- UQ Communications, a Japanese WiMAX venture
set up by KDDI and investors including Intel, East Japan Railway Company,
Kyocera, Daiwa Securities Group, and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, began
commercial services on July 1, 2009, according to reports by Reuters and
TeleGeography. At the initial phase, UQ Communications' WiMAX service, which is
projected to enable a maximum downlink speed of 40Mbps, is available in greater
Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. UQ Communications began WiMAX service
trials in February 2009, and the carrier plans to extend its WiMAX network to
all major Japanese cities within fiscal 2010, which ends in March 2011.
- P1 W1MAX, the WiMAX subsidiary of Malaysia's
Packet One Networks, is expected to extend its service to Sarawak in early
2010, Malaysia's Bernama reported on July 2. P1 W1MAX recently began service in
selected locations of Ipoh, Kuantan, and Kuala Terengganu. Other regions
serviced by P1 W1MAX include key markets in the Klang Valley, Johor, Penang,
Kedah, Perak, Pahang, and Terengganu. P1 W1MAX has set a target of reaching 35%
coverage of the entire Malaysian population by year-end 2009.
- Following the commencement of service in
Penghu County in April this year, Taiwanese WiMAX carrier Tatung Telecom is
scheduled to begin service in Kaohsiung City on July 8, 2009, according to various
local reports. The tariff plan for Kaohsiung city is estimated at less than
US$800 (US$24.3; US$1=NT$32.9). After Kaohsiung City, Tatung Telecom plans to
launch commercial WiMAX service in Kaohsiung County by year-end 2009 and extend
its network to Taichung in 2010.