BIG LAUNCH: Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor flanked by Puan (left) and Lai applauding the launch gambit marking P1 W1MAX's roll out recently.

P1 chief executive officer Michael Lai said many of those that signed up are in areas where P1’s service is not yet available. “So the question now is how fast can we expand our network to reach these customers,” he said.

It expects to start servicing these customers by the end of the year, at the latest.

The subscribers had signed up for the service at P1’s booth during the Pikom PC Fair which was held here earlier this month. Others also signed up at Intel Malaysia’s booth at the same event.

The US-based chipmaker had earlier invested RM50mil in the form of convertible bonds to help P1 in its WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) service capital expenditure over the next four years.

“Now that we know where the interest for WiMAX is, we will be rolling out our services more aggressively,” Lai said at a press conference after launching P1’s service, called P1 W1MAX.

How much, please?

He also unveiled pricing for the ­service. The service offers fixed WiMAX connectivity at speeds of 400Kbps (kilobits per second), 700Kbps, 1.2Mbps (megabits per sesond) and 2.4Mbps. Prices range between RM69 and RM209 per month.

According to Lai, W1MAX subscribers are enjoying 20% faster broadband speed for 20% less on their fees.

“Instead of just 1Mbps, we are offering 1.2Mbps, which means consumers are getting better value for their money,” he explained.

W1MAX subscribers also have to pay a one-time fee of RM999 for a modem. However, P1 is waiving this charge during a month-long promotion period which ends Sept 30.

In comparison, rival TM Net’s streamyx broadband service ­— with speeds of 384Kbps to 4Mbps — is priced between RM20 and RM268 per month, and the modem is free.

P1 is not worried about the competition. “We will continue to monitor our pricing strategy to ensure that W1MAX reaches as many Malaysians as possible,” Lai said.

On the cards

In the near future, WiMAX service subscribers will be able to dispense with the modem — personal computers will come embedded with WiMAX chips, much like how WiFi chips are in PCs now.

“We are working with Intel to bring in WiMAX chip embedded notebooks and these will probably be on the market next year,” said Green Packet Bhd group managing director and chief executive officer Puan Chan Cheong. Green Packet is P1’s parent company.

Lai is confiden