P1 inks WiMAX expansion deal with ZTE

Malaysian WiMAX provider Packet One Networks (P1) has selected Chinese vendor ZTE as the winner of its tender for the third phase of its network expansion, the Star Online reports. P1 has awarded the full turnkey contract for expansion of its 2.3GHz WiMAX infrastructure to the vendor in a deal understood to be worth USD76 million, and under the terms of the deal ZTE has agreed to expand the operator’s WiMAX infrastructure to 65% of the country’s population by 2012, as well as provide network planning and design, equipment supply, engineering services and network optimisation. The deal is the second between the two companies; in March 2009 P1 chose ZTE as the vendor for its second phase of network development, which will see coverage climb from 35% to 45% by the end of 2010. Commenting on the latest contract, Michael Lai, CEO of P1, noted: ‘From the day we embarked on our WiMAX journey, our goal has been to make broadband a right for all Malaysians. To deliver on this commitment, an aggressive deployment of our WiMAX network is crucial.’