CLOSING THE DIGITAL GAP ONE STEP AT A TIME

Allo’s Chief Executive Officer Rodzi Ahmad speaks to BusinessToday on the journey the company has undertaken since 2018 in bridging the digital divide in the country, and what the future holds for the telecommunications infrastructure service provider.

-  POOV ENRAJ KANAGARAJ

Formerly known as Setia Haruman Technology Sdn Bhd, Allo Technology Sdn Bhd (Allo) was formed to facilitate the development of smart cities through reliable telecommunication infrastructure and provides a range of ICT services including system integration, networking, and consultancy.

In 2018, the company undertook a more serious role, having been acquired by Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) as the utility company wanted to go beyond the energy meter business.

The company soon saw increased success after becoming TNB’s subsidiary and had aggressively planned to expand their fibre optimisation service nationwide in 2019 towards becoming the preferred connectivity services partner.

“We are not looking to expand into city centres or urban areas, but instead, we are looking into those areas with no high-speed broadband services just yet,” Allo Chief Executive Officer, Rodzi Ahmad tells Business Today, claiming that it will be a challenge to make it commercially viable and cost-effective at the same time but its one that he has taken on assertively.

REDUCING THE GAP

“We want to reduce the digital divide in the country, particularly in the suburban areas, which will aid in improving the digital economy and lifestyle in the underserved areas. When we talk about underserved areas, the people in these places usually have either no broadband connection and so have to depend on their mobile connectivity, or the bandwidth provided is minimal, and not of the latest speeds.