KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) launched its “UniFi” next-generation High Speed Broadband (HSBB) service at Dataran Merdeka here on Wednesday, but did not release pricing details for the new packages.

UniFi promises a world of faster, richer and more reliable online experience, the company said in a statement, adding that pricing details would be disclosed on Thursday.

“Now that UniFi ... has arrived, we anticipate it will be a digital lifestyle changer as well as an enabler for the vast majority of our subscribers,” said TM chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie.

TM’s UniFi high speed broadband packages comprise triple-play services of high speed Internet, video (IPTV) and phone, at speeds of 5Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps.

The IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service, which makes up part of the value-add bundled service, will be delivered via an 8Mbps connection exclusively and in addition to the data speeds subscribed by customers.

With IPTV, customers can enjoy 22 linear channels, Video-On-Demand and interactive services such as games, tourism information and more, TM said.

The initial areas covered by TM’s UniFi are the four exchange areas of Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.

In addition to these, UniFi will be expanded to another 22 exchange areas by June and a further 22 by December.

That means, by year-end 2010, TM’s UniFi will cover 48 exchange areas with a total of 750,000 premises passed. This would include key areas such as Putrajaya, Cyberjaya and Iskandar Malaysia, the company said.

TM said it has already completed 311,000 premises passed, surpassing the target of 300,000 premises passed by the end of March. (“Premises passed” refers to the number of premises that are connected by UniFi and have the ready option to take up the service if they wanted to.)

The launch ceremony on Wednesday was attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin and others.

HSBB is a flagship project of the National Broadband Initiative that aims to boost the country’s competitiveness. The RM11.3bil national HSBB project is a joint effort between TM and the Government to develop next generation high speed broadband infrastructure and services for the nation.

TM is putting up RM8.9bil while the Government is co-investing RM2.4bil on an incurred claims basis based on project milestones reached by TM.

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