Extended C-Band spectrum mess by MCMC


The Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications has recently created havoc among wireless broadband providers with its proposal to violate the National Broadband Plan (NBP) to revoke licences to broadband service providers to operate on the 3.4-3.6-Gigahertz (GHz) frequency — the extended C-Band spectrum.

Ten days ago, the Minister concerned, Datuk Seri Dr. Lim Keng Yaik said use of the extended C-band frequency by the wireless broadband providers was interfering with the operations of the Measat-3 communications satellite.

He blamed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) which had given out the licences for the predicament.

Seven FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) broadband operators i.e. Airzed, AtlasONE, eB Tech, Nasioncom, TTDotCom, Maxis Broadband and TM who are now operating between spectrum 3.4 — 3.6 GHz – the extended C-band spectrum licensed to them by the Regulator (MCMC) since 2003 – are now seeing their total investment of over RM400 million going down the drain, threatening the ricebowls of some 400 workers, as well as scuttling their investment plans for some RM300 million in the next 24 months!

These companies are operating mainly in Klang Valley. In a presentation with broadband industry players, MEASAT told them on 5th April 2007 that the continued use of the 3.4 –3.6 GHz band by FWA services will have catastrophic impact on the viability of the MEASAT-3 satellite, MEASAT and the wider Malaysian ICT industry.

MEASAT claimed that they had requested MCMC to clearly and promptly reconfirm the priority given to them in the 3.4 –3.6 GHz band, seek alternative frequency bands for FWA services and migrate these services to allow MEASAT to use the entire 3.4 –3.6 GHz band before Q4 2007.

MEASAT also claimed that MCMC had in 2003 assured MEASAT that the 3.4 –3.5 GHz extended C-band frequency band would be cleared of FWA services within 5 years (by Q4 2007) and will be given to MEASAT.

If MEASAT has its way, then probably all the seven FWA broadband operators will have to shut down their existing operations which are clearly against the public interest for four reasons:

1: regulatory and policy breach

This contradicts the National Broadband Plan (NBP) because NBP Section 2 Clause 7 has stipulated as ‘National Policy on satellite-based communications” that satellite networks will play the role as “complementing transmission medium” to provide “critical services reachable using satellite”, i.e. Satellite networks will take up the balance of the market economically unreachable (mainly rural area) by the earlier conventional wired or wireless services.

The Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 Section 133 also stipulated that “A licensee shall not engage in any conduct which has the purpose of substantially lessening competition in a communications market”.

Since all the seven FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) broadband operators are operating in the Klang Valley which does not need satellite broadband support by MEASAT, it will be illogical to require them to operate under a satellite system provided by MEASAT with a lower bandwidth.

2: losses of installed broadband investment

To-date, Airzed, atlasONE, eB tech, Nasioncom and TM have a total investment of RM 407 million and they have already planned to invest a total of RM 297 million in the next 24 months.

Requirement for them to operate under MEASAT will means that they will lose their RM 407 million investment and affecting the future RM 297 million allocations which are to be spent on their current broadband framework. Furthermore, the ricebowls of some 400 workers are at stake.

3: broadband capacity reduction

To-date, Airzed, atlasONE, eB tech, Nasioncom and TM have managed to provide a broadband capacity totaling 6.8 GBps. With their planned investment for the next 24 months, their combined broadband capacity will be increased by another 9.5 GBps.

They will not be able to do that if they were to switch to operate under MEASAT as MEASAT can only provide a mere 300 Mbps, which is not only of lower bandwidth capacity but have to be shared by Malaysia with the whole continent of Africa, Southern China, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, etc with a total population of more than 2 billion people.

4: lessening of competition and price monopoly by dominant carrier (MEASAT)

It is obvious that if these FWA companies were to operate under MEASAT, they will be charged a price higher as MEASAT as a dominant carrier will tend to monopolise broadband market in the country.

This is also in contradiction with NBP which encourage competition.

Industry players have been seeking clarifications from MCMC to clarify the confusion but MCMC is still silent on the issue.

China and India have banned satellites from using the Extended C-Band reserving it for wireless broadband, which is the international trend. Why are we going against the international trend?

(Speech in Parliament on Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications during 2006 Supplementary Supply estimates committee stage debate on 23.4.07)

  1. #1 by madmix on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 7:21 pm

    can you rob 7 companies to pay one big company. Meast should compenstate these 7 coys for their lossess.

  2. #2 by kurakura on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 8:26 pm

    need money to fund the coming General Elections?

  3. #3 by Winston on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 9:07 pm

    Things in Bolehland are getting stranger & stranger!
    This country resembles “Alice In Wonderland”.

  4. #4 by HJ Angus on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 9:07 pm

    Looks as if the big telcos who were not successful are smiling now.

