IMU Expands Credit Transfer Option for Biomedical Science Students

International Medical University (IMU) recently provided another credit transfer
option for students who have applied for its biomedical science programme, giving
these students an exciting new option to continue their education in an overseas university.
Through this arrangement, credit transfer students from IMU will be required to complete
the first part of their studies in IMU before transferring to University of Strathclyde.
These students will receive academic credit for the subjects they have successfully
completed in IMU and use this towards the completion of their degree. The degree
will then be awarded by University of Strathclyde.


"We are pleased to be able to provide an additional credit transfer option for students
in the biomedical science programme. Providing students with this additional credit
transfer option is an affordable way for IMU students to gain access to a UK education
and towards obtaining an overseas degree," said A/Prof Chen Yu Sui, programme
coordinator of the biomedical science programme at IMU.


The University of Strathclyde was founded in 1796 and is Scotland"s third largest,
with some 14,000 students from more than 90 countries. The University is recognised
as a centre of teaching excellence in Scotland and stands among the best in the world.


A/Prof Chen Yu Sui added, "Without doubt, this arrangement would offer vast benefits
to them as it uniquely allows students to experience the learning environments
of two leading universities in Malaysia and the UK. Another benefit for the
students is the discovery and understanding of cultures from around the world
as this is a critical component for a
healthcare professional. This is certainly one of the reasons for us to continuously
look for additional transfer options for students and part of its ongoing mission to train
and promote excellence in the healthcare industry."


University of Strathclyde has been a member of IMU"s network of partner universities
for more than 10 years. Prior to this, the university has collaborative and
credit transfer arrangements with IMU for its pharmacy and psychology
programmes. With this
collaboration, University of Strathclyde will be expanding the number
of IMU
programmes that the university is having collaborative agreements.


In addition to the credit transfer option with the University of Strathclyde, students
applying for the biomedical science programme also have the opportunity to transfer
the credits that they have earned in IMU to the University of Otago in New Zealand or
University of Newcastle in Australia after successful completion of the first part of their
course in IMU. Students also have the option to complete the entire biomedical science
degree in IMU and obtain a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Biomedical Science from IMU.

AIMST Produces Quality ICT Graduates

THREE to four decades ago, nobody could have imagined that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) would bring tremendous changes to our lives.

ICT is vital in many sectors such as banking and commerce, marketing, health care services, communications, entertainment, transportation, natural resources management, waste management, robotics and manufacturing and space exploration.

AIMST's degree programmes in Computer Science and Information Technology are designed to meet the challenges in the current ICT trend.

A three-year degree programme in Computer Science, with a specialisation either in software engineering, networking or multimedia is blended with other engineering flavour to produce graduates who can meet the current industrial requirements.

Apart from this degree programme, AIMST also offers three degree programmes in Information Technology: Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems), Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) and Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems).

The Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems) programme

is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of managing complex information systems.

The Bachelor of Information Technology (Management) programme is aimed at producing graduates who are capable of using, designing, developing and managing complex information systems in a business organisation.

The Bachelor of Information Technology (Multimedia Systems) programme will enable students to gain insight into more aesthetic aspects of modern multimedia system implementations.

Besides these degree programmes, AIMST also offers a two-and-a- half year diploma programme in computer networking

UTP: Workshop on Securing Research Funding and Grants

Research Enterprise Office (REO) had organized and conducted a one-day workshop on 25th November 2009 for staff and students on the opportunity to secure funding and grants from Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, a company wholly funded by Ministry of Finance. One of the grants introduced by Cradle Fund is the University Cradle Investment Programme Catalyst (U-CIP Catalyst). This grant is specifically targeted to researchers and/ or inventors and students of research institutes, private and public universities, colleges and institutes of higher education in Malaysia. The objective of U-CIP Catalyst is to assist researchers/or inventors to commercialize their invention into marketable products, technologies or services by providing pre-seed funding of between RM50,000 to RM150,000 over a period of 4-12 months. The fund covers the development of prototypes, proof of concepts, business plans, IP search and registration, surveys and other expenses related to the product development.

Speakers from Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, Mr Kenny Mah and Ms Syazwani Ismail urged the staff and students to apply for this grants online via www.cradle.com.my as the grant will assist them into transforming their invention into commercially viable products. They added that the grants focus on both ICT and non-ICT ideas and other interesting ideas with strong innovative technology-related component in any industry that has a strong commercial value and will be beneficial to Malaysians, the economy and the world, will also be considered. Besides offering grants, the company also provides advisory support to inventors, industry mentoring programme, and other services related to personal development and competencies.

Tn Hj Azminuddin, Senior Manager REO in his opening remarks reiterated the importance of U-CIP Catalyst to assist the university in achieving its targets of becoming a Research University by 2013 by producing more inventions and products into the market. .The U-CIP Catalyst grant can be an alternative to other funds as it is easily available and the fund itself covers product which is close to being market-ready. He also encouraged graduating students to apply for the grant and develop their invention into marketable product which can also leading them to become an entrepreneur by establishing their own company. This aspiration suits well with the university’s mission of producing a well-rounded graduate, and the future leaders of the industry.

UNIMAS Upgrades its Internet Access Capacity

THE increased application of information communications technology is one of the cornerstones of the Educational Development Masterplan 2006-2010 under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.


In line with this, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has signed an agreement with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to implement a major upgrade of UNIMAS' Internet leased line capacity from the current 8Mbps to 34Mbps by June 1.


This increase in Internet access capacity will meet the administration, study and research requirements of 7,500 UNIMAS students and staff.


TM has been the primary Internet connectivity provider to UNIMAS since 2003, and currently provides its tmnet direct solution to UNIMAS via a dedicated link.


