FDS Offers Teleconferencing Service

Companies and individuals wanting to conduct teleconferencing but do not have the facilities to do so can now subscribe to the public teleconferencing service launched earlier this month by Hong Kong-based FDS Networks Group Ltd.

The software for the system was developed by FDS Group and the service is currently available in Hong Kong and through its subsidiaries in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan may be extended to its subsidiaries in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou at a later date.

To make a reservation, local subscribers can either call FDS Networks (M) Sdn Bhd's help desk at (03) 5638-1660 or e-mail conferencing@fds-malaysia.com for a password a number to call to join the teleconferencing session with user in other countries.

"When they've finished, the system will automatically invoice subscribers. On average Malaysian subscribers pay 28 sen per minute," said FDS Malaysia country manager, Lok Wah Chong.

"FDS charges between 5cents and 10 cents (19 sen and 38 sen) per minute depending on country and the volume of teleconferencing a particular subscriber makes per month," added FDS Networks Group Ltd President and chief executive Keith Brothers, who was in Subang Jaya last week.

Since the service is still very new, only a few, mainly US multinationals use the service. To help them maintain better control and keep track of costs, FDS can give each large corporate subscriber many defferent numbers to call and multiple passwords.

"For instance, in Hong Kong, we provided a large company with 30 numbers to call-one for each department-and we provided each of their designated staff with a unique password," said Brothers. "We're targeting 100 active users per corporate subscriber," he added. While the FDS is mainly targeting the service at the business and corporate sector, the service can also be used by individuals who need to teleconference.

"For instance, MBA students could use the service to confer with their tutor and each other to clarify points they don't understand," said Brothers.

Founded by Brothers in Hong Kong in 1990, FDS Networks specialises in supplying and data networking telecommunications equipment and systems, as well as software development of solutions mainly for banks, financial institutions, telcos and multinational companies.

"About 40% of our group's equipment and components sold are used in our systems integration projects for banks, telcos and multinationals," said Brothers.

The FDS Group currently holds the franchise to handle catalogue sales of communications and networking components, cabling, equipment and accessories from Black Box Corp (www.blackbox.com) in the Asian region.

In 1993, FDS Group set up FDS Malaysia, its first national unit outside Hong Kong. Like its parent and sister companies in Asia, FDS Malaysia handles sales of equipment, components and systems integration mainly to local banks, telcos and multinationals.

FDS Malaysia's five software developers collaborated with 30 of their colleagues in Hong Kong to develop its Focal suite of imaging and workflow management systems for financial institutions.

Built around Microsoft's Common Object Model and ActiveX object-oriented programming, the Focal suite includes modules for maintaining trade, loans, mortgages, credit cards and workflow processes.

FDS Malaysia also sells Patapsco dialup ISDN switches from Britain to local customers who use them as a backup connection to their branches if their leased line goes down.

It also supplies Safenet IP-VPN (Inernet Protocol-virtual private network) equipment which its customers use to create secured, dedicated broadband "tunnels" through the public Internet which link up their respective banches and subsidiaries locally and world-wide.

The FDS Group also supplies the Windows-and Unix-based Concord network management software which provides customer with an overall view of their network's health by letting them monitor network traffic and predict problems before they occur.

FDS Malaysia currently has five local Concord customers, most of them telcos, while the FDS Group has about 50 large Concord users in Asia including bank, telcos, government departments, couries and the Visa credit card company.

FDS Malaysia can be reached at (03) 56322991 . Its website can be found at www.fdsmalaysia.com, while the FDS Group has a website at www.fdsnetworks.com.