Celcom Axiata Berhad (doing business asCelcom) is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom is a member of the Axiata group of companies. Celcom was merged with Digi to form CelcomDigi on 1 December 2022.
Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone license, it successfully introduced mobile telephony in Malaysia through its ART-900 (Automatic Radio Telephone) service, using first-generation (analogue) ETACS (Extended Total Access Communication System) specifications of the United Kingdom, a derivative of the US-AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) technology. The ETACS ART-900 was started using the prefix "010".
Celcom now uses the dialling prefix identifier of "013" and "019" and offer digital GSM (Groupe Speciale Mobile), an originally European standard, now largely a world standard for mobile communications. The original frequency band for GSM is 900MHz and was soon extended to 1800MHz to cater for much wider bandwidth requirements. The 2100MHz band is used for their dual-channel HSPA+ network. Celcom is also licensed and has been operating FDD-LTE on 1800MHz and 2600MHz.
Celcom started its operation as Cellular Communications Network (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. in 1988 with Fleet Holdings, which was owned by Dato' Junus Sudin (then-parent company of TV3, NSTP, and Bank of Commerce Berhad/BCB) and Telekom Malaysia as shareholders. Subsequently, Telekom Malaysia sold its 51% shareholding to the Technology Resources Industries, a company owned by Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli. Fleet Holding's share was transferred to the [citation needed] which was later sold to TRI. In the initial years, Celcom experienced tremendous growth in subscriber base and network coverage under the stewardship of Rosli Man, the President of the company. It was during his tenure that Celcom turned into the leading cellular company in Malaysia. Rosli Man left Celcom in 1996.
When the cellular phone market was opened up in 1995, Celcom upgraded to the GSM900 service and quickly grew to become the largest mobile phone company in Malaysia. Competition soon set in, and several digital mobile carriers competed for market dominance of the cellular phone industry.
During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Celcom's owner, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli suffered a debt crunch, and his shareholding in Celcom was seized by Danaharta, the national asset restructuring company. Failure to resolve his debts resulted in the controlling stake in Celcom being sold to Telekom Malaysia, the government-owned incumbent fixed-line operator in 2003. Telekom Malaysia proceeded to merge Celcom with its own mobile-operator subsidiary TMTouch through a reverse takeover of TMTouch.
Celcom was originally listed on the Bursa Malaysia, but after the merger with Telekom Malaysia Berhad, it has since remained private.
Owing to the inferior management of its former management, Celcom was found liable by an arbitration panel in Switzerland for infringing an agreement signed with Deutsche Telekom AG's unit, DeTeAsia in 2002. The tribunal ruled that Celcom was liable to pay DeTeAsia US$177.2 million in principal plus US$16.2 million in interest as well as other legal and arbitration costs. The total sum was about RM740 million, leaving Telekom Malaysia to intensify its efforts at recovering monies from Celcom's previous owners.
On 21 June 2021, Axiata, Telenor and Digi agreed to a potential merger of Celcom and Digi to create a stronger telco in Malaysia, coming after advanced discussions that took place two months earlier.[1][2][3] The deal was approved by both Celcom and Digi shareholders on 18 November 2022. The merged company is named CelcomDigi. At completion, Axiata and Telenor hold equal ownership of 33.1% each in the newly merged company. The merger was completed on 30 November 2022 and the company began its operation the next day.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
Celcom has broader and more extensive coverage nationwide in Malaysia, compared to other cellular operators. In 2006, Celcom claimed its dual-band GSM (900/1800MHz) coverage had reached over 98% of Malaysia's populated area, and 100% through satellite coverage.[10]
In 2006, Celcom launched the first 3G service in Malaysia, covering most major towns where there is a Telekom Malaysia telephone exchange and either HSDPA or EDGE services within 15-mile (24km) radius (GSM UMTS maximum allowed range) with GPRS as basic data coverage.
In 2013, the 4th generation standard of FDD-LTE was deployed gradually nationwide. The initial license is only on the 2,600MHz band. In the second quarter, its 1,800MHz band has been redeployed to cater for both 2G and 4G.
In 2015, Celcom offers 2G, 3G, 4G LTE services on its postpaid and Xpax prepaid brands.
