Treat telecommunications as a utility, says MCMC chairman

PETALING JAYA: Telecommunications should in this day be treated as a utility just like electricity and water, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Dr Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek (pix).

He said the MCMC is challenged with the fee structure, given that local authorities want a part in the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, while there are also land matters which take time to process.

“Moving forward, the best way is for all states to adopt a philosophy whereby telecommunications cannot be a laggard service. In a new development, water and electricity are utilities, therefore they get planned upfront, as opposed to telecommunications, where you only come in when people have moved in.

“There are areas today where people have moved in for a good 10 years, and telecommunications services are still not there the way they want it,“ Fadhlullah said today during the third instalment of Invest Malaysia 2020.

He said by making telecommunications a utility, automatically there can be a model whereby the development plan identifies water, electricity and telecommunications. Telecommunications takes in three forms in the laying of the fibre, telecommunications towers and installations on rooftops.

“When that planning is put upfront, service providers can come in easily before the people come in. That’s the approach that we’re taking,“ Fadhlullah said, adding that it is meeting with the respective chief ministers to alert them of the need to treat telecommunications as a utility.

On the creation of an infrastructure company (infraco) to roll out networks more efficiently, he opined that due to the competitive landscape, it is important to ensure infrastructure is not duplicated and to allow access at the right price levels.

He said with the competition in the telco business, demand will determine choice.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd CEO Imri Mokhtar said the rolling out of fibre or wireless services is about alleviating and bridging that digital divide and income divide.

“We need an ecosystem that creates the demand to pull the need for this connectivity. On one hand we have Jendela to address that, thereafter Phase 1, Phase 2, it’s the beyond connectivity on how to get more digital on areas that will move the needle for digital economy.”

On pricing, Imri said various services whether fibre or wireless, each has got its own cost structure.

“It’s about balancing a reasonable return and cost of investment to the affordability. Demand will also determine the take-up of the service.”

Time dotCom Bhd CEO Afzal Abdul Rahim’s concern is that over the past few years, the number of net additions to new premises rolled out has dwindled.

“As a country, we can push the performance lever, price lever, quality lever and coverage lever but we can’t always push all four levers at once. What we need is a coverage lever and a performance lever.”

On pricing, Afzal thinks that people are too occupied with price points but noted that telco players should provide customers with a suite of different packages and services to suit different needs.

source https://www.thesundaily.my/business/treat-telecommunications-as-a-utility-says-mcmc-chairman-LI3785692