No futher reduction in broadband price this year, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no further reduction in broadband price this year, Minister of Communications and Multimedia Gobind Singh Deo announced yesterday.

He said the move was taken after the ministry had achieved the target of doubling the speed and halving the price.

“The last time when we started, we wanted to double the speed and reduce the price. What happened after that was that all the telcos have reduced the price substantially.

“If you asked me, the target has been achieved,” he told reporters after his inaugural official visit to Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) headquarters yesterday.

Earlier this year, Gobind said the country had succeeded in meeting its target of lowering broadband prices by 25 per cent in 2018.

The minister pointed out that the target was achieved as most telecommunication companies including Celcom Axiata Bhd, Maxis Bhd and TIME dotCom Bhd had dropped their broadband prices between 30 and 65 per cent.

Meanwhile, Gobind also said Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) was the only company that came up with a proposal for fibre optic infrastructure.

“Only TNB has come up with the proposal. It is basically a local company that has the infrastructure already up and running in Malaysia.

“That is why we are looking at the possibility of a pilot project in Jasin recently,” he added.

TNB’s three-month pilot project in Jasin was implemented through the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan initiative announced in Budget 2019. — Bernama