free at speeds of up to 128 kilobits per second (Kbps). Consumers in the other vicinities will need to pay a nominal subscription fee to use the Wi-Fi service, but will receive access speeds of up to 512Kbps.

Chew Chee Kin, Sunway Group's president, said this project is part of Bandar Sunway's vision to create an integrated wireless community.

"This is a significant milestone in bringing the power of the Internet to the township's community, making it a greater place to live in," Chew said at the signing ceremony. "The project would also bring social-economic benefits to 30,000 residents and 2 million visitors yearly to Bandar Sunway."

P1 CEO Michael Lai said this initiative is part of the service provider's commitment to bridge the country's digital divide through wireless technology, and to provide broadband service to all Malaysians, including those in urban settings.

Asked if P1 will work with other developers to bring more wireless broadband service, Lai said: "We are always looking into how we can do this, and when the time comes, we will make the appropriate announcements."

WiMax launch in third quarter
Meanwhile, Lai said that P1's WiMax commercial launch is now slated "to be by the third quarter of this year".

In an interview with ZDNet Asia last year, Lai had said he was confident the service provider would launch its WiMax service by the second quarter of this year.

Sources familiar with the issue told ZDNet Asia unforeseen technical circumstances had cropped up in recent months and likely the cause of the delay.

Lai said P1 is currently "conducting friendly-user trials" in a bid to fine-tune its systems before launching the service later this quarter.

Edwin Yapp is a freelance IT writer based in Malaysia.