PENANG-based MoBif Bhd has earmarked RM5 million this year to carry out research and development (R&D) activities for its wireless Internet card, which the technology and Internet telephony firm is looking to launch by the fourth quarter of this year.
MoBif has entered into an agreement with Japan's Kyocera Corp to collaborate in technology and R&D.

Kyocera has also appointed MoBif as its exclusive distributor for its "iBurst" solution and equipment in Malaysia and South-East Asia.

"The "iBurst" card, which allows connection into the wireless Internet, will integrate MoBifs Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and Internet surveillance technology," the company's chairman and chief executive officer Kevin Leong told reporters after MoBil"s annual shareholders' meeting in Penang.

Leong said an initial 10.000 "iBurst" cards would be manufactured locally and Malaysia would serve as a test market for the product.

"We are partnering a Japanese computer peripherals maker in developing the product and it is currently at the R&D stage," he added.

For its 2006 financial year ending December 31, Mobif posted a revenue of RM62.91 million, registering a 73.4 per cent increase over the 2005 financial year.

The group posted a profit before tax of RM6.27 million, a decrease of 34.37 per cent compared to 2005.