KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 13): Fiber optics cable company Opcom Holdings Bhd rose 2.63% this morning after the company said it intends to take part in Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) new venture into telecommunications high-speed broadband, as part of the government’s National Connectivity Plan (NCP).

At 9.30am, Opcom rose 2 sen to 78 sen with 789,900 shares done.

Its chairman and chief executive officer Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir, who is also the son of Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad, said Opcom is an established fibre optic manufacturer, so it could work well with the national electricity utility company’s telecommunications agenda.

“What we are interested to follow up on, is the recent announcement by TNB — which said that they too are going into the fibre communications market. So we would like to hear more about where we can play a role in all of these things,” he told reporters after Opcom’s annual general meeting yesterday.

Last week, TNB announced it will start a pilot project in Jasin, Melaka this month, to assess the technical, safety and commercial viability aspects of using its electrical infrastructure as telecommunication network for high-speed broadband as part of the NCP.

Through this pilot project, TNB is exploring the potential of utilising the available capacity of its telecommunication assets for NCP — identified as an important catalyst towards the digital economy without compromising safety, security and reliability of the electricity supply network.

It was noted during the press conference that Opcom’s current orderbook stands at over RM100 million and is expected to last until middle of next year.