Maxis, Malaysia’s largest mobile operator, has reportedly reached a “preliminary agreement” with local WiMAX licensee Asiaspace to use its spectrum for an LTE rollout. According to a report in Malaysia’s The Star, the use of Asiaspace\'s 2.3GHz spectrum – intended for WiMAX but able to be used for LTE – would enable Maxis to roll-out LTE ahead of 2.6GHz spectrum being allocated in early 2013.

Sources say that Maxis will build and operate the LTE network, while Asiaspace will use it to expand its overall reach and capacity. Asiaspace suspended its current network in September 2010, citing rising backhaul costs. It also inked a deal with Qualcomm at the same time to "explore the future deployment" of LTE TDD technology in the country, signifying its move away from WiMAX. Sources believe it must re-launch services soon or risk losing its spectrum.

Both Maxis and Asiaspace are expected to be assigned 2.6GHz spectrum suitable for LTE on 1 January 2013. The government has said nine companies would each be allocated a 20MHz block of the frequencies. Maxis is currently trialing LTE services with Huawei. According to Wireless Intelligence, Maxis had 14.4 million mobile connections in Q1 2011, making it Malaysia’s largest mobile operator.