LONG-TERM Evolution (LTE) is the focus of telecommunication players now and to capture more subcribers, Celcom Axiata Bhd has allocated a whopping RM400 million of its annual capital expenditure of RM920 million for LTE service expansion.
“This is our focus to strengthen our LTE services and customer base. We are targeting 2,014 active 4G LTE sites by year-end and we are confident of achieving it as we already have 1,093 sites established as of now,” said its chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly.
Celcom yesterday announced a revenue of RM1.91 billion for the first quarter ended March 31 2014, with service revenue increasing slightly to RM1.81 billion.
Its overall data revenue grew by 16 per cent year-on-year to RM368 million, contributing to 19.3 per cent of total revenue compared with 16 per cent the previous year.
Mobile Internet revenue recorded the highest growth at 39.5 per cent year-on-year to RM156 million, while data traffic registered a strong growth of 57 per cent.
The telco currently has 13.3 million subscribers across the country, an increase of three million year-on-year, mainly due to its strong presence in rural Malaysia.
Its bet in Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang has paid off tenfold as the number of Celcom users in these states has grown faster than what the telco could handle.
“These states have yielded tremendous results as we have seen a conversion of our subscribers to smartphones, hence, the need to optimise coverage in these states.
“We have seen a congestion already as of third quarter last year, so we had to slow down acquisitions until we can re-optimise the network.”
Shazalli said although Celcom is looking to target new demographics within the Klang Valley this year, the rural states remain key markets for the firm.