14 Sep 2023
TM Joins Asia Link Cable System Consortium To Boost Submarine Cable Capacity From Malaysia To Asia
KUALA LUMPUR, 14 September 2023 - TM Global, the domestic and international wholesale business arm of TM, solidified its commitment to advancing Malaysia’s digital landscape by announcing its recent participation as a consortium member of the Asia Link Cable System (ALC). This strategic move positions Malaysia as one of the key destinations connecting Malaysia to Hong Kong SAR.
Asia Link Cable; image credited to HMN Tech
TM’s entry into the consortium was made official during the signing of the Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) with all consortium members held in Penang recently. The current seven members from the ASEAN and North Asia regions include Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel); China Telecom Global Limited (CTG); China Telecommunications Corporation (CTC); Globe Telecom (Globe) and DITO Telecommunity Corporation (DITO) of the Philippines, Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) of Brunei and Global Transit Singapore Pte. Ltd (GTS).
Commenting on this partnership, Khairul Liza Ibrahim, TM Global’s covering Executive Vice President said, “Our inclusion in the ALC consortium marks another milestone in TM Global’s ongoing efforts to position Malaysia as a digital hub in the region.
“Malaysia emerged as the region’s top destination for technological investment, particularly data centre businesses. Leveraging our strategic location, the ALC is expected to attract more international submarine cables to land in Malaysia and entice global technology players to leverage our data centres.
“This strengthens our efforts to provide reliable, diversified and uninterrupted global connectivity solutions to customers. It also enables us to better support the deployment of hyperscalers’ data centres, and deliver to the future requirements of 5G networks in the country,” she added
Spanning a total distance of approximately 7,200 km with an initial design capacity of 24Tbps, the Cable Landing Station (CLS) for ALC will be strategically located at TM Exchange Kuala Sedili, and will capitalise on its proximity to TM’s Iskandar Puteri data centre in Johor.
The Sedili CLS is the sixth international CLS in the country, including Kuala Muda, Morib, Mersing, Cherating and Melaka. Its construction is projected to be completed by 2025.
With 32 owned and leased submarine cable systems spanning more than 340,000 kilometres around the globe, TM is committed to providing the highest service performance and best quality experience to customers domestically and internationally.
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TM and OYO Malaysia collaborate to provide guests with an enhanced connected staying experience
TM customers can also enjoy great promos at OYO Hotels and Homes as part of loyalty programme With the aim of elevating customer experience, OYO Malaysia and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) today formalised a commercial and marketing arrangement, extending the companies' existing working relationship to benefit more local as well as foreign travelers. Under the partnership, TM will be providing its full suite of unifi services including high-speed broadband access, unifi TV and unifi Mobile to enable patrons of OYO Hotels and Homes to experience a seamless broadband and entertainment experience powered by unifi. TM will also provide dedicated customer support and technical teams for round-the-clock support at OYO Hotels and Homes to ensure business and service continuity. Meanwhile, OYO Malaysia will be offering special promos for TM customers for their stay at OYO establishments through TM's loyalty programme, TM Rewards. Besides that, both companies will work together in marketing initiatives including promoting OYO Hotels and Homes to 24,000 TM staff nationwide. The partnership was officially announced by Vimal Balachandran, Head, OYO Homes, Malaysia and Izlyn Ramli, Vice President, Group Brand and Communication, TM. Commenting on the partnership, Izlyn said: "I am very excited with this collaboration and would like to thank OYO Malaysia for choosing us as your communications and ICT solutions partner. With the provisioning of our comprehensive converged solution by TM, OYO Malaysia is set to elevate its guests' digitally connected staying experience at its properties nationwide. Our dedicated support service team will also help to ensure that OYO guests enjoy our seamless broadband and entertainment experience. This will certainly ease OYO management's concerns on continuous operational efficiency so they can focus on their core business, which is providing the best hospitality services to their patrons. TM, as the National Telecommunications Infrastructure Provider has a higher purpose to provide Malaysians with better connectivity via our solid network infrastructure, and power Malaysia as a Digital Nation – enabling Society, Businesses and Government. Today's collaboration reflects our continued support for the Malaysian hospitality and tourism industry. We hope this will spur more Malaysians to explore our beautiful country, while they continue to enjoy internet and entertainment access on unifi!" Welcoming TM to the extended OYO family, Vimal said that technology is at the core of hospitality at OYO. "OYO is constantly looking at ways to help asset partners transform their properties and enhance the guest experience at every step, thereby significantly increasing occupancy and profitability. The collaboration between two leaders in their respective categories continues to build on OYO's model of combining design, hospitality, and technological expertise and operational capabilities to enable our asset partners to offer good quality customer service and a seamless broadband experience to guests," he said. "TM has been an invaluable and supportive partner to OYO from the time when we first set foot in Malaysia in 2017. We look forward to a continued working relationship as we scale and extend our leadership position in Malaysia," added Vimal. OYO has revolutionised the fragmented and legacy-driven budget hospitality space by empowering small and independent asset owners with the operational capabilities and technology that enables them to compete with big hotel chains and achieve high occupancies and, therefore, yields. OYO Hotels and Homes currently operates over 16,000 rooms in more than 450 properties that it franchises and manages in 50 cities across Malaysia. Globally, OYO is present in over 800 cities across 80 countries. OYO Hotels and Homes has over 2,500 hotels and more than 75,000 exclusive rooms under management in Southeast Asia. Besides that, in conjunction with the holiday season, TM is also promoting OYO Malaysia at its School Holiday Carnival which is currently taking place until 7 December 2019 at KL Tower, a TM wholly-owned subsidiary and among the main tourism spots in Malaysia. The carnival lines up various activities for visitors to participate including quizzes, crossword puzzles, maze challenge, recycle initiative as well as Visit Malaysia Year 2020 campaign promo by Tourism Malaysia.
