Full broadband coverage for KL by end-2009

Some 1,500 WiFi zones will be in operation by year-end, covering commercial centres, office premises, community centres and public housing provided by City Hall

ALL of Kuala Lumpur will have broadband coverage by the end of next year with the installation of 3,500 WiFi zones under the KL Wireless Metropolitan project, Datuk Bandar Datuk Ab Hakim Borhan said today.

So far 200 zones are up and running, including in the vicinity of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) where the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT2008) will be held from May 18 to 22.

Some 1,500 WiFi zones will be in operation by the end of this year and these will cover commercial centres, public spaces, office premises, community centres and public housing provided by City Hall (DBKL), he told a press conference after the launch of the KL Wireless Metropolitan project.

According to him, 2,000 more WiFi zones will be readied in subsequent phases.

The project, costing RM60 million, is being jointly undertaken by DBKL, the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Synapse Technologies Sdn Bhd and Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd.

It involves two main projects - Wireless@KL by Packet One and Portal Metropolitan Kuala Lumpur (www.kul.com.my) spearheaded by Synapse Technologies.

It is part of the Klang Valley Broadband Push (KVB90) initiative aimed at improving broadband penetration in households in the area to 90 per cent by 2010.

Packet One Networks chief executive officer Michael Lai said the project is using a combination of WiFi and WiMax technology, operating on the 2.3GHz spectrum at 512 kilobytes per second.

“We will give options in the future if there is a need for higher access speeds. However, our first priority is to roll out as many hotspots as possible,” Lai said, adding that the service will be free for two years.

He said the subsequent rate for the service will be announced by the government.

According to Lai, Packet One, which is a subsidiary of Green Packet Bhd, is a Wimax licensee and has invested RM50 million for the project while DBKL and MCMC have invested RM5 million each.

Asked whether the company has plans to expand into other states, he said it is focusing on this project and any expansion will depend on the project’s success.

The www.kul.com.my project, which is a joint venture between DBKL, MCMC and Synapse Technologies, was specially created for the people of Kuala Lumpur and contain information on all aspects of the city’s activities as well as the latest news, a community forum to promote knowledge sharing, social interaction, economic development, business and tourism. — Bernama