Reducing cost of going online
THE right to Internet access, also known as the right to broadband or freedom to connect, is now a basic human right.
From July until August 2012, the Internet Society, an American non-profit organisation founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet-related standards, education, access and policy, conducted online interviews involving more than 10,000 Internet users in 20 countries.
Among the statements posed to the participants was “Access to the Internet should be considered a basic human right”, to which 83% responded that they somewhat or strongly agreed.
It’s important to increase access to the Internet because it opens up vast opportunities for affordable and inclusive education globally across the digital divide.
In its latest report, The Alliance for Affordable Internet, a coalition of private sector, public sector and civil society organisations aiming to advance the shared objective of affordable access to both mobile and fixed-line Internet in developing countries, ranked Malaysia as the highest in Asia for affordable Internet access.
Malaysia has good examples of national broadband plans that outline clear, time-bound targets for connectivity. However, based on the May 2018 Oklaa.net Speedtest Global Index, Malaysia is ranked 59th behind Guam (a US island territory in Micronesia) with an average speed of 26.22mbps for fixed broadband speed. Singapore ranked first at 170.99mbps, which is the fastest average speed.
While the government is doing its best to reduce the price, thereby making high-speed Internet access more affordable, telecommunica- tion companies are actually not bringing their prices down. The minimum price for high-speed broadband in Malaysia (Fibre Broadband) is RM119.
While the government is focused on bringing down the price, telecommunication companies are actually offering packages with increased speed but with just a minimal reduction in price.
The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) recently conducted a simple online survey to gather feedback from the public on the recommended minimum pricing for high-speed Internet. The public’s opinion was to cap the minimum package at RM60/10mbps, which would make high-speed Internet affordable to all Malaysians and reduce the digital divide.
Internet connectivity is important to access a wide range of information related to education, government, health and business.
Problems in Internet affordability mean Malaysians earning lower incomes risk missing out on the benefits of digital technologies and falling further behind their more connected fellow citizens.
When we measure affordability, we are not only looking at the cost of data but we are also interested in what proportion of household income is being dedicated to this service.
The affordability problem with the Internet is different from other key household services where there are price pressures, such as electricity and water.
Residential consumption of energy has grown over the last decade and prices have increased sharply. With the Internet, we are now getting more data for our ringgit but our demand for data has dramatically increased.
Some recent and far-reaching changes in our use of technology are evident here, including the extent to which the Internet has become an integral part of everyday life, the fact that we are spending more time online, and that we are doing an increasing range of online activities. In many households, people are also connecting with more devices that help to enhance their daily lives.
In a press conference on June 20, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo announced that charges for fixed broadband are expected to be reduced by at least 25% by the end of year.
He also said the rakyat should be given every opportunity to participate in the digital era and benefit from it.
Fomca strongly agrees with the minister and would like to propose a minimum package as a safety net for those with lower incomes. This minimum package should be as low as RM60/10mbps.