Maxis and Altobridge Sign Deal to Deploy Remote GSM to Isolated Communities

Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, 19 June, 2007 - Maxis Communications Berhad (“Maxis”), Malaysia’s largest mobile operator, and Altobridge, an Irish company specialising in remote communications, today announced an agreement to deploy remote GSM wireless communication systems to communities and enterprises cut off from standard telecommunications.

Having established itself as a world leader in the development of personal mobile communications over satellite for the aeronautical and maritime industries, Irish mobile communication software company, Altobridge, (CommunicAsia2007, Enterprise Ireland Stand 2J3-01), has developed a platform that makes it possible for people in remote communities to communicate using standard mobile phones, cost effectively.

Maxis Chief Technical Officer, Rolf Marthinusen, stated, “Altobridge’s solution for remote wireless communications allows us to provide necessary telecommunication service to secluded communities across Malaysia.

“In tandem with the Malaysian Government’s Time 2 expansion plan, we have successfully deployed and built a total of 1,048 sites, with more to follow. To date, Maxis has deployed more sites under the T2 programme compared to other cellular network operators in Malaysia. The remote GSM project with Altobridge will significantly further expand our coverage to these rural communities,” Marthinusen added.

Chief Technical Officer of Altobridge, Richard Lord, said, “Any wireless service that costs operators more than US$10 per month per subscriber, for small subscriber groups, is not going to succeed in emerging markets. The business case just doesn’t work.

“Altobridge has used its significant experience in combined satellite and cellular technology in the Aeronautical and Maritime industries to address the key market segment of remote wireless communications. Our solution has demonstrated satellite bandwidth requirements of between 5 kbits/s and 8 kbits/s per call and, as it is a unique, ‘On-Demand’ architecture, further savings of up to 50% are possible with VSAT systems based on Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA),” Lord concluded.

-ends-

Visit Altobridge at CommunicAsia2007 in Singapore on
The Enterprise Ireland Stand 2J3-01, in Hall 2.



Notes for editors

Background
In May 2004, the Malaysian Minister for Energy, Water and Communications announced that there should be full mobile cellular coverage for the entire country by year end 2006. Time 1 focused on the capital of the nation, Kuala Lumpur, as well as the nation’s seat of Government, Putrajaya, which included Cyberjaya. Time 2 extends to include the rest of the country with focal points at commercial areas, highways, major towns and tourist spots. To date, Time 1 has achieved 100% coverage and Time 2 stands at 79%. (MCMC, IPR 2006).

About Maxis Group - www.maxis.com.my
The Maxis Group is the region’s emerging mobile telecommunications group serving nearly 13 million customers as of December 2006. It has operations in Malaysia, India through subsidiary, Aircel Limited, and Indonesia through PT Natrindo Telepon Seluler.

The Group has a 5,000 strong workforce and is the sixth largest public listed company in Malaysia. Its vision is to be a ‘Regional Communications Leader of Choice’ by delivering service excellence and innovative solutions that bring people together.

About Altobridge - www.altobridge.com
Altobridge (based in Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, is a leading provider of remote wireless telecommunications solutions. It’s core patented AM Gateway Platform™ enables standard cost effective wireless service anywhere in the world. The ground breaking Altobridge architecture enables low cost wireless communications in the most remote and challenging environs. The solution has been successfully tested and deployed in the aeronautical, maritime, Remote Terrestrial/Community and First Responder/Military communications markets. The Altobridge solution is based on standard wireless communications protocols and bridges the barriers of entry which prohibited Return on Investment from these remote subscriber groups in the past.

Issued by the Corporate Communications Departments of Maxis Communications Berhad and Altobridge Ltd.


At Maxis, for further information, contact:
Gowri Mohanadas
Tel: +60 17 3000 267
Email: mgowri@maxis.com.my

or

Sarah Lim
Tel: +60 3 2330 6812
Email: slima@maxis.com.my

At Altobridge, for further information, contact:
Altobridge Ltd
Kerry Technology Park
Tralee
Co. Kerry
Ireland
Tel: +353 66 719 0210
Fax: +353 66 719 0022
Email: info@altobridge.com

Contact Information

Tim Guest

Altobridge Corporate Communications

Global Media & Analyst Relations

Contact via E-mail