Digital News Asia (DNA) continues its series that profiles 50 influencers who are helping shape Malaysia’s Digital Economy, from Digerati50 2020-2021 (Vol 4), a special biennial print publication released in July 2020. The digital copy can be downloaded from the sidebar link.
The following in an expanded version of the article which first appeared in print edition in June 2020.
“I want to change the balance of power in the market,” proclaimed Shaharin Saman, iFIBER founder and group CEO. He is talking about giving customers choice, to pick whatever internet plan they want, and not be fettered by the standard menu of limited plans.
Now, thanks to his efforts, there are customers in Malaysia who can get prepaid fiber broadband internet access without any long-term locked in contracts. “This pre-paid fiber broadband will help many university students enjoy gigabit internet packages, from month to month.”
At the time of interview (May 2020), he has a presence in three parts of Malaysia. “In Cyberjaya we have signed up with Mutiara Ville and Garden Plaza, the largest property developers there; In Johor Bahru, we have signed up with Johor Corporation (JCorp), and the Johor State GLC, connecting Komtar JBCC, Menara Komtar and Menara JLand; In Kota Kinabalu Sabah, we have signed up with The W Group (Wong Kwok Group property development), covering 12,000 premises at three of the largest property developments in the city.”
However the grand vision is to connect all 222 districts in Malaysia, to form what Shaharin dubs a “Gigabit City”.
[Update: To achieve this target, iFiber has signed an MOU with listed tech company, Pertama Digital Bhd, on Dec 22 to collaborate and investment to provide open access network that can deliver gigabit internet nationwide.]
The long gradual climb
You might think established players might have something to say about Shaharin’s plans to disrupt the marketplace. But for decades, he has been happy to push the boundaries. In the mid-1990s Shaharin was the first entrepreneur to receive Pioneer Status from the Malaysian Industrial Development Agency (MIDA) for a VCD factory he built in Penang. In 1998, he set up VOL Asia, with the idea of developing the first halal online browser for Malaysia and the Middle East market.
In the 2000’s, he began wiring commercial buildings and condos with last-mile fibre broadband, and as the CEO of Kedah ICT Holding, he contributed to the design of the Kedah State ICT blueprint and fibre infrastructure for the Municipal Network.
It was there that Shaharin saw that it wasn’t always easy to get telcos to equip a building with fibre. Costs were high (into the hundreds of thousands of ringgit), and some insisted that a certain percentage of tenants ask for it before they would install.
“When I started as entrepreneur, there was a lot of self-learning to gain experience, which takes a long time and I made a lot of mistakes,” he reminisced. “My advice, get a mentor and learn as much you can before you start,” he said. “Mistakes can cost you a lot money and time.”
Eventually he bought over Kedah ICT, renamed it as [email protected], and invested RM5 million (US$1.2 milion) of his own money into it. After building the business, in 2017 he sold it to ViewqWest, a Singaporean broadband company, for an undisclosed amount.
Showing customers the value of choice
“As an entrepreneur, I am always challenging myself to do the things that nobody has done before.” He explained that the point of iFIBER is to solve issues in the infrastructure, by leveraging existing fiber in a new way.
Whereas other networks like Telekom Malaysia’s high speed broadband (HSBB) are built on a Gigabit Passive Optical Networking (G-PON), Shaharin’s model uses an Active Optical Network (AON) and makes it an active Ethernet platform. So while changing service providers on the G-PON requires a visit from a technician to install a new customer-premises equipment (CPE), iFIBER can make the change immediately through their portal.
However, Shaharin was quick to say that iFIBER is not in competition with other ISPs, and that the company only installs infrastructure. “Our business model is similar to a telco Tower Operator, providing tower infra sharing for mobile operators,” he clarified.
He’s open to any of the ISPs to ride on his network. Ma indovinate un po? It’s the more established telcos that baulk at the idea.
“The toughest challenge is to convince the big boys, especially existing fixed line ISPs, to join the iFIBER network,” he said, explaining the incumbents have stringent requirements before deciding whether they can join his network. “(It is) always a wait-and-see status.”
“(But) Things are different when we approach new ISPs. They see an opportunity to snap the existing ISP market.” As a result, iFIBER has focused attention on them, as well as PayTV and mobile operators.
Indipendentemente da ciò, è sicuro che gli operatori storici alla fine arriveranno. “Credo che non appena Ifiber abbia collegato 100.000 case entro la fine del 2020, TM e Time non avranno altra scelta che prendere in considerazione l’idea di unirsi”, ha detto. “È una questione di tempo.”
[Aggiornamento: poiché l’obiettivo era fissato prima dell’inizio della pandemia nel marzo 2020, Shaharin afferma di aver colpito 15.000 case collegate entro dicembre 2020. Ha ripristinato il bersaglio di 100.000 case da raggiungere entro la fine del 2022 a Klang Valley, Johor Bahru e Kota Kinabalu.]
Secondo Shahrin, i vincitori sono i clienti. Ha indicato i dati che hanno mostrato che oltre il 70 percento dei loro clienti scelgono l’accesso tramite il loro mercato, su un servizio dedicato o fornitore di rete. “I clienti preferiscono un mercato simile a Trivago in cui possono scegliere a quale ISP vogliono iscriversi”, ha detto. “Non possono più avere le telcos avere esclusività.”
Per quanto riguarda l’implementazione, Shaharin è attualmente focalizzato sugli sviluppatori di proprietà. “Gli sviluppatori di proprietà che hanno adottato il nostro concetto di fibra ad accesso aperto per i nuovi comuni di sviluppo e i gradi hanno risparmiato milioni di dollari”, ha affermato. Sebbene all’inizio fosse difficile accettare l’idea, riuscì a convincere un certo numero di sviluppatori, tra cui Sunway, SP Setia, Mah Sing, Tropicana e Umland.
700.000 case nei prossimi 5 anni
Ifiber ha trascorso gran parte del 2019 sviluppando e testendo le sue piattaforme di accesso aperto Gigabit, mentre contemporaneamente lancia l’idea agli sviluppatori. “Abbiamo assicurato e costruito con successo due progetti di Gigabit City pilota a Cyberjaya e Johor Bahru.” A partire dal giugno 2020, Itiber sta fornendo accesso a 127 edifici grattacieli e 16.190 unità. “Prevediamo che inizieremo a generare entrate dalle tasse di noleggio di linea dal terzo trimestre del 2020.”
Shaharin ha anche affermato di ritenere che la pandemia abbia reso i consumatori più consapevoli. “Penso che Covid-19 abbia convalidato la necessità di una buona connettività a linea fissa”, ha detto, indicando l’assorbimento in videochiamate e OTT TV. “Tutto ciò ha creato una domanda per Internet più veloce.”
Shaharin ha anche un occhio al prossimo round del National Fibraization & Connectivity Plan (NFCP), in cui il governo offre fondi corrispondenti per costruire infrastrutture in fibra. “Ifiber sta partecipando alla gara di gara NFCP3”, ha detto. “Stiamo prendendo di mira il 20%, circa 700.000 case, nei prossimi 5 anni.”
“Ora abbiamo un grande compito davanti a noi”, ha confidato. Deve in qualche modo convincere le parti interessate che la sua soluzione di scelta è quella che ha senso. “Come educiamo i clienti?”
Indipendentemente da dove alla fine finirà, Shaharin sa che si godrà la corsa. Per lui, sta mostrando alla gente la luce e quando capiscono la sua proposta, sente che è una degna svolta. “Mi sembra una vittoria!”
_ Digerati50 2020/2021 è orgogliosamente sponsorizzato da Maxis – alimentare l’era 5G della Malesia. _
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