Win-win solution for telco firms, consumers
THE Communications and Multimedia Ministry is committed to providing a “win-win” solution to telecommunications companies and consumers following the government’s plan to reduce prices of broadband service, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.
Minister Gobind Singh Deo said telcos that offered quality service at low prices would attract more customers.
“Some people say a telco’s profits would be affected if broadband service prices are reduced. That’s not true.
“On the contrary, if they are competitive and offer better service packages, more customers will subscribe to the packages and their customer base will expand and profits will increase.”
He was replying to a question from Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said (BN-Kuala Krau), who had asked the ministry to state the rationale behind its move to announce a reduction in broadband service prices.
Ismail had wanted to know how the government would ensure the profits of telcos, such as Telekom Malaysia, in its efforts to bridge the urban-rural digital gap.
Gobind said the government wanted people to have access to the Internet.
He said his ministry had announced the “double the speed, half the price” initiative and, in line with this, the ministry had implemented the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) on June 8.
MSAP imposed a ceiling price on telcos’ facilities and services.
“The ministry is anticipating broadband service prices to drop by 25 per cent by the end of the year.”
He said he had directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to look into other measures to reduce the prices.
He said Malaysia took a serious view of cyber threats and was forging cooperation and holding discussions with countries in the region to address the threats.
“We need to react fast to cyber threats. Attacks involve more than one country.
“Therefore, we need to cooperate with other countries.
“I hope that by the end of the year, we can have discussions with our neighbouring countries on how to deal with cyber threats and how to set up a system to fight them,” he said in reply to a supplementary question from Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid (BNKuala Kangsar) on cyber threats to the country.