UNIMAS was TM's first tmnet direct customer among institutions of higher learning in the country.


Founded in 1992, UNIMAS is the eighth public university in Malaysia and the first in Sarawak. It currently hosts 19 faculties, institutes and centres in a wide variety of study and research areas, including computer science and information technology, resource science and technology, as well as biodiversity and environmental conservation

FSKTM Students Represented UPM in Imagine Cup

Three students from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (FSKTM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), were selected to represent UPM at the 2011 Malaysia Imagine Cup competition recently.

Mohamad Najib Basery, The Green P

The FSKTM team is led by their mentors, Dr. Lili Nurliyana Abdullah, Dr. Razali Yaakob and Dr. Rohaya Latip.

Namely the Green P, they created the 'Botanic Sustainability Smart System', a web based software to identify the type of soil and suitable plants that can be planted with it.

A second year student in Bachelor of Computer Science (Computer Networks), Mohamad Najib said the idea to develop the software was drawn from the famine situation in Africa. Thus we are inspired to help them in identifying suitable crops for their land.

"It took us almost two months to develop this system as well as data collected from the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry (MOA), Institute for Research and Development Institute (MARDI) and assisted by Prof. Dr. Kamaruzaman Joseph from the Faculty of Forestry, "he said at the Malaysia 2011 Imagine Cup competition at the Pullman Hotel, Kuching.

In addition, the system is able to analyze the crop price index, which enables those involved in the agricultural industry to determine their budget in order to initiate agricultural projects.

Meanwhile, WASPending developed software that combines the teaching of general knowledge, science and math, and also a hero character as well as focused history for students aged 10 to 12 years old.

WASPending team leader, Wong Ching Yee said the system called 'Challenge the Difference "was developed in the form of games and educational software.

"I hope that this software will draw attention from the children’s education related industry," he said.

His friend, Tan Wee Chong, a final year student of Bachelor of Computer Science (Software Engineering) from The Frontiers said his group developed 'The 1 Cent Project' a micro donation system that integrates with telecommunication companies to further promote the culture of giving among students.

"Students can donate as low as one cent, and the use of the software can be promoted by the telecommunications company as a community service program (CSR).

"By using this system, users can select their donation to be distributed for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the amount to be donated and the identification number and the data will be verified by the telecommunication companies after obtaining confirmation," he said.

The 2011 Imagine Cup is a technology competition between the students of the Institution of Higher Education in promoting solutions to global problems.

The competition aims to produce talented students in the world of software designers, programmers, game developers and digital media enthusiasts and simultaneously addressing issues related to humanitarian assistance, poverty, education, disease control, health, environment and global issues.

UNITAR CIFAL Shanghai concludes Smart Cities training to build capacities in ICT For Developing Countries

From July 6-26, CIFAL Shanghai, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the P.R. of China, hosted its third training programme of 2011, with a focus on information and communications technology (ICT) services to build Smart Cities.

The 20-day training brought 38 participants from 24 countries, covering Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Latin America and Caribbean regions to explore not only Chinese development of integrated ICT services in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Beijing, but also to compare and discuss country to country experiences in achieving digital inclusion and modernized ICT services for all urban populations.

Participants hailed from Ministries of Information and Communication, Ministries of Interior, Finance and Planning, National Research Institutes, Parliaments, Local governments and more; and were from countries as varied as Egypt, Chile, Uganda, Nigeria, Tonga, Viet Nam, Albania and more.

The training opened with a focus on the City of Shanghai, showcasing the scaling up ICT services throughout the mega-city, and the how tos of investing in a "Digital Shanghai," as well as how investing in digital inclusion and digital literacy has exponential economic growth benefits for all. Participants had the chance to discuss and compare their own local development plans and how they address ICT planning and delivery, with that of Shanghai's past and present plans.

On day 7 of the training, all participants were moved to Beijing to visit IBM offices and its Cloud-Computing Centre, learning firsthand about how cloud computing can provide a low-cost solutions for ICT infrastructure and the extension of services for public and business users. Participants also had site visits to Lenovo Group's Beijing Innovation Centre, visiting the birthplace of Lenovo and learning about Lenovo Mobile Communications Technology.

Participants also had various lectures from leading Chinese companies in ICT services, such as Neusoft Corporation, noting the growth in Chinese public-private corporations in ICT research and development, consumer products, and services delivery, as well as the role of government in promoting Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) growth and business development in ICT. To learn about the role of ICT in delivering online media for "netizens", participants also had a site visit to People's Daily Online (one of the country's leading online news sites since 1998http://english.peopledaily.com.cn). Finally, participants visited China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to learn firsthand about China's Informatization Development Strategy.

With a short pause to visit the Great Wall of China, participants were next taken to Hangzhou, the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, to visitHangzhou's Hi-tech Industry Development Zone, to attract e-Commerce companies from abroad, the park has a complete range of infrastructure, which has been constructed in accordance with the new city plan and all complementary basic services.

Participants then returned to Shanghai, learning about spillover development in satellite cities such as Wuxi, and ICT inclusion and upgrading for underdeveloped districts such as Fenxiang District in Shanghai.

With a wealth of examples of Eastern China's rapid informatization and how this is linked to effective local development planning, strategies, and financing, participants had a chance to gather a comprehensive view of how ICT investments extend to and can improve everything from disaster preparedness, health services, transport, job creation, to the general wealth and digital literacy of their populations.

UMP To Develop IT Product with 6 Firms

KUANTAN: UMP Holdings Sdn Bhd, the business arm of Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), signed a memorandum of understanding with six companies to pave the way for collaboration to develop an information technology-based product.

