KUCHING: Celcom’s 3G services can now be enjoyed in Belaga, Lundu, Julau, Song, Tatau and Lubok Antu.
LATEST TECHNOLOGY: (From left) Mussen, Ahmad Taufek, Snowdan, Choo and Najmuddin jointly unveil the latest in line from BlackBerry smartphones. —Photo by Jeffery Mostapa
The head of Celcom Axiata Bhd in East Malaysia, Choo Meng Chung, said the expansion of its 3G services to these remote and rural towns in Sarawak will begin this month.
He also pointed out that with the extensive coverage available in Sarawak, customers will get to enjoy greater privileges when they are with Celcom.
“In Sarawak, 90 per cent of the populated areas are now covered by Celcom. Our network coverage includes both the 2G and 3G services,” he said at the launching of the new BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone at a hotel here on Friday night.
Also present were Batang Ai assemblyman Malcolm Mussen Lamoh and Balai Ringin assemblyman Snowdan Lawan, as well as Celcom’s vice presidents Dato’ Najimuddin Abdullah (in charge of corporate communications) and Ahmad Taufek Omar (enterprise sales).
Choo also said in his speech that Sarawak was the first state, after Kuala Lumpur, to be introduced to the new BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphone in recognition of the encouraging response from the state to Celcom.
“The BlackBerry device on Celcom’s network gives users the power to manage their mobile lifestyle more efficiently and effectively.
“As there is a huge untapped market of mobile business users here in Sarawak, we are very excited to be the first to bring the new BlackBerry Bold 9700 to our customers in this state,” he said.
In conjunction with the launch in Kuching, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 was offered at a 50 per cent discount price at RM988 to the first 50 customers. This smartphone’s normal price is RM1,988.
As with the previous BlackBerry devices under the Celcom postpaid plans, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 will be bundled together with a range of cost-effective postpaid data plans of RM148, RM188 and RM250 monthly commitment packages.
Celcom customers using this smartphone can browse the Internet at any time, as well as be able to enjoy exclusive services such as Celcom Compass and Celcom Stock Manager.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Taufek in his speech said there were about 5,000 BlackBerry users in Sarawak. “Sarawak is a vibrant market, after Kuala Lumpur, for Celcom,” he said.
That night, several BlackBerry Bold 9700 smartphones were also set aside for winners of a lucky draw contest which was held after the launching ceremony.An Australian stand-up comic Jon Atherton was the emcee and also provided entertainment to the guests. The launching gimmick for the smartphone was also noteworthy, as it was ‘flown’ by a remote-controlled hot air balloon to the mainstage for unveiling.