Packet One outlines ZTE deal

Malaysian WiMAX operator Packet One Networks (P1) has fleshed out the terms of its agreement with ZTE, which it alluded to last week.

On the Thursday signing of the $28m deal with the Chinese supplier, P1 said it would use ZTE kit for phase two of its rollout plan this year.

“Currently, the company is well on track to provide WiMAX coverage to 35 percent of the population in the peninsular by end of this year,” said P1’s chief executive officer Michael Lai at the signing ceremony.

ZTE is to supply WiMAX network planning and design, equipment supply, engineering services and WiMAX network optimisation, which will be used in parallel with Alcatel-Lucent WiMAX kit for phase one of P1’s network.

Phase two of P1’s network rollout is focused on the East Coast and Penang. By the end of this year, P1 expects to have established 700 new sites.

P1 says it is expecting to spend RM1bn in capex to support its network and product rollout over the next five years.