Pacific Internet in Malaysian Move

Singapore-based ISP Pacific Internet Ltd. Friday signed an MOU with TIME dotCom Bhd to form a Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) JV company to provide narrowband and broadband Internet services to businesses in Malaysia.

Malaysia will become the eighth country to be incorporated into Pacific Internet’s (PCNTF) network of operations.

This foray into Malaysia comes on the heels of Pacific Internet’s recent tie-up with Thakral Corp to form a JV to provide managerial and technical support services to ISPs in China.

The Pacific Internet/TIME dotCom JV’s initial concentration will be to build content portals for the financial, health and retail sectors. The company is also considering listing the company in Mesdaq, the Malaysian technology stocks exchange, in the near future.

Nicholas Lee, CEO of Pacific Internet, pointed to Time dotCom’s existing customer base, advanced fiber optics network and extensive wireless network in Malaysia as powerful assets for the JV.

“With a Pacific Internet presence in Malaysia, we will also be able to provide our regional corporate customers with high quality access to and from their Malaysian offices,” said Lee.

“We have developed a successful ISP model based on a good understanding of the Asia-Pacific cultures and business requirements, and we intend to apply our winning formula to this [Malaysian] joint venture.”

TIME dotCom has a range of services from fixed to mobile services to value-added network solutions through its subsidiaries TIME Telekom, TIME Wireless and TIME Reach.

TIME Telekom’s fiber optic network of terrestrial and submarine festooned cables measures more than 5,200 kilometers, circumnavigating the Malaysian peninsula.