It was UMP Holdings’ first commercial collaboration with the private sector.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said the product, an integrated management system called E-Management Enterprise Solution, was commercialised after it was developed by a UMP lecturers.

“It was developed by a team from the Computer Science and Software Engineering Faculty led by project manager Prof Madya Wan Maseri Wan Mohd,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony at the UMP campus in Gambang here on Thursday.

Also present was UMP vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Daing Nasir Ibrahim.

Abdul Aziz said that more business ventures were expected this year and the university had the right workforce and resources to develop marketable products.

He said that a good response had been received from publicity campaigns at state departments and agencies.

On other business plans, Abdul Aziz said that UMP Holdings would meet Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob to explore the possibility of working on matters pertaining to information technology.

In his speech, Abdul Aziz said the product was a management and administration solutions provider to minimise time and labour costs.

The companies that signed the MoU were Fifway System Sdn Bhd, MH Equal Management Sdn Bhd, Century Software Sdn Bhd, Casa Inovasi Sdn Bhd, Encoral Digital Solution Sdn Bhd and Maxima System Consultant Sdn Bhd.

The E-Management Enterprise Solution received a quality award under the information technology category from the Malaysian Modernisation and Management Planning Unit in 2004.

Sharing Technology - Sunway University College

A GROUP of 26 students from the School of Computer Technology at Sunway University College donated 17 units of desktop computers to an orang asli community in Kampung Jelintuh, Perak as part of their community service project.

The donations were made in two separate visits over eight months, during which the students installed the computers at the village’s community centre (balai rakyat)and provided some basic lessons to the children and adults there.

Receiving the computers on behalf of the community was Penghulu Ba Ayyeh.

The community project adviser Johnny Savarimuthu said: “This is a milestone event for the orang asli community in Malaysia as it is the first time that a donation of computers has been made to them.”

The college students posing with the orang asli children after setting up the new computers.

Current project advisor Christopher Ong added: “We will continue to work with and support the orang asli in order to provide more opportunities and access to the latest technologies.”

Although the project involved a lot of time and effort on top of their academic commitments, the students involved in the project were enthusiastic about giving something back to the community.

“This is a truly remarkable and new experience for me. It gave me an insight into the orang asli community, said student Hasan-Ul-Mokaddes from Bangladesh.

“I was touched by their hospitality and their eagerness to learn about computers.”

His coursemate, Joseph Gangadaran said: “There are still a lot of people in Malaysia that have missed out on technology and I am really glad we had a chance to help.

“Through this project, we learnt to work as a team and it was a great learning experience too.”

The computers were donated by the college’s School of Computer Technology.

The costs of travelling and accessories for the installation were covered by a fund raising lunch organised by the students.

The students also raised additional funds through a recent Tea and Fashion Show for computer classes for the orang asli, which will be provided by the Shalom Community Centre in Gopeng.

Launch of first WTF Newsletter (SEGi University College)

On the 12th of August 2011, the School of Communication Studies (SoCS), SEGi University College officially launched its first student newsletter. This annual newsletter which is spearheaded by the communication club, FOURSEGi, is named ‘Welcome to FOURSEGi’, or ‘WTF’ in short.

Ms. Zarina Zawawi, the Course lecturer cum Programme Coordinator of SoCS, unveiled the newsletter at the launch. With the help of Ms. Ung Wei Yenn, the public relations lecturer of SoCS, Bethany Teoh, who is also the editor created this newsletter, serving as an information hub for the students about the latest happenings in SEGi University College. It will feature updates on events around campus, a guide for new students, entertainment news and also a column for students to voice out their ideas and opinions.

“The newsletter provides Mass Communication students with the opportunity to practice journalistic writing and appreciate the existence of the print media. At SEGi University College, we are dedicated to provide education that is passion guided and industry driven,” said Faisal Ibrahim, the Head of SoCS.

To celebrate the victories of our forefather’s as youths of Malaysia, the theme for the inaugural issue of WTF is ‘Merdeka Day’. In conjunction with the launch of the newsletter, Fazrul Sher B. Mohamaed Rafique, a Mass Communication diploma student was announced as Mr. ‘WTF’.

Chosen based on several characteristics including ‘responsible’, ‘outspoken’ and an ‘exemplary role model’, Mr. ‘WTF’ will act as spokesperson to the newsletter. The selection was based on votes from SoCS students. Fazrul Sher was also featured in the cover story of the newsletter.

The first 40 students who registered at the launch received a copy of the brand new newsletter. Grab your copy today!

Integrating Wireless Technology in Business

1.0 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi)                                                                                                            Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi refers to wireless networking technology that allows computers and other devices to communicate over a wireless signal. . It describes all network components that are based on one of the 802.11 standards, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. These standards were developed by the IEEE and adopted by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which trademarked the name "Wi-Fi".

Nowadays, Wi-Fi is used in computer to connect to internet network. Nearly all computers now have a built-in Wi-Fi card that allows users to search for and connect to wireless routers. Many mobile devices, video game systems, and other devices such as I-Phone also include Wi-Fi capability, enabling them to connect to wireless networks as well. These devices may be able to connect to the Internet using a Wi-Fi signal. However, it is important to understand that the Wi-Fi connection only exists between the device and the router. Most routers are connected to a DSL or cable modem, which provides Internet access to all connected devices.

With Wi-Fi nowadays, people easily get to search for the real and newest information on the internet anytime and anywhere where the connection is available.

2.0    Business Drivers for Wireless Technologies

The business industries are going full force with the invention of wireless technologies. Companies worldwide are going wireless to increase productivity, speed delivery to market, and reduce operating costs. Wireless transmissions rely on radio waves, microwaves, and satellites to send data across high frequency radio ranges that later connect to wired media.