    Anyone at MCMC been sacked or resigned for this mess?

  5. #5 by private_undergrad on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 10:08 pm

    It looks like we have to shoot up (buy using taxpayers $$) another satellite just for the purpose of wireless broadband…Do you guys think it’s possible and viable for the current situation?

  6. #6 by accountability on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 11:04 pm

    as usual:-

    1) lack of planning by monopoly crony companies (MEASAT, with the unwatchable Astro during rain), and

    2) the dictatorship of an incompentent official (KengYaik, remember the utility price increases and water bill?)

    MALAYSIA BODOH!

  7. #7 by smeagroo on Monday, 23 April 2007 - 11:09 pm

    get the rm90mil ASTROnut to get it fixed when he is up in space. No point tossing roti canai or pulling teh. Do something worthwhile.

  8. #8 by mandela on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:06 am

    //smeargroo said: get the rm90mil ASTROnut to get it fixed//

    Not a good idea at all! The more our 90 Millions AstroNut try to fix it, the worst it will become. Now raining day no Astro, after “fixing”, you wun see Astro even in bright sun shine days!

    Leave him alone, let him make roti canai and teh tarik as planned.

  9. #9 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:14 am

    ANOTHER REASON WHY YOU NEED MINISTERS WITH BRAINS, otherwise we keep getting idiots making mistakes of the ‘Bloggers are feminine and unemployed’ genre.

    C’mon, Ku Nan, time to make another apology or press denial for coming out with another ‘katak-dibawah-tempurong’ blooper: Malaysians ‘have everything at home, why travel abroad.’.

    Sure, Ku Nah, with you around, who needs anything else but to screw around!

    FROM BERNAMA:

    “Departure Card Meant For Research, Not For Security Reasons”

    PETALING JAYA, April 23 (Bernama) — The proposal by the Tourism Ministry to introduce a departure card is not for security reasons but to find out why Malaysians go overseas.

    Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the ministry would like to know whether Malaysians went abroad for holiday or other reasons as no study had been conducted on it before.

    “It has nothing to do with security. We merely want to know why Malaysians travel abroad when we have everything at home,” he told reporters after chairing the Tourism Development National Committee meeting, here Monday.

  10. #10 by mandela on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:15 am

    HJ Angus said //Anyone at MCMC been sacked or resigned for this mess//

    Are you kidding me? Are there civil servants being sacked at all for their mistakes or crimes in the past 50 years?

    IN UMO’s dictionary, there is no words like “accountability”.

    Who cares for the mistakes? Buying and putting another satelite into space will create another chance to make some cuts!

  11. #11 by HJ Angus on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:17 am

    that’s a good idea, smeagroo!

    But I don’t think that guy will be up to it. Now he’s just going for an expensive jaunt.

  12. #12 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:35 am

    Is BN causing trouble again, forcing the Public to believe the bluff that “Opposition Supporters Foil Police Attempt To Catch Wanted Criminal”? (BERNAMA)

    The presence of 1,500 policemen – is this another sign that policemen are nothing but BN’s office boys?

    [deleted]

    FROM BERNAMA:

    “In MELAKA, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan said voters in Ijok should not worry to come out to cast their votes this Saturday.

    Police had assigned 1,500 officers and personnel to maintain order during the by-election, he said.”

  13. #13 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:48 am

    One of the first lessons British James Bond learnt was ‘NEVER to say “never”. Now, if you believe what Jonathan Kent wrote, then the operative word is “NEVER”. Of course, Jon, like Benjamin Franklin and all other men, says they would “NEVER” choose their women by candlelight! The men who says they “NEVER” choose their women by candlelight most often do. Now, if you follow Jon’s lines, who has and who has got burnt!

    This is the first time Mr Najib has commented on the killing

    By Jonathan Kent
    BBC News, Kuala Kumpur

    Malaysia’s deputy prime minister has broken his silence over attempts to link him to a gruesome murder.

    Najib Razak has denied having any connection with the killing, and says he never met the murdered woman, Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.”

  14. #14 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 12:53 am

    Sorry, I left this part of the quote inadvertently but should be placed as it appeared at the end of above posting for context. (See BERNAMA’s full report):

    “Mr Najib is perhaps the most whispered against politician in Malaysia – however he is also one of the most astute.

    Analysts say it would have been extraordinary if he had allowed himself to become embroiled in such a gruesome affair. “

  15. #15 by smeagroo on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 1:26 am

    HJ,

    The least he could do is “pretend”. If the govt can screw us and fool us with the many fake datas like NEP %, am sure they can pay the russians another rm90mil to get it done and then credit our towering astroNUT. In Msia, anything can be done as long as there is NO Integrity and when there is money.

  16. #16 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 7:57 am

    “Analysts say it would have been extraordinary if he had allowed himself to become embroiled in such a gruesome affair. “

    That was what I thought years ago.

