Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd (Astro) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) wholly-owned subsidiary Allo Technology Sdn Bhd (Allo) have announced a strategic partnership where Astro will offer its unique bundled broadband and content offering to new and existing residential areas connected by Allo.

In a statement today, Astro group chief executive officer (CEO) Henry Tan said the offering, which will provide residents with high-speed broadband connections as well as Astro’s best-in-class content, is part of Astro’s support of the Government’s National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP).

He said the Allo partnership will expand the current broadband home-passes from TM, Maxis and TIME by over 150,000 new households and businesses over the next 18 months.

"This will help us expand Astro Broadband’s reach beyond urban areas into areas not fully covered by our existing partnerships, including Alor Gajah, Cyberjaya, Bangsar South and many more suburban areas.

"Despite observing the MCO, business continues for us. Allo has an aggressive roll-out plan nationwide and we believe it will open up significant new headroom for growth for us in line with our broadband strategy," he added.

The agreement was signed recently by the CEOs of the respective companies -- Tan for Astro and Rodzi Ahmad for Allo.

Besides bridging the rural-urban digital divide, the offering would increase customer engagement as the bundled proposition will allow them to enjoy their favourite TV shows and thousands of titles on demand via set-top boxes, as well as through connected devices such as mobile phones and tablets.

Tan said Astro’s broadband bundle is unique as it not only caters to the connected lifestyle of a modern family but also individuals’ needs for information, entertainment and staying connected.

Customers will also enjoy free access to Astro GO, which allows them to stream videos at their convenience, and they are encouraged to connect their set-top box to unlock more than 15,000 On Demand titles as part of their pack entitlement.

Meanwhile, Rodzi said Allo will continue to expand its fibre footprint nationwide under the NFCP, starting with Melaka, Perak, Johor, Kedah, Selangor and Penang.

He said Allo is focusing on bringing fibre connection to unpenetrated areas that are commercially viable.

"We welcome this partnership with Astro to grow together with the expansion plan. This partnership allows us to extend the high-speed broadband and content services into these areas so that the consumers can enjoy the services.

“With the provision of the wholesale open-access infrastructure concept that allows multiple services from the Retail Service Providers (RSPs), Allo hopes the bundled broadband and content price to be very competitive and equally accessible by the customers," he said. - BERNAMA