REDTONE International Bhd, which has wired up public places and certain commercial areas on Penang island and Seberang Prai with free WiFi services, may expand its footprint there via other services.
“We are always on the lookout for opportunities, and if something that makes good business sense comes along, we will explore it,” REDtone group chief executive officer Lau Bik Soon told Business Times.
He did not elaborate on the new services.
Lau said the company’s bid to provide free Internet access in Penang since 2009 had seen over 200,000 registered users, with close to 70 per cent in the under-30 age bracket.
While keeping quiet on the number of paying customers REDtone has in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak, Lau said these subscribers were primarily those from the corporate and small and medium enterprise segments.
“We also have government agencies whose headquarters and main offices are located in the Klang Valley,” he added.
REDtone’s Penang Free WiFi initiative covers the 40 state constituencies in the state and allows free Internet access in some public areas, hawker centres, shopping mallsand business centres.
REDtone rolled out the first phase of the project with 750 hotspots and completed its second phase of a further 750 in May this year.
The company has invested some RM15 million in the project and is currently managing all 1,500 sites for the Penang government.
Asked if REDtone is keen to replicate its Penang Free WiFi model in other states and else-where, Lau said: “This is something that we are exploring on an ongoing basis.
“Besides the Penang Free WiFi project, we are also currently working on numerous other big scale WiFi projects in Sabah and Sarawak which will further strengthen our position as the top Wifi infrastructure builder in Malaysia.”
Source: Business Times Dated: 12/09/2012
