Tune Talk Confirms MVNO Launch in Second-Half 2009

Malaysian MVNO, Tune Talk expects to start commercial services in the second half of this year, said its chief executive officer, Jason Lo. In a statement, the company said that the service would run on Celcom's network and would be aimed at the youth market, with call costs subsidised by advertising.

"With a low-cost business model, we are optimistic of Tune Talk’s potential and that our service will be well-received by the market."

"We also plan to expand to countries in Association of South-East Asian Nations by employing the same operating model," he added.

Tunetalk was co-founded by Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of the low cost airline, AirAsia. Key investors include TuneVentures group and Celcom, a subsidiary of Axiata Group (formally TM International). The company hopes to replicate the success of AirAsia in the mobile space by becoming the first pan-Asean MVNO by expanding to Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Last month, the MVNO signed a deal with XIUS-bcgi for its Mobile Services Platform (MSP) to power the launch and delivery of its mobile phone service initially in Malaysia and subsequently to other countries in the ASEAN region.

Posted to the site on 25th May 2009