The word mobile and wireless is always link to each other, but actually both technologies have different usage. Mobile technology is a collective term used to describe the various types of cellular communication technology while wireless provides users with internet server connection via satellite.

Besides that, the growing use of 3G modem-equipped smart phones and PDAs offers one way to tap into broadband cellular networks by tethering via Bluetooth or USB cable the device to a notebook computer, which can use the phone’s modem to transfer data via wireless. This function, too, has limitations. Initially, some service providers were hostile to tethering efforts and handcuffed devices in efforts to curtail their use. Users also seem to have mixed and inconsistent results with the process, which can require complex configuration and activation steps.

  

3.0    Advantages of Enterprise Mobility

 Enterprise mobility presents opportunities to the business world and challenges to CIOs. Opportunities can be found in new capabilities and applications that will reshape business models empower workers, improve collaboration, help to better manage customer relationships and drive consumer loyalty. CIO challenges include the provisioning, security and ongoing management of these devices.

Furthermore, new mobile applications will enable enterprises to change the way they do business with their employees, partners and consumers. Enterprise mobility can improve an organization’s productivity, optimize logistics operations, manage customer relations and streamline supply chain management. New mobile applications provide sales staff with updated information about their customers and new ways for field forces to work more effectively. By enabling employees to work from anywhere, businesses can also lower individuals’ carbon footprints and improve worker productivity. These applications have made mobility a fact of life for many workers.

Nowadays, there are 3 technologies that influenced business mobility that is Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFID), and Satellites.

3.1  Bluetooth

Bluetooth wireless technology is simple, secure and everywhere. It enables wireless connections between huge varieties of devices. Bluetooth technology is built into everything from phones to medical devices; letting you talk, send vital information, listen to music and much more, all without wires. The key features of Bluetooth technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. The Bluetooth Specification defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other.

When two Bluetooth enabled devices connect to each other, this is called pairing. The structure and the global acceptance of Bluetooth technology means any Bluetooth enabled device, almost everywhere in the world, can connect to other Bluetooth enabled devices located in proximity to one another.

3.1.1    Range

Range is application specific and although a minimum range is mandated by the Core Specification, there is not a limit and manufacturers can tune their implementation to support the use case they are enabling.

Range may vary depending on class of radio used in an implementation:

    * Class 3 radios – have a range of up to 1 meter or 3 feet

    * Class 2 radios – most commonly found in mobile devices – have a range    of 10 meters or 33 feet

    * Class 1 radios – used primarily in industrial use cases – have a range of 100 meters or 300 feet

 

3.2  RFID

RFID is under Automatic Identification Systems (AISs) which it is superior to bar codes with respect to its technical capability of reading multiple items at a time. The object identification process via RFID is automatic because objects can communicate with each other without human intervention. Active tags have a battery attached that can extend the reading range. RFID tags can withstand harsh conditions. Therefore, management can creatively apply RFID technology in a much wider range of application such as hospital and transportation.

Strategic business values of RFID applications also have business intelligence and security perspectives. The major focus of RFID applications is on the automation of existing barcode-based tracking features. An organization can deliver greater business values by creating a borderless supply chain.

Finally, there are challenges embracing the introduction and development of the RFID system. For example, certain packaging materials and package contents have the effect of erratically reflecting, absorbing or otherwise detuning radio waves. In such cases, what might have been a single application at the beginning of a project becomes more complex and may require a definite technology while permitting specific alternatives with trading partner agreements.

3.3  Satellite

                In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.

Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through satellites. The service can be provided to users world-wide through low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Geostationary satellites can offer higher data speeds, but their signals cannot reach some polar regions of the world. Different types of satellite systems have a wide range of different features and technical limitations, which can greatly affect their usefulness and performance in specific applications.         

3.3.1         Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S.-owned utility that provides users with positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) services. This system consists of three segments: the space segment, the control segment, and the user segment. The U.S. Air Force develops, maintains, and operates the space and control segments. GPS satellites provide service to civilian and military users. The civilian service is freely available to all users on a continuous, worldwide basis. The military service is available to U.S. and allied armed forces as well as approved Government agencies.

The outstanding performance of GPS over many years has earned the confidence of millions of civil users worldwide. It has proven its dependability in the past and promises to be of benefit to users, throughout the world, far into the future. For the future of GPS, the United States is committed to an extensive modernization program, including the implementation of a second and a third civil signal on GPS satellites. The second civil signal will improve the accuracy of the civilian service and support some safety-of-life applications. The third signal will further enhance civilian capability and is primarily designed for safety-of-life applications, such as aviation.

3.3.2    Geographic Information System (GIS)

    

  A geographic information system (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.GIS allows us to view, understand, question, interpret, and visualize data in many ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts. A GIS helps you answer questions and solve problems by looking at your data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared.GIS technology can be integrated into any enterprise information system framework.

Geography is the science of our world.  Coupled with GIS, geography is helping us to better understand the earth and apply geographic knowledge to a host of human activities. The outcome is the emergence of The Geographic Approach, a new way of thinking and problem solving that integrates geographic information into how we understand and manage our planet. This approach allows us to create geographic knowledge by measuring the earth, organizing this data, and analyzing and modelling various processes and their relationships. The Geographic Approach also allows us to apply this knowledge to the way we design, plan, and change our world.

