T&A: A new case study (in PDF form) on the successful rollout of Packet One Networks (P1)’s WiMAX in Malaysia has been released by Green Packet Berhad (Green Packet). The latter is a leading developer of next-gen mobile broadband & networking solutions.

P1 rolled out Malaysia’s and South-east Asia’s first 802.16e 2.3GHz commercial WiMAX network in August 2008. We covered its Johor Bahru launch here. Since then, it has acquired over 80K subscribers and maintained a respectable ARPU (average revenue per user) of above US$26 (RM93).

Part of the success is attributable to the the tech from P1’s partner, Green Packet, who provided the innovative plug-and-play fixed and mobile devices and connectivity solutions. The case study explains how Green Packet took on this challenge to supply the products and solutions which helped accelerate P1’s launch and traction in Malaysia today. (Editor opinions: 1)

Navin Danapal, Technical Editor, HWM Malaysia

Navin (HWM Malaysia): It’s no surprise that Malaysia’s P1 WiMAX service owes its success to its parent company Green Packet. P1 is Green Packet’s portfolio to sell its CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) to the Middle-East markets, as well as South America.

This was outlined by Mr. Kevin Lee, Senior General Manager, Green Packet Malaysia, in a December 2008 interview with HWM Malaysia.

However, P1 still has a long way to go to improve its service to its customers, as there have been complaints about its degrading performance by many users after they have locked into their service contract.

Other issues like changing the plan from unlimited to a quota cap also doesn’t help to boost its image, especially since rival Telekom Malaysia Streamyx is the only other broadband provider, albeit wired, which offers unlimited usage.

It would definitely help if P1 clarifies what WiMAX really is for there have been a lot of wireless providers in the past and many users have been embittered by failed promises. If P1 wants to differentiate its wireless WiMAX from the rest, it needs to educate the public.

A good case will be how Intel’s upcoming notebook platform will incorporate 2.3GHz WiMAX support, thereby making P1 an attractive service to consider as opposed to others, since the current Intel notebook platform uses 2.5GHz WiMAX while P1 uses the 2.3GHz.

This makes current users having to purchase P1’s WiMAX USB modem. If P1 can convey how the future Intel notebook platform will come with support for P1’s WiMAX, users will see the benefit even further — assuming P1 can meet their end of the bargain by maintaining claimed speeds.