KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no more reduction in broadband prices this year, after the target of doubling the speed and halving the price has been achieved, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
"There will be no price reduction this year because when we started, we wanted to double the speed and lower the price.
“After that, all the telcos involved get together and of course we have seen price reduction quite substantially. If you asked me, the target has been achieved,” he told reporters after an official visit to Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) headquarters here today.
On his first day in office in May last year, Gobind announced the initiative following the feedback from the public, who had been complaining about the quality of broadband in Malaysia, which is said to be inferior to broadband in developed countries.
In October last year, Communications and Multimedia Consumer Forum of Malaysia (CFM) announced that the industry saw broadband pricing in Malaysia reduced by up to 56 per cent and made the new pricing applicable to all including telcos’ existing customers.
Meanwhile, Gobind said the ministry understood that TM had a huge and unique mandate not only as the Convergence Champion, but also a partner in nation-building towards developing the nation’s digital economy.
“Leveraging on its extensive global connectivity, network infrastructure and collective expertise, TM is well positioned to propel Malaysia into a regional internet hub and digital gateway for Southeast Asia.
“In this respect, I commend TM’s continued effort in answering the government’s call to champion convergence and deliver the digital nation aspirations.
“I am also confident that the TM transformation, anchored on customer centricity that puts customers as the utmost priority, will bring the results in with the strong support from the management and every Warga TM,” he said.