As of March 2018, Celcom improved its network experience considerably, especially with the expansion of its 4G and 4G LTE-A population coverage to 88% and 76%.[13]
Back in 2015, Celcom has 3500 4G LTE sites in the country. The Telco aims to offer up to 80% human population coverage by the end of 2016, and 95% of 4G LTE coverage by 2020.[14] Celcom 4G LTE network coverage stood at 94% nationwide while 4G LTE-A coverage is at 90%, as of quarter 3 of 2021.
Celcom Broadband is Malaysia's most popular mobile broadband provider, with 1.534 million subscribers as of the first quarter of 2015. The broadband network covers 86% of Malaysia's populated areas.
Celcom Broadband was awarded the prestigious Frost & Sullivan's Mobile Broadband Provider for two years.[15]
Kolony
Kolony, launched by Celcom on 8 April 2011 was the first-ever SMS-based social networking service in Malaysia.[16] Kolony targeted Malaysian youths and those that wanted to be connected to their family and friends frequently by using their mobile phone.[17] It ran on the regular SMS-based platform, allowing users to participate in social networking activities using the most basic mobile phones with or without a 3G connection.[18] It is a service consisting of a multi-user environment, including software and websites. After only a few weeks of its launch, Kolony recorded a total of 1.5 million subscribers.[19][20]
Magic SIM
On 4 June 2015, Celcom launched its latest Xpax limited edition simcard package, the Magic SIM. A RM5 Xpax Magic SIM starter pack comes with free basic internet, free 200 MB of high-speed internet, and 20 free minutes free calls and SMS or SMS to Celcom numbers.[21]
Xpax #NoKelentong
On 19 December 2016, Celcom revamped its prepaid plan with the more simplified XPAX #NoKelentong. It removes data restrictions on application usage, 4G only weekend data and off-peak only data.[22][23]
On 29 January 2018, Celcom launched Yoodo, a brand marketed as a hybrid of conventional prepaid mobile plans.[26]
Current developments
Celcom is the Malaysian partner of the Vodafone mobile community. Celcom's past CEO, Dato’ Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, had been with Celcom since 2005. Ramly left on 31 August 2016 to become the CEO of Telekom Malaysia on 1 May 2017.[27] Michael Kuehner was appointed as the current CEO of Celcom with effective on 1 September 2016.[28]
Demerger from Telekom Malaysia
On 28 September 2007, Telekom Malaysia announced a revamp of its mobile communication units which include Celcom. The revamp plan was to group Celcom under TM International, which houses other TM regional mobile units and defines it as a separate business entity. The restructuring exercise was completed by Q1 2008 and the new business unit listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange by Q2 2008.[29][30][31][32]
TM International was renamed as Axiata Group[33] as part of a telecom consortium in Southeast Asia. Its stock exchange code is AXIATA.
Merger Possibility with Telekom Malaysia
In January 2018, Celcom Axiata Bhd CEO Michael Kuehner said the proposed merger between Telekom Malaysia and Axiata Group 'made sense', but it is still up to the shareholders to make the final decision.[34]
Subscribers
As of the first quarter of 2018, Celcom has 9.6 million subscribers in Malaysia. Celcom subscribers dropped from 10.25 million in Q12017.[35]
In that quarter, Celcom's ARPU for postpaid was RM87, and prepaid ARPU stood at RM34.[36]
Axiata and Telenor in Talks to Merge Asian Operations
In 2019, The Edge reported that Axiata Group Bhd and Norwegian Telenor Group are in talks to merge their operations in Asia. It is learnt that post-merger, Axiata will be a shareholder of the merged entity, which is expected to be an investment holding company that owns the enlarged regional mobile service operation.[37]
Related Research Articles
The primary regulator of telecommunications in Malaysia is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). It issues licenses under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Postal Services Act 2012 and the Digital Signature Act 1997.
Telenor ASA is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, but focused in Scandinavia and Asia. It has extensive broadband and TV distribution operations in four Nordic countries, and a 10-year-old research and business line for machine-to-machine technology. Telenor owns networks in 8 countries.
