KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The Malaysia government plans to award three third-generation licenses later this year, and only a few weeks before applications are due, companies are still jostling for partners and alliances for the 3G arena.
Telekom Malaysia, which had earlier this year agreed to jointly bid for a 3G license with DiGi Telecommunications, announced this week it terminated its plans to work with DiGi. Telekom Malaysia last week upped its stake in Cellcom owner Technology Resources Industries and now plans to merge with that operator and jointly bid for a 3G license.
Last week, Telekom Malaysia first purchased a 13-percent stake in TRI for $188.8 million. Later in the week, it upped its holding to about one-third. Deutsche Telekom holds nearly 16 percent of TRI, and Telekom Malaysia is expected to make an offer for the DT stake.
In addition, Time Dotcom also said it plans to apply for a 3G license, although it did not indicate if it will apply with a partner or on its own.
The deadline for submitting applications is May 29. The licenses will be awarded through a “beauty contest” based on six criteria. The government will announce the license winners around the end of July.
