Deal with Netflix by end of August
> A step towards paving the way for Malaysia to be internet content hub in region
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Internet Exchange (MyIX) will finalise its deal with America’s popular online entertainment company Netflix to provide its video and movie content in Malaysia by end-August, says chairman Chiew Kok Hin.
Non-profit MyIX is the first neutral internet exchange where local internet service providers and content providers connect to exchange internet traffic.
Chiew said with the deal entered into with the entertainment company, neighbouring countries such as Indonesia can also obtain the content from Malaysia at a nominal fee, thus paving the way for the country to become a content hub in future.
“We hope with the deal, we can attract other international players to come to Malaysia as we are working to position the country as a regional internet exchange gateway,” he told Bernama.
Netflix is a popular online American entertainment company that provides a range of videos and movies and is the world’s ninth largest internet company by revenue (US$8.8 billion, or about RM37 billion).
Chiew said that with Malaysia being positioned as an internet exchange gateway, it will attract Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia to make Malaysia their content hub.
“It will bring the content nearer to us and neighbouring countries will not only save cost but also improve the content quality,” he said.
Since MyIX’s inception in 2006, it has closed deals with various parties, including Alibaba and Yahoo.
Chiew said the cost to bring in content has dropped over the years, allowing telecommunication companies (telcos) to reduce their pricing and offer more data and bandwith to their clients.
“With this in effect (cost reduction), the pricing set by telco companies is being monitored by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to ensure it is fairly set,” he added.
As for internet speed in the country, Chiew, who is also CEO of AIMS Data Centre Sdn Bhd, said the speed offered to Malaysian users is satisfactory overall.
However, there remain certain areas in the country that do not have receive good internet coverage.
“Telcos have taken steps to widen their connectivity but it is acknowledged that there are still obstacles in providing fast internet speed, nationwide,” Chiew said.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) early this year mentioned at an international conference that the accelerated 5th generation schedule that will enable 3GPP-based largescale trials and deployments as early as 2019, will be commercialised, worldwide by 2020.
The 3GPP unites various telecommunication standard development organisations known as “organisational partners” and provide their members with a stable environment to produce reports and specifications that define 3GPP technologies.