TM AND SINGTEL’S NXERA BREAK GROUND FOR SUSTAINABLE, HYPER-CONNECTED DATA CENTRE CAMPUS IN JOHOR
ISKANDAR PUTERI, 25 JULY 2024 – TM and Nxera, the regional data centre arm of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, held a groundbreaking ceremony for their data centre campus in Iskandar Puteri, Johor. The groundbreaking comes one month after the announcement for a joint venture to develop data centres in Malaysia and uplift Johor’s digital hub status. This 64MW state-of-the-art, sustainable, hyper-connected, AI-ready data centre campus reinforces Malaysia’s high quality digital infrastructure. It also supports the government's efforts to drive the digital economy and transform the country into a hub for industrial growth, AI development and innovation. Malaysia's Digital Minister YB Gobind Singh Deo; YB Lee Ting Han, Chairman, Johor State Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources Committee; and Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling graced the groundbreaking event as the Guests-of-Honour. Minister YB Gobind said, "This investment by TM and Nxera reinforces Malaysia's position as the digital hub in Southeast Asia, further advancing the nation's economic growth. Based on advance estimates, Malaysia's economy expanded 5.8% in the second quarter of 2024, and such investments are in line with projections that Malaysia's digital economy will contribute 25.5% to the nation's GDP by the end of the year. The relationship between TM and Nxera expands to Malaysia and Singapore, with both nations being a good case study of a productive working partnership between two ASEAN member states." YAB Dato Onn Hafiz Ghazi, Menteri Besar, Johor said, “TM-Nxera’s upcoming data centre campus, located right here in Iskandar Puteri, holds particular significance as one of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone’s first investment projects. We welcome the comprehensive scope of their investment with respect to high quality infrastructure, sustainability as well as employment and skilling opportunities which supports our emphasis on talent development, green technology and renewable energy. This data centre campus will serve as a catalyst for economic growth and enable businesses to harness the power of cloud computing and AI. We hope this will set the stage to shape a vibrant business ecosystem where more high-tech and high-value content companies will be attracted to locate their operations within the special economic zone and give a further boost to Johor’s digital economy.” Senior Minister of State Low said, “Data centres are important enablers of our digital economy, powering our economy’s data-driven needs. As technology advances, robust, next-generation digital infrastructure like the TM-Nxera Data Centre will be essential to support AI advancements and foster value creation. Today’s groundbreaking marks a milestone in the deepening economic relations between Singapore and Malaysia, and I look forward to the outcomes we can achieve through close collaboration.” Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s Group CEO, said, “Today marks a pivotal milestone in our journey to becoming a digital powerhouse as we break ground on this cutting-edge AI-ready data centre. This facility exemplifies our commitment to fostering industry growth, driving innovation, and enhancing socio-economic development. With support from the Federal Government, and Johor state agencies and authorities, we are confident that this AI-ready data centre will equip businesses with unparalleled computing power, AI capabilities, and other cutting-edge technologies. We are excited to lead the way into a future where AI and data analytics drive transformative solutions, revolutionising industries and enriching both our nation and the world.” Bill Chang, CEO of Nxera and Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, said, “As one of the largest investments in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, this state-of-the-art data centre campus is an integral part of our mission to empower digital economies and communities in the region while ensuring energy and water resources are deployed responsibly and efficiently. It expands our regional data centre platform’s strategic presence in this fast-growing Asia region. With Malaysia embracing AI to drive competitiveness and innovation, our campus will spur economic growth by helping companies leverage AIs and cloud computing to drive efficiencies and accelerate their business transformation. Our investment isn’t just about the campus, it is about bringing benefits to the local economy through digitalisation, developing local talent, creating employment opportunities and enhancing international connectivity. We would like to express our gratitude to the Johor State Executive Council, Invest Johor, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation and Malaysian Investment Development Authority for their support.” Scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2026, this cloud-enabled Tier 3 data centre campus will use liquid cooling to handle higher power density AI workloads. The facility will be designed, built and certified to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, incorporating energy and water-efficient solutions to optimise the use of resources. This underscores the joint venture's commitment to long-term sustainability goals. To support the new data centre campus, the joint venture plans to expand submarine cable connectivity, enabling a thriving and vibrant digital ecosystem. Located just 16 km from Singapore, the data centre campus will allow customers to seamlessly expand their infrastructure from the city state and the rest of the region. Further, the data centre can be scaled up to 200MW in response to market demand. In addition, apart from creation of new employment opportunities that is important for nation building, the joint venture will invest in building talent for the data centre industry by fostering collaborations between universities in Singapore and Malaysia. It aims to design comprehensive courses with specialised curriculum to provide students with well-rounded knowledge and the requisite skills to propel Malaysia’s growth aspirations. For communities and the region, this means superior country-to-country connectivity and a smarter, more resilient digital economy. As announced in Bursa, this joint venture is conditional upon receiving approval from TM shareholders in the upcoming EGM.
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