The Malaysian government expects to issue four WiMAX operating licences in its postponed auction for wireless broadband spectrum, according to the Business Times quoting Minister for Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik. Dr Lim said the Ministry of Communications (MoC) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are in talks with consultants to ascertain how much spectrum is required to operate WiMAX services. He added that all four licences would not necessarily be handed out at once, and may instead be issued in phases. Dr Lim confirmed that there is unlikely to be a new tender process for the spectrum, and that the state is expected to evaluate the 17 applications already submitted.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, in July 2006 the MCMC indefinitely postponed its tender for the country’s first WiMAX licences, in the 2.3GHz-2.4HGz bands, under order from the MoC, because the terms of the bidding, set by the MCMC, were not in line with the MoC’s own licensing regulations, most notably in terms of the roll out of infrastructure. The MCMC later said it would not relaunch the tender, opting instead to stick with the submissions it has already received from 17 companies, including DiGi Telecommunications, Maxis Communications, MiTV Corp, REDtone International and NasionCom. The MCMC had originally intended to announce the winners by 31 October, but has yet to provide a revised timetable for issuing the concessions.