Telekom Malaysia Berhad or simply TM is a Malaysian telecommunications company founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio, and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become the country's largest provider of broadband services, data, fixed line, pay television, and network services. TM ventured into the LTE space with the launch of TMgo, its 4G offering. TM's 850 MHz service was rebranded as unifi Mobile in January 2018.
M1 Limited is a Singaporean telecommunications company and one of the major telcos operating in the country. M1 was founded in 1994 and traded on the Singapore Exchange from 2002 to 2019. M1 is a subsidiary of the Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings through their joint venture, Konnectivity.
CelcomDigi Berhad, formerly known as Digi.Com Berhad, is a communications conglomerate and mobile service provider in Malaysia. Axiata and Telenor hold equal ownership in CelcomDigi at 33.1% each. CelcomDigi is the largest wireless carrier in the Malaysia, with 20.3 million subscribers at the end of Q4 2022.
Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. It is one of the oldest and largest telecommunications companies in the country. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it provides a variety of communication products, applications and value added services for consumers, large enterprises as well as small & medium business owners. Maxis uses the dialing prefixes of "011 12000000 through 12499999", "012", "014-2", and "017". The majority of the company's stake is owned by Malaysian billionaire, Ananda Krishnan. Its coverage is from Arau (Perlis) to Long Pasia (Sabah).
Xpax, launched in 2004, is Celcom Axiata Berhad's line of prepaid mobile plan. As of December 2017, it served over 6.72 million subscribers, it comprises the majority of Celcom’s 9.56 million total subscriber base
Dialog Axiata PLC, is one of Sri Lanka's largest telecommunications service providers, and the country's largest mobile network operator with over 17 million subscribers which amounts to 57% of the Sri Lankan mobile market. Dialog is a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad which owns 83.32% controlling stake of the company, while the rest is held by the public.
Yettel Bulgaria is the largest mobile network and the third largest fixed telecommunications company in Bulgaria. The company was founded under the name "Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile" in 2001 by OTE and operated under the brand name "Globul" until 2014. In 2013 it was bought by Telenor and changed its name. In August 2018, the company was acquired by PPF, a Czech private investment fund. The company continued to use the Telenor brand until 1 March 2022, when it was renamed to Yettel Bulgaria.
This article is intended to give an overview of the history of telecommunications in Malaysia.
Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, Airtel provides 5G, 4G and LTE Advanced services throughout India. Currently offered services include fixed-line broadband, and voice services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel had also rolled out its Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology across all Indian telecom circles. It is the second largest mobile network operator in India and the second largest mobile network operator in the world. Airtel was named India's 2nd most valuable brand in the first ever Brandz ranking by Millward Brown and WPP plc.
Since its beginnings in 1995, the Internet in Malaysia has become the main platform for free discussion in the country's otherwise tightly controlled media environment. As of Q1 2017, Malaysia had broadband penetration rates of 103.6% and 81.8%.
See also: Maxis, CelcomDigi, Yes, Unifi
Total Access Communication Public Company Limited, commonly known as DTAC, is a GSM mobile phone company in Thailand. It is the nation's third largest GSM phone company, after AIS and True. DTAC is owned by Norwegian company Telenor both directly and indirectly, and both companies share the same logo. As of 31 December 2011, DTAC had 23.2 million subscribers with a market share of subscribers at around 30 percent. As of 2019, the company has 20.642 million mobile subscriptions and 3904 employees. It is listed on the Singapore Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Unifi Mobile is a Malaysian internet service provider and the country's sixth mobile network operator. Originally known as Packet One Networks (P1), the company was founded on 11 February 2002 and is currently a subsidiary of the national telephone company, Telekom Malaysia.
Axiata Group Berhad, is a Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia.
Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL), doing business as Jazz, (Urdu: جاز) is Pakistan's largest mobile network and internet services provider formed by the merger of Mobilink and Warid Pakistan.
Idea Cellular (commonly referred to as Idea was an Indian mobile network operator based at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Idea was a pan-India integrated GSM operator and had 220.00 million subscribers as of June 2018. Idea Cellular merged with Vodafone and is now known as Vodafone Idea or Vi.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