    Until I get to hear the ‘confessions’ of a masseuse working at Hotel Merlin, Kuala Lumpur.

  17. #17 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 8:04 am

    “Najib Razak has denied having any connection with the killing, and says he never met the murdered woman, Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.”

    Like former President Clinton who said he never had sex with that woman, Najib is now saying he never met that woman.

    Being seen apparently walking and apparently in the company of individuals which included the murdered victim does not mean “he has met her”. Like Clinton it depends on what Najib meant when he said, “I never met that woman”.

  18. #18 by smeagroo on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 9:39 am

    Never met but hvnt we heard of cyber xxxxxxx and phone xxxxxxx? For some ppl it is the same thrill. No wonder my broadband is darn slow. SOmeone is using videocam heavily.

  19. #19 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 11:25 am

    Extended C-Band? The only C-Band I know that is extended is C for corruption band.

  20. #20 by stevelow on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 3:28 pm

    No wonder AK gave a boat to Pak Lah, he needs to secure his measat spectrum.

  21. #21 by alanyeap on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 4:20 pm

    Congratulation to Malaysia Bolehland again. This is a wanderful movement to totally made malaysia goes furthur behind other country.

    Singapore already has ADSL broadband at 25MB as of April 2007. Offered by Singtel.
    Cable modem broadband running at 100MB.
    Wireless running at 3.6MB

    Bangkok already ADSL broadband at 10MB.

    Malaysia? Snail version of 1MB for majority with limited and expensive 2MB for businesses.
    There is wireless 3.6MB offering on the way but with this latest information, i believe it will all dead.

  22. #22 by k1980 on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 - 8:04 pm

    When is snail version of 1MB broadband available in malaysia? I’m lucky to get 5kB/s ASDL download speed most days!

  23. #23 by dawsheng on Wednesday, 25 April 2007 - 12:31 am

    “China and India have banned satellites from using the Extended C-Band reserving it for wireless broadband, which is the international trend. Why are we going against the international trend?”

    Why are we going against international trend? Islam Hadhari said so? Corruption? NEP? Or just plain stupid?

  24. #24 by sammyvellu on Wednesday, 25 April 2007 - 8:13 pm

    Look at how MCMC/KTAK awarded 3G and WiMax spectrum.

    Do you think that there is any transparency in what Lim Keng Yaik and Halim Shafie is doing?

    I feel that they are just doing what the rest of the politicians are doing : filling up their pockets to the max!

  25. #25 by Chuck Moore on Saturday, 28 April 2007 - 2:51 pm

    If you search Google pages within Malaysia on 3.5GHz spectrum allocation and other spectrum issues, you’ll unearth some documents by the MCMC on this matter and from what I’ve read, I understand that the C-Band — ie 3.7 to 4.2GHz is reserved exclusively for satellite communications and this is mainly used for VSAT communications by government, corporations, shore to oild rig communications and so on.

    The extended frequencies 3.4 to 3.7 GHz can be shared by satellite operators and fixed terrestrial wireless opperators.

    The satellite operators could use the spectrum for Extended C-Band communications among other things, while the fixed wireless operators would use them for service like WiMAX.

    These frequencies are used for the downlink, meaning staellite to ground part of the comunications, while the uplink (ground to statellite) uses frequencies around 5 and 6GHz which are out of the way.

    Since the 3.4 – 3.7GHz band is shared frequency, in case of interference, the one who got the spectrum first has priority, according to the MCMC or so I understand from their documents.

    However yes, MEASAT may have got it first, so legally speaking, they have the right to it but since various operators have already spent over RM400 million, they have a case to argue why they were given the spectrum, when it could interfere with Measat 3’s VSAT downlink.

    Notwithstanding the regulations, the possible disruption to provision of broadband and other communications services to the general population as a result of its withdrawl, should take priority over provision of satellite communication services mainly to corporations.

  26. #26 by Chuck Moore on Saturday, 28 April 2007 - 2:55 pm

    Sorry,

    RE: C-Band spectrum and MEASAT 3.

    I mean’t the provision of fixed wireless broadband and communication services to the general population should take priority over provision of satellite communication services to corporations.

  27. #27 by Chuck Moore on Saturday, 28 April 2007 - 3:02 pm

    In response to private undergrad. There’s no wireless broadband going to be provided via MEASAT 3. That C-Band (3.7 – 4.2GHz) and Extended C-Band (3.4 – 3.7 GHz) are used for VSAT communications mainly by corporations and government.

    According to teh MCMC, the 3.4 to 3.7GHz pectrum can be shareb by fixed terretsrial and satellite operators and in cased of interference, the one who got it first has priority, or so that’s what I understand from MCMC documents.

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