KUALA LUMPUR (WiMAX Day). In Malaysia this week, the Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said he has urged the companies recently awarded licences for WiMAX spectrum to share the cost of building their networks. The first stage roll-out of these networks is expected to reach 25 percent of the targeted population by the end of 2007.

The companies that were awarded licenses for 2.3 GHz spectrum include Asiaspace Dotcom Sdn Bhd, Redtone-CNX Broadband Sdn Bhd, Packet One Networks Sdn Bhd and Bizsurf (M) Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of YTL Corp).

To achieve the roll-out dates, the minister in particular has proposed that the licencees share the use of the towers that hold WiMAX transmitters. “It’s common sense. Why build four different towers when you can just share one?” Dr Lim Keng Yaik told reporters at a press conference.

According to the news agency Bernama, if the companies decide to share their infrastructure, the minister also offered financial assistance from the ministry’s universal service fund. The minister added that “If the companies decide to go on their own, they will have to roll out the cost of the towers themselves.”

The impetus for suggesting a shared infrastructure comes from the ministry’s dissatisfaction over the roll-out of 3G services in Malaysia. The minister said that after two years, not all of the 3G towers that were planned for construction had been completed.

Dr Lim Keng Yaik said that only 60,000 people had subscribed to 3G services in two years, and the poor take-up he partly attributed to the lack of broadcast towers. 3G providers are still building towers, but “this is still inadequate as coverage for some areas is still poor,” he said.

While the proposal by the ministry could have a significant positive impact on the roll-out of WiMAX services, it also may enable the creation of a lucrative market for tower ownership in Malaysia.

The tower markets in America and Europe have been booming for several years. In America, for example, there are some 115,000 privately operated towers for wireless communications. Some 45% of these towers are run by companies such as Crown Castle, SBA Communications and Global Tower.

Earlier this month, a consortium led by Macquarie, Australia’s largest investment bank, acquired 100% of Global Tower from the private equity firm Blackstone Group for US$1.4 billion. The Global portfolio included approximately 2,500 broadcast towers, as well as some 4,600 rooftop sites.