GIS benefits organizations of all sizes and in almost every industry. There is a growing awareness of the economic and strategic value of GIS. The benefits of GIS generally fall into five basic categories:

·       Cost Savings and Increased Efficiency

·       Better Decision Making

·       Improved Communication

·       Better Recordkeeping

·       Managing Geographically

4.0  The Future of Wireless

Wireless Communications touches the lives of more than two-thirds of the world population. It is an ever evolving field and has been one of the fastest growing technology sectors from a consumer, business and research perspective. In this article, I have tried to put together a few trends that could define the direction of the wireless world in the next few years. Some of the aspects have been specifically analyzed from the US industry perspective. The target audiences for this article are the professionals and businesses new to the field of wireless and students looking to specialize in this area.

For over twenty-five years, the wireless industry has delivered value to consumers by investing and innovating in technology and business models for voice and data services. Today, network operators, device manufacturers and their supply ecosystems, are in the midst of a deep seismic change as consumers migrate strongly towards content and services provided by web and digital media brands. Given the growing high quality, high-bandwidth, wide-area coverage, how will operators change to remain successful; and how will they continue to make acceptable ROI while investing in tomorrow's networks? With operating systems, user experience and content ecosystems driving the device agenda, what is the future for manufacturers in this reshaped landscape? How can they innovate and adapt for an internet driven future?

P1 WiMAX

Acknowledgement

Bissmillahirrahmanirrahim

Alhamdulillah. Thanks to Allah SWT, who with His willing have given us the opportunity to complete this Group Project. Our group had decided to choose P1 WiMAX as our research industry. This group project report was prepared for course MGT 300 Information Technology in Management, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Firstly, we would like to express our deepest thanks to, Tuan Syed Mazlan b Syed Mat Dom, a lecturer at UiTM and also assign, as my supervisor who had guided be a lot of task during this assignment. We also want to thanks the lecturers and staffs of UiTM for their cooperation during us complete the project that had given valuable information, suggestions and guidance in the compilation and preparation this group project report.

Deepest thanks and appreciation to our friends for their cooperation, encouragement, constructive suggestion and full of support for the report completion, from the beginning till the end. Last but not least, our thanks to UiTM and our lecturer, Tuan Syed Mazlan b Syed Mat Dom for great commitment and cooperation during our Group Project.

1.0 Introduction

Today’s life is being changed step by step very thanks to the evolution of telecommunication industry. Internet, broadband and mobile technology has become the part of daily life that people cannot live without. The requirements of portable, mobile and high speed connectivity are increasing rapidly. Services such as wireless VOIP, IPTV, streaming media and interactive gaming need to be supported with broadband access.

 3G has been serving mobile market for some years, and it is still an expensive voice service and lacks the strong capacity to support data service. At present, significant mobile operators, service providers and other actors in telecom industry are looking for the way to build up high speed but cost-effective broadband wireless access (BWA). The user demands of broadband wireless access service with high speed, low cost, and flexible mobile connectivity has been increasing dramatically. Current access mode generally includes DSL fixed access, Wi-Fi fixed wireless hotspots access and 2G/2.5G/3G wireless mobile access. The emerging of WiMAX has become another remarkable access technology which could provide both fixed and mobile connectivity through high performance system. This technology shows us a seamless communication world; at least, we are heading towards this direction.

WiMAX technology could provide “Last mile” solution, which might end the monopolization station of DSL and Cable access mode, because WiMAX could provide well fixed wireless broadband access as good as or even better than DSL and Cable mode. WiMAX has been regarded as the next milestone of BWA (broadband wireless access) technology. It does not only provide fixed access, but also provides mobile access just like 3G does. It has also been considered as the complement or even the replacement of 3G applications. WiMAX shows great advantages over the technologies in current wireless and mobile telecommunication market. In recent two or three years, WiMAX has become one of the hottest topics in telecom industry. The absorbing specification defined by IEEE802.16 has been attracting around four hundred market actors to form WiMAX forum to prompt the development of this technology.

 WiMAX rises up competition with other adjacent technologies such as Wi-Fi, DSL and 3G. WiMAX and all others are more or less the same from technology and market aspects. Whether their relationship should be opposite against each other or coexisting is an interesting topic, which is worthy of a discussion. The WiMAX technology is now recognized as being a 4G technology by the International Telecommunication Union, and Malaysia’s own P1 is really happy about it. P1 is the only WiMAX operator in Southeast Asia and we can expect to see advertisements boasting that they were first with 4G technology. For the most part of 2010, there had been some debate in the industry internationally as to whether WiMAX should be referred to as 4G technology, despite many operators across the globe using the term. The ITU had previously maintained that only IMT-Advanced technologies such as 802.16m were considered to be 4G. P1 and other WiMAX licensees in Malaysia operate on 802.16e 2.3GHz WiMAX. P1 has invested approximately RM650 million on its nationwide rollout over the past two years and now covers 45% of the Malaysian population. With over 218, 000 subscribers, P1 have the largest network in the country and aims to cover 65% of the population by 2012.

1.0         Body

1.1          Marketing Objectives

The Marketing Objectives for this plan would be listed below:

a) To increase to 10% market share to subscribe the P1 WiMax Wiggy at the end of 3   month period.

-Currently, P1 has 80,000 subscribers; this plan would double the amount to 160,000   subscribers by using Wiggy. 

b) To increase 30% awareness of the company’s position and brand to the mind of the consumers   age 18-30.

1.2         Marketing Strategies

1.2.1      Untapped Segment & Brand Awareness

As a new company, adopting a head on strategy with giant competitors will create price war. The best strategy to adopt is by using a blue ocean strategy that is to make the competitor irrelevant and to create an uncontested market place. This can be done by value creation to the Wiggy by targeting segments which is not yet being focused by others. Firstly the target market that can be captured is the college and universities students. However, it is important to have a specific student package that dedicates to serve the needs and wants of student and most importantly to create value for money. Secondly, is by introducing the first internet service provider by to adopt the prepaid payment system. A prepaid system can ensure higher return because people will constantly reload their Wiggy. This will compliment the first strategy because we know that students often reload their hand phone. To create brand awareness, this will require mass media. The use of newspaper, television advertisements are important to remind the consumers on P1 latest package. Road shows are the best way to reach the students. The road show will reach areas such as universities/colleges and exhibition in shopping malls and other attractions across peninsular Malaysia. The road shows will explain on the student primarily on the student package.

