Lots for Gobind to chew on

TO the Malaysian Sikhs, it is a big boost to have a Sikh as a minister.

This is the first time one of the smallest communities in this country is being represented in the Cabinet. He is the first Sikh minister in Asia outside of India, and second globally, after Canada.

Kudos to Gobind Singh Deo ( pic) for reaching such realms of power. His appointment goes to show that meritocracy is very much alive.

Gobind logged in as Communications and Multimedia Minister yesterday. On his first day at work, he met the people at his ministry and the industry regulator, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission or MCMC, an important agency that can block and unblock websites and networks – most of the time after being told to do so.

The feedback thus far on him after his first day of work is “surprised at how receptive he was, sharp, has an open mind about things, and comes with no baggage”... that’s a good start.

His first message – double broadband speed soon – and Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto also talks about reducing the broadband charges by half.

It is good news for the consumer, but not new as it has been talked about for two years. Unfortunately, there has been no change since then.

The regulator did hire a consultant in the past to look at access pricing. The finding was that if the wholesale pricing is reduced, then the retail pricing can be reduced too and this was related to players early this year. The onus is essentially on the access giver to drop the wholesale pricing to see the chain reaction. But there has been no change since.

Perhaps Gobind will need to drum it into the access giver to drop the wholesale pricing to realise the dream of “doubling the broadband speeds at half the price”.

This drop in pricing is necessary so that the wider population can also ride on the Internet boom, as the Internet is not just meant for the urbanites. The rural folk have an equal right to access. Hence, the right pricing model is necessary, as is access.

Companies, thus, should stop just focusing on major areas. They should reach out to rural areas too. Let’s not forget that Malaysian telcos earn the highest earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margins and can afford to splurge on the rural areas.

Talking about rural areas, new minister Gobind needs to review the universal service fund. Have the monies been allocated and disbursed? Enforcement of this is vital.

With the Internet revolution, the review of law and policies related to the sector is a given to make it current and future-proof. However, it would be good not to rush to introduce new laws and policies, as we do not want flip flops later.Ideally, it should be an open and transparent regulatory regime to bring the regulatory processes to world-class standards. A holistic strategy is needed to become a smart nation.

But that cannot be done without a full review of the way spectrum is being allocated. As it is, the mobile industry is fragmented with too many players. This is a result of too many licences and spectrums being awarded, including via political patronage. Some of those with spectrum have not put it to good use, while others have hoarded it with some being deprived totally of it.

The eye of the players is now on the 700Mhz spectrum – who deserves it and what would be the mode of dishing it out?

But his biggest task is about fixed broadband since the Pakatan manifesto talks about “reviewing monopoly positions”. Would there be room to create an independent highspeed broadband provider that provides access to all or leaves retail to others, or further, retains the current structure? He has some tough decisions to make, including giving the press full freedom and repealing the fake news law.

The good thing is that he recognises the complexities of the industry. A reminder, though, is not to put blinkers on access to information on the Internet. Remember... this is an open world.