Dari The Star : HSBT finalising RM2bil Loan Facility

18hb Ogos 2009 - Terbaca berita dibawah di halaman utama bahagian The Star Biz tentang Anaak Syarikat Kerajaan negeri Pahang dan rakan kongsinya yang cuba untuk mendapatkan pinjaman untuk projek Jalur Lebar Kebangsaan.Persoalannya :

1. Adakah HSBT mempunyai kepakaran untuk melaksanakan projek tersebut berbanding dengan syarikat-syarikat komunikasi yang sedia ada seperti TM,Digi & Maxis?

2. Apakah sandaran ("Collateral") yang digunakan untuk mendapatkan pinjaman tersebut ?

3. Apakah kelangsungan ("Viability") projek tersebut untuk dilaksanakan di Kuantan dahulu dan adakah Kuantan mempunya skala ekonomi untuk menjayakan perlaksanaan tersebut?

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PETALING JAYA: High Speed Broadband Technology Sdn Bhd (HSBT) is finalising a RM2bil bridging loan facility with several local banks to fund the rollout of its high speed broadband network over the next two years.

“Some local banks are arranging a facility for us and we should be announcing the details very soon,’’ HSBT chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin told StarBiz in an interview, but declined to name the local banks involved.

“The RM2bil is adequate for two years’ rollout of fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) which should cover Pahang, Klang Valley, Johor Baru and several states,’’ he said.

He also announced that HSBT would be working with Ericsson and Packet Front, both from Sweden, for the rollout of its network infrastructure, with Ericsson to roll out the network and Packet Front providing solutions for open access.

Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin: »We want to be an infrastructure company and invite players including Telekom Malaysia to use our network«

“The first rollout of FTTH will be in Kuantan and users in that area will be able to ride on our network in three months. We are currently working on the final design of our network,’’ he said, adding that submissions to local authorities to roll out FTTH would be made very soon.

HSBT, via wholly owned unit Jalur Lebar Nasional Sdn Bhd, will be building the infrastructure which Sharkar said would be leased to any telecoms company that wanted to offer services in the areas where its network was available.

“We want to be an infrastructure company and invite players including Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) to use our network. We will not compete on services so that there is no conflict of interest. Ours is an open access network that is available to all players,’’ he said.

HSBT got a new lease of life after it bought a company that has network facilities and network service provider licences.

Last year, the company tried but failed to sell its idea to the Government to become the second high speed broadband infrastructure provider.

Providing FTTH is basically providing last mile connectivity to homes in the country.
This means it will link up homes in the country using fibre optics and offer the facilities to network service providers that want to offer telecoms services to homes.

It will begin with rolling out FTTH to 30,000 premises in Kuantan and move on to Klang Valley and Johor Baru before offering FTTH to other places in the country.

The RM2bil investment is part of the RM10bil this company will be investing over several years.
Sharkar said the initial RM2bil would be adequate to link FTTH to a huge part of the 2.5 million premises it was targeting.

TM is building its own high speed broadband network for RM11.3bil that will provide services to 1.3 million premises.