However, not many students will subscribe to P1’s Wiggy on a road show basis because they will to think and ask their parents for approval etc. Thus when they decided to subscribe, they will have to find the P1 booth and this might be hard. As we know, P1does not have a physical outlet like Maxis, Celcom and DiGi. Thus the strategy to overcome the issue is by selling the Wiggy start up package in selected 7elevens. This also will compliment the prepaid system strategy. Overall, these strategies are interconnected and will complement each other to achieve the target objective stated above.

1.1          Segmentations and Positioning

Segmentation is a process of separating customers into groups with different characteristics, behavior and needs. There are many types of buyers with different needs and wants thus it’s easier to build a profile by segmenting them. Some of the bases for segmentations for consumer markets are geographic, psychological, socio-cultural, user related, psychographic, benefit and hybrid segmentations.

The Wiggy, has three main segmentation bases will be used. Firstly, demographic factors is the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups because it helps locate the target market and customers needs and wants. The second base is the user situation segmentation that is to understand the objectives, surf location and duration (time) of using the internet. This segment is relevant to the benefits sought for product because the usage of the product is affected by the time and location that it is going to be applied. P1 can use this indicator influence the consumers to use Wiggy to match to their usage. They can instill the notion the suitability of Wiggy in certain situation. Finally the third segmentation base is psychographic/lifestyle segmentation is basically dividing market into the basis of lifestyle and personality. An individual consumer’s lifestyle and personality is different however based on their demographic profile, they sometimes resemble similar taste on brands or product.

Positioning is all about how a company wants to be different in the market place.P1 has to position themselves in the mind of consumer as a high speed broadband service. In this case P1 has positioned to make broadband a right for all Malaysians, to deliver the commitment, the rapid and quality deployment of the P1 WiMAX network is crucial.

 It’s quite difficult to change the impression after it is formed thus the easiest way to get into the consumers mind is to be the first. As for P1, they the first to introduce WiMAX technology are the first but in terms of other broadband providers they are relatively new. In an over communicated environment, the message that P1 should focus on is to present a simplified message and make them consistent with what consumer really believe. Consumers will simply shut out any inconsistent with their knowledge and experience. Consumers preferred on two criteria; service quality (speed & stability) and price (value for money).

Effective WiMAX Positioning

P1 positions WiMAX as a 4G technology that is superior to current 3G technology, specifically pointing to its WIGGY portable WiMAX on the go as an example. Good, convenient broadband service at a competitive price makes the choice for consumers easy. In fact, Malaysia is known as a WiMAX country thanks in large part to government education on the technology to the point that other mobile broadband technologies are very seldom talked about in the media. P1 believes that this is an affirmation of its aggressive positioning of WiMAX as it builds out coverage positioning that is so successful that consumers are demanding to know when the service will be available in their area.

1.1          P1 Marketing Tactics

2.4.1 Promotion

Promotion is communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying your products or services. Promotion are refers to the set of planned activities used to communicate a product or services merits and persuade the target market to purchase it. This basically refers to the activities of P1 WiMAX will use to inform the publican the Wiggy’s values as well as persuade the target audience to try or purchase the Wiggy portable modem USB broadband.

2.4.2 Place

In order to increase availability and distribution, the distribution and convenience of 7 to 11 outlets will be capitalized on. The prepaid cards will be made available at the 7 to 11 convenience stores that are within coverage. Only 100 outlets in major cities and towns under coverage will participate as a trial run to see if this plan will help achieve the goals and objectives of increasing awareness and usage. Not only will the outlets be a form of promotion, letting the public know where P1WiMAX has coverage, but it is also increase the convenience of the product. Users will easily have access to easy reloads and be able to use the service whenever and wherever they need it.

As convenience increases, so does the attractiveness. Outlets that carry the prepaid cards will have a large bright purple sticker bearing the words P1WiMAX available here (name of place). As the P1 WiMAX coverage increases, so does the number of 7 to 11 outlets carrying the reloads. This will help build the brand as it will reinforce the message of convenience and Anytime, Anywhere´ as explained below because there are so many 7 to 11 outlets and they are opened 24 hours daily. As this message sinks in, the public will begin to know about Wiggy as well as consider it when they want to choose a portable broadband service provider.

2.4.3 Events

Event marketing will be carried out in order to boost awareness, trial and purchase of the Wiggy. Events refer to entertainment occasions performed in front of a live audience that displays a unique picture of how a product or service can be promoted through different mediums. Events carried out are road shows in different areas. These events expose the target audience and provide direct contact with the sales staff as well as experience the service. The Wiggy road show will hit middle class malls such as 1 Utama and Mid Valley Megamall shopping centre and private education institutions such as Sunway University College. This is only held in universities between Mondays to Thursdays while the weekends will be reserved for malls. It will progress from zone to zone, such as Kuala Lumpur and Gurney Drive. Two teams simultaneously hit two different spots each in each zone a day during the weekdays and one team for the weekend.

