The Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) was told that the average mobile Internet download speeds in the country was at 116.03Mbps, compared to the original target of 35Mbps.
However, the Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil did not say how this data was obtained or if independently verified.
In his speech, the Minister said that the human population mobile coverage in Malaysia stood at 96.9% as of December 2022.
In response to questions from 26 Members of Parliament, Minister Fahmi Fadzil confirmed that only 3% of population don’t have access to Internet. He said these areas will soon have Internet connectivity via satellite or Point-of-Presence (PoP).
To date, the Minister claims that his Ministry accelerated the provision of broadband services through satellite technology in 839 locations in rural areas throughout the country which completed in 2022.
Under Phase 1 (2020-2022) of the Jendela multi-billion project, a total 7.7 million premises have been fiberised. In Phase 2, the Government is targeting a total of 9 million premises with fibre broadband connectivity.
The Malaysia Government is also implementing more fibre optic Point-of-Presence (PoP) to quickly expand the broadband infrastructure network to areas around schools, populated and rural areas.
“Phase 1 of this PoP project will involve 630 locations near schools and 47 industrial areas while Phase 2 will involve 3,693 locations near schools in rural areas throughout the country. At least 432,300 premises will receive high-speed broadband services when this project is completed.
Until 10 February 2023, 292 PoP areas have been successfully completed, with 32,198 of premises now fibre-ready for high-speed internet services.”, he said in his speech.
On the matter of 5G, Minister Fahmi Fadzil claims that Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) achieved a population coverage of 52.6% as of 31 January 2023, and is committed to achieving 80% coverage by end of this year.
DNB is the sole and exclusive 5G network provider in the country.
He said that the Government is currently reviewing the implementation of the 5G model and currently considering other deployment models such as Broadband Wireless Access (BWA), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and satellite technology, to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.
“Once again I emphasize that the Government is now taking an approach so that DNB is managed more transparently and comprehensively to achieve full participation by telecommunication service providers. Ultimately, what is important is to achieve comprehensive 5G coverage and at a reasonable price for the people,” he said.
On the matter of inconsistent mobile coverage between service providers, the Minister said that Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is reviewing the issue with plans to resolve it via network sharing by the end of June 2023. Video below.
[PDF]– Teks Jawapan Perbahasan Belanjawan 2023 Peringkat Dasar KKD
