Time Wireless Sdn. Bhd

active

Time Wireless Sdn. Bhd., formerly known as Sapura Digital Sdn. Bhd., was awarded with a 20-year license to operate a PCN mobile network using DCS 1800 MHz in December 1993. The company was also granted a payphone license, which was operated under the brand Uniphone. The company was initally owned by Sapura Holding Sdn. Bhd. However, due to the fierce competition among mobile phone service providers, the shareholders sold 75% of Sapura Digital Sdn. Bhd, including the payphone operators, for US$481 million to Time Wireless, a subsidiary of Time Enginering (Renong Bhd.) in 1996. The company launched its services under the name Adam (Advanced Digital Access for Mobile Telecommunications) in August 1995. The network had full coverage over major areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. There were two other PCN operators, Mutiara and MRCMB. The latter one was initially a subsidiary of Malaysian Resources Corporation, but Telecom Malaysia bought it in 1996 and operated under the name TeleTouch. By 1995, Sapura had invested over US$400 million (RMB2 billion) in its network, of which US$117 million was raised through a 1-year bridge facility guaranteed by the Sapura Holdings in 1994, and US$223 million was raised through a three year syndicated loan. Motorola supplied a Digital Communications System 1800 digital display cellular network for the second phase of Sapura Digital's Advanced Digital Access for Mobile Telecommunications for its Personal Communications Network; expanding the coverage to include the cities of Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau and Kuching. The company became known as TIMECel in June 2001. In December 2001, the company awarded a US$39 million contract to Nokia to supply and install GSM cellular equipment to widen capacity and coverage. In September 2002, former Time dotcom mobile competitor Maxis began negotiations for the acquisition TimeCel, the mobile business unit of Time dotCom. The deal was completed in May 2003 for RM27 million (US$7.1 million), increasing Maxis mobile market share from about 34% to about 43% following the inclusion of TimeCel's 300,000 subscribers. TimeCel's parent telecommunications company, Time dotCom, continued to provide fixed local access as well as payphone services in Malaysia. Website request sent 8/8/03 None