Acasia set to make inroads into ASEAN telecoms market
Acasia set to make inroads into ASEAN telecoms market
By I. Christianto
SINGAPORE (JP): Acasia Communications Sdn. Bhd, a joint
venture of six major ASEAN telecommunications carriers, is set to
make major inroads into the telecommunications businesses of its
regional and global customers in Southeast Asia.
The new company's chief executive officer, Zamzamzairani Mhd.
Isa, said here yesterday that Acasia, in Kuala Lumpur, offered
corporate customers a portfolio of services including intra-
regional private leased services to support their business
operations in the region and globally.
"In supporting our partners to better serve the increasing
business communications needs of their customers, Acasia will
seek to expand its range of services, with an eye to migrating
toward broadband services in the near future," he said after the
company's official launch.
Zamzamzairani said the partners could also offer a "one-stop-
shop", with any one of them acting as the single point of contact
for customers to design, implement, manage and enhance their
corporate network regionally and globally.
"Acasia is also collaborating with the partners to develop an
ASEAN Internet backbone. When implemented, this will enable
regional Internet traffic to be carried on Acasia's single-
platform network," he said.
He said Acasia had six customers including Motorola, Deutsche
Bank, SBC Warburg and Lintas Arta.
Citibank and another company were expected to subscribe soon,
he said.
The market for value added telecommunications service was now
US$400 million and would reach $600 million in 2001, he said.
Acasia could tap 10 percent of the market share by 2001, he
said.
He said Acasia was incorporated with $8 million. He said it
had awarded a contract to Nortel, a Canadian telecommunications
equipment maker, to build a data network linking six ASEAN
countries.
Acasia is equally owned by Communications Authority of
Thailand, Jabatan Telekom Brunei, PLDT of the Philippines, PT
Indosat of Indonesia, SingTel of Singapore and Telekom Malaysia.
Zamzamzairani said Acasia was formed under the auspices of
ASEAN Telecom Holdings, an alliance of major international
telecommunications carriers of ASEAN which groups Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam.
"Backed by the technological expertise and infrastructure
support from its alliance members, Acasia partners are able to
provide differentiated and cost-effective telecommunications
solutions for regional and foreign-based multi-national companies
in the ASEAN region."
"In short, ASEAN business communications' needs can be
seamlessly served across the region through any one of the Acasia
partners, in other words, one ASEAN, one service," he said.
He said Acasia was still talking with Vietnam
Telecommunications International about its participation in the
alliance.
"Meanwhile we are still waiting for the formal acceptance of
three other countries (Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) in ASEAN, to
invite them to join Acasia."