When they leave the area, a kiosk and several promoters will be set up if there is none nearby for potential customers to enquire for more information or subscribe to the service. The road show will be held in states where P1WiMAX has coverage. The current locations can be referred under the implementation section. Each weekend team has a 10 person staff while the weekday team consists of 5 members and a large Wiggy mobile transport them from place to place. The ‘Wiggy mobile´ are painted with the P1WiMAX colors and logo. In order to attract more attention to the event and service, the staff will wear purple or green polo shirts bearing the P1WiMAX logo with coordinating facemasks bearing a large picture of the Wiggy device and announcements made by an emcee and the mall’s announcer.

 For further Promotion and advertising, large banners and posters will be used on site with several smaller posters of Wiggy devices on bright purple or green backgrounds will be posted up in the surrounding area to direct the flow to the event. The road show events cover a speed test and stability challenge. In the speed test, potential customers are challenged to test out the Wiggy service by surfing the net, downloading a song or streaming a video on the 3 laptops set up, each plugged in with the Wiggy USB modem, manned by one promoter each. In the stability test, several potential customers are given half an hour to play an online game from local and international servers. At the same time, the other promoters will hand out brochures, attend to enquiries and handle on-the-spot subscriptions. Lastly, a lucky draw contest is held for those who subscribe on-the-spot. They are given a chance to win one out of three 3-month rebates for normal package subscriptions weekly. The serial number of the purchased set will be used for the computer to generate the lucky draw winner.

2.4.4 Advertising

An advertising campaign based using a unique selling proposition (USP) message is how this product will be conveyed. The unique proposition will be based around the portability attribute of our product. Portability is clearly the aspect of P1WiMax that differentiates it from the competition, and as it has been identified P1WiMax are in a process to build Invest stage, our campaign should emphasize our strengths. An advertising campaign based using a unique selling proposition (USP) message is how this product will be conveyed.

The unique proposition will be based around the portability attribute of our product. Portability is clearly the aspect of P1WiMax that differentiates it from the competition, and as it has been identified P1WiMax are in a process to build Invest stage, our campaign should emphasizes our strengths. The advertising campaign will feature three conventional forms of media, Television, Newspapers and Magazines. The print advertisements will feature in Newspapers such as The Star, News Strait Times, Berita Harian and Sin Chew Jit Poh. The television advertisements will be shown on free-to-air television channels as to gain maximum exposure. The advertisements will use both rational and emotional techniques, with rational being the dominant technique. The main execution will be a demonstration type feel, showing the product working indifferent areas.

Utilizing demonstration on a television ad is hugely beneficial as demonstration is the strongest technique for television. The passive tone in the advertisement will be humor, lightening the ad, making it more appealing to the target market. The advertisements that will be shown on television will carry over to the print advertisements, keeping a cohesive message throughout the campaign. Screenshots from the television ads will form the basis of the print advertisements, with the print advertisements containing more specific information to set them apart. The mediums are chosen because they have large reach and the target audience is aligned with the chosen target market for this promotion, students and young working adults. 

2.4.4.1 Television

The television advertisement will be heavily focused on visuals, with only slight inaudible audio tunes ringing in the background. There will be no words spoken until the end message. The visuals in the commercial will show Malaysians enjoying wireless broadband internet access indifferent areas around Malaysia where P1WiMax enjoy coverage. Six places have been singled out for the purpose of this commercial; The Petronas Towers, Petaling Street (Chinatown), Bangsar, Butterworth, Batu Caves and Sunway Pyramid. The rationale behind this is clear, anywhere, anytime. By showing places in and around the city centre appeals greatly to the target market because they see coverage is wide. The shot in Butterworth shows the expansion P1WiMax are making into more regional centers.

The commercial opens with a shot of two people, a boy and a girl in their late teens holding hands. The setting in this first shot is Bangsar. The boy has a negative body position and looks unhappy, whilst the girl is dragging him into what appears to be another Bangsar clothing boutique. As the girl goes into the boutique, the boy finds a place to sit, takes his computer out and starts using the internet, at this point his body position relaxes and a smile spreads over his face. This scene is meant to be taken lightly, and is the humorous opening of the advertisement.

2.4.4.2 Magazines/Newspaper

As stated previously, the printed advertisement will keep in cohesion with the television commercials. There will be six varieties of printed advertisement, comprising one screenshot taken from each of the six scenes in the television commercial. The ability to convey the same message as the television commercials is a luxury not often afforded. The message being wherever you are, if you’re with Wiggy you will be able to connect to the internet. By showing the six various characters with their respective backgrounds the message still reaches the audience. To give each character a personal feel, and enable the audience to gain more of a connection with the characters, a tagline on each ad will feature the; name, age, profession and location. For example:

 David, 18. Student. Bangsar

 These print advertisement, in combination with the television commercials are intended to form a connection with the audience. The three mediums of media working in tandem are able to realize different advantages. The magazine print advertisements are at a higher quality, and can feature more information; it also has a greater sense of longevity. The Newspaper print advertisements are low cost, high coverage and can be placed in appropriate places like the technology section. Finally the television commercial enjoys mass coverage, with greater impact and high reach.

2.5          Porter’s 5 Forces Model

In this evaluation, we have also discovered a near environmental analysis which the company is highlighting the Porter’s 5 Forces Model in order to verify its industry’s attractiveness factors. 

2.5.1   Rivalry among Existing Competitors

One of the forces is rivalry among existing competitors or firms. The competition within industry is high and fierce in the market. Rivalry comes into action when there are close substitute products offered by firms in the same industry. P1 WiMAX’s close competitors are basically Maxis Broadband, Celcom Broadband and DiGi Broadband. These broadband companies in Malaysia offer various attractive packages and internet speed that are always in demand by customers. Nevertheless of these competitive rivalries, P1 WiMAX’s able to gain higher revenue in 2009. This shows that P1 WiMAX can remain competitive, further grow or perhaps be the market leader in future with the WiMAX technology if it takes continuous action to improve. The company needs to come up with better products, packages and improve on its internet speed as well as customer services in order to compete against rising competitors.

