Dec 15 Launch For Malaysian Internet Exchange

Dec 15 Launch For Malaysian Internet Exchange:

SERI KEMBANGAN, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will be launching its Internet exchange on Dec 15, said Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik.

A Net exchange is a point for networks to interconnect directly rather through a third-party network. With the exchange, the cost to consumers would be reduced while bandwidth speed increased.

The plan to set up Malaysian Internet Exchange was proposed three years ago but failed to take off when the main players, TM Net Sdn Bhd and Jaring, failed to work together.

The setting of the exchange would attract international links to Malaysia and countries could start to route their connections to Malaysia instead of through Singapore.

Dr Lim also highlighted the huge and expanding market potential for information, communications and technology (ICT) in China during the official opening of the Asean-China Business Forum 2006 here today.

"Whenever I visit China, the one thing which continues to surprise me is their seamless mobile phone connectivity. They seem to have covered every nook and corner of their cities and even some rural locations. I hardly experienced dropped calls and signal strength issue," Dr Lim said.

He said this may be attributable to the fact that China produced its own telecommunications equipment.

"Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE, design, manufacture and produce their own telecom equipment and as such, the capital outlay for equipment for their suppliers may be much lower than perhaps in Malaysia," Dr Lim said.

These companies, according to Dr Lim, could leverage on its big domestic market to drive down costs through economies of scale that would enable them to compete in the global market.

China has already taken the lead to implement the Asean-China information superhighway project, whereby a high capacity connection would be established between Asean and China.

During the Asean-China ICT Week, which was held in Malaysia last March, the ICT business communities of Asean and China discussed various opportunities for collaboration and came up with a number of initiatives.

"While supporting this initiative, we can also leverage on it for Internet traffic. At present, we do not have an intra Asean-China Internet exchange facility and this information superhighway can be a medium and facilitator for an Asean-China Net exchange," he said.

-- BERNAMA

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