2.5.2     Threat of New Entrants

The threat of new entrants is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market and low when there are significant entry barriers to entering a market. Entry barrier means a product or service feature that customers have come to expect from organizations in a particular industry and must be offered by an entering organization to compete and survive.

The threat of new entrants in the broadband industry can be relatively low mainly because it requires high investment cost in coming up with the appropriate technology that fits the products and network system in Malaysia. Next, it is found that there are limited numbers of suppliers that support broadband services in Malaysia. However, there is a very high growing demand for broadband services among consumers, hence it is possible for some new entrants to venture into the broadband industry in near future.

2.5.3    Threat from Substitute Products or Services

The threat of substitute products is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service and low when there are few alternatives to choose from. Switching cost is involved in this threat which it is a cost that can make customers reluctant to switch to another product or services.

It is studied that when a product or service is not easily substituted, it gains a strong market position. There are quite a number of substitute products for P1 WiMAX. For example, customers can always choose to go for wireless internet service such as Streamyx or simply go to cafes such as Starbucks and McDonald’s that has Wi-Fi services for internet connection. To overcome this threat, P1 WiMAX must ensure the best quality of internet connection, speed and service are offered to its customers. At the same time, offering affordable or reasonable price to its customer’s as compared to the alternative products is also important. P1 WiMAX who is relatively new in the market constantly hold promotions and currently set its products at a moderate price level so that most customers can afford and able to enjoy the broadband service at a reasonable price. However, in long term, it seems that P1 WiMAX may be able to eliminate these substitutes as its threat.

2.5.4    Bargaining Power of Suppliers

The supplier power is high when buyers have few choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are many. In this case, P1 WiMAX have low bargaining power with suppliers mainly because there are not many suppliers that provide materials or telecommunications equipments such as the software, networks and communication towers in Malaysia. Finding for suppliers that provide the appropriate technologies for P1 WiMAX could be challenging in Malaysia and the switching cost of suppliers is expected to be very high.

2.5.5   Bargaining Power of Buyers

Bargaining efforts of buyers are based on buyer profitability and switching cost. It is high when buyers have many choices of whom to buy from and low when their choices are few. There are a number of broadband companies in Malaysia as mentioned above, which easily allows P1 WiMAX’s customers to switch to other broadband at anytime with a low switching cost. This shows that P1WiMAX’s buyers have high bargaining power. Therefore, product differentiation in terms of technology used as compared to other players plays a major role in retaining its customers and attracting potential customers. However, bargaining power of buyers basically depends on the supply and demand of products. When there are more buyers, the buyers tend to have more power to influence the sellers in setting up lower prices. It has been said that P1 plans to provide WiMAX coverage to 40% of the population by the end of 2010. It expects to provide WiMAX coverage to 60% of the nation's population including urban, suburban and rural areas within five years. The increasing area coverage may attract more buyers in future, leading the buyers to a higher bargaining power.

3.0        Conclusion

WiMAX could provide high speed, broad coverage and cost-effective fixed and mobile broadband access solution. VoIP, IPTV, backhaul, last mile and rural connectivity are the main usages of WiMAX service. The targeted users include residential, business, and mobile users. Our analysis of technology comparison indicates that it surely have some a restive advantages compare to Wi-Fi, 3G/4G, DSL and Cable technology. But from short-term angle of view, WiMAX would not replace any of these services, since they are defined for different use than WiMAX and already have market-based groundwork in certain degree. The WiMAX ecosystem is a common platform created by all industry players in the WiMAX value chain. WiMAX has well-developed standardization process, through which can also help to gain trust from customers, promote the competition of various vendors, thus lower down the price of product. Both bands have advantages and disadvantages to run WiMAX service upon. To get license spectrum for WiMAX is very costly. The former one brings more benefit for the new innovation technology, in our case, WiMAX. But the cost is reduction of interoperability and compatibility for international roaming. In developed countries, 3G/4G mobile networks are widely deployed There are quite limited market opportunities for WiMAX. It can be adopted as a complementary technology for 3G/4G network, and a cost-effective wireless backhaul solution for sub-urban area. The value proposition of WiMAX in these markets mainly concentrates on extending the coverage of WLAN network to metropolitan area connectivity. Mobile operators should actively deploy licensed mobile WiMAX as complement service of cellular network. Also, service providers can provide WiMAX service for enterprises and high-end users, since WiMAX could offer high transmission speed connectivity at business level, with high flexibility, and low deployment cost. Even though, fixed WiMAX network could not be fully compatible with mobile.

4.0 Recommendation

In this case of P1 WiMAX, the road shows or promotion that they might face is when the allocated destination for the day happens to have unstable connection or even connection down. If this occurs, the road show will not be able to carry out and it will also portray a negative image on P1 Wimax to the prospects. In situation like above, the road show will be move to other destinations that has good coverage. During every road show, the crew will be given a set of destinations as a backup destination. In order to avoid allowing the prospect to know of the situation, as soon as crew members are alerted unstable connection in that area, one Wiggy mobile will leave with the laptops to check out the connection of other destinations that was provided. If this kind of situation really occurred, then the rest of the crew must continue the road show only with the flyers and brochures to attract prospected to learn more about P1 Wimax. The prospects will only perceived that P1 crew is there only to give out flyers and brochures, thus minimizing the negative impression of the people towards P1. As soon as the crews in the Wiggy mobile are able to allocate a destination that has stable connection, the rest of the crew will than migrate and join together to run the full road show with all the programs align.