This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 20, 2021 - September 26, 2021

You are driving through an unfamiliar area in the city centre, navigating the roads with Waze. Suddenly, the app stops working and a “no network connection” or “no GPS detected” message flashes on the screen. Frantically, you try to remember the route while hoping for Waze to reconnect, but it does so only after you take a wrong turn.

This is just one of the many connectivity scenarios urbanites face. The problem has become especially acute since most of the nation was forced to “work from home” early last year. And yet, many Malaysians simply take these connectivity issues in stride, accepting the bad service as part of business as usual.

The height of connectivity frustration is when a basic web page or application fails to load because the internet speed is too slow at specific times of the day. Some people have resorted to working online at off-peak hours, just to enjoy a seamless and low latency experience, which is not always feasible.

Evidently, urbanites should not settle. Sometimes, making a quick call to your mobile or broadband service provider will fix the issue, but in some cases, it is a little more complicated than that.

Muhammad Nazhan Kamaruzuki, research associate at Khazanah Research Institute (KRI), tells Digital Edge that a phenomenon known as “signal degradation” is what most urban folk face. This is when a user’s online surfing experience is not on a par with the service that has been subscribed to. Most of the time, telecommunications companies (telcos) and broadband providers are not entirely to be blamed.

Physical interference is one cause of signal degradation, says Muhammad Nazhan. In this case, anything that is in the way of internet signals from telco or broadband base towers will significantly decrease the signal received by the user. In other words, the closer a user is to a telco tower, the better the connectivity.

“Many of us live in apartments or are indoors in the office and malls, especially within the city centre. The environment and surrounding buildings automatically become a physical interference for internet signals because the towers are not nearby,” he explains.

“Ideally, this is something that should have been predicted when buildings were developed in an area, so that the people there will not have to face less-than-optimum internet connectivity. Many housing areas still lack nearby towers, which shows that infrastructure is also an issue within an urban setting.”

Devices and equipment around the house can also affect WiFi signals, says Azizi A Hadi, chief operating officer of Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM). They include wireless Bluetooth devices such as headsets and keyboards, and household appliances such as TV sets, subwoofers and microwave ovens.

Interestingly, items with reflective or metallic surfaces such as mirrors and windows coated with transparent metallic film or metallic blinds can also cause interference. 

Azizi says: “Place your router away from items that cause interference. Meanwhile, using a dual-band router will enable you to choose between two frequencies (2.4GHz or 5.0GHz, depending on whether you want the speed or the coverage, for gaming or streaming).”

Another reason for interference is a congested network, says Muhammad Nazhan. This typically happens when there are too many people within a certain area trying to get online via the same tower. Imagine a large number of cars trying to fight their way onto the highway.

“There are more mobile users in the city; thus, a congested network is unavoidable. Again, these kinds of things should be predicted beforehand and addressed during the city planning,” he adds.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) explains that signal degradation in an urban landscape can differ from the lowest floors to the highest levels of a high-rise building as well. If the receiver is too low, chances are there might be a blockage issue because of surrounding buildings. If the receiver is too high, the probability is that a base station pointing upwards is at a very low angle. Other contributors to the issue are inter-cell interference and dominant cells.

“For instance, in highly congested areas, there will be many sites covering those areas to cater for the high bandwidth capacity needed. This will cause user devices to keep changing their serving cell or base station for a better signal to ensure sufficient bandwidth, which might result in poor quality of service,” says MCMC in an email reply to Digital Edge.

Muhammad Mohd Yunos, head of network at Allo Technology, tells Digital Edge that broadband services using a fibre network is typically very stable, as it is designed to cater for high traffic utilisation. However, even these are not immune to connectivity challenges. 

Infrastructure issues that Allo has encountered, resulting in affected broadband services, were caused by damage to the fibre. Muhammad adds that, at times, the team had to race against time to rectify the damaged infrastructure.

Existing topography can also cause poor signal transmission, resulting in degradation in service quality, Muhammad says. Other causes include human error, outdated equipment or devices, vandalism, theft and accidents, which can also ruin telco infrastructure.

“It is important to build resilient connectivity [infrastructure] to ensure high uptime for users,” he says.

TM’s Azizi says submarine cable failure and the distance between users and content servers may also be contributing factors to signal degradation in fibre networks.

“Within a premise, [signal strength] depends on the WiFi frequencies that users are on (whether it is 2.4GHz or 5.0GHz), the number of devices connected in the house, blind spots or dead zones, the types and conditions of the user’s devices as well as their digital behaviour,” he says.

“WiFi routers with 5.0GHz frequency will provide users with higher speed but within a smaller coverage area. But when you’re farther away from the router, you can switch to 2.4GHz for wider coverage but at a lower speed.”

Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) technology may not solve signal degradation issues, but U Mobile Sdn Bhd chief technology officer Woon Ooi Yuen says it can improve signal reception and sensitivity. MIMO technology uses a natural radio-wave phenomenon called multipath. With multipath, transmitted information bounces off walls, ceilings and other objects, reaching the receiving antenna multiple times at different angles and slightly different times.

“With multipath, MIMO technology uses multiple smart transmitters and receivers with an added spatial dimension, increasing the performance and radio reception range of the device and base station,” he says.

While it is easy to pass the buck to telcos when mobile internet connectivity is not stable, it is not always fair. Telcos themselves are presented with an array of challenges that cannot be easily solved because of factors out of their control, such as the way the town or city develops after the base towers have been installed.

Identifying the prime location of base towers is their biggest challenge. Celcom Axiata Bhd CEO Idham Nawawi says the ability to establish and deploy a base station in a specific area became significantly more challenging, as there are additional standard operating procedures (SOPs) to adhere to during the pandemic. This can be due to reasons such as resistance from the public or approvals from the owners of the buildings or land.

“While we are quick to address the connectivity needs within a specific or new development area, we are often forced to make compromises and deploy a base station away from our preferred location. This affects our ability to optimise the network,” Idham says.

U Mobile’s Woon concurs, saying that, to meet the company’s coverage objectives, the location must have the appropriate distance, height and directionally optimised line-of-sight to best reach its customers while balancing the guidelines and codes of compliance set by the regulator and local councils.

“In reality, no telco in the world will be able to have perfect coverage, as the area in which telco towers are based is constantly changing. The same can be said of consumer behaviour. As a result, the assessment and improvement exercises conducted by telcos are extremely dynamic,” he says.

Woon says during the pandemic, the Movement Control Orders (MCOs) hindered how fast the company was able to respond to changing user patterns. The various iterations of MCOs also hampered network rollout, owing to supply chain disruptions.

A connectivity initiative highlighted under MyDIGITAL is the review of laws and legislations to enable broadband to be mandated as a utility. Celcom Axiata’s Idham says connectivity is a critical utility that affects the livelihoods of Malaysians. High-speed data connectivity has enabled myriad capabilities for work, education and entertainment, which cannot be ignored.

KRI’s Muhammad Nazhan says that, at this juncture, the government has offered little information on this mandate. One way forward is to make connectivity infrastructure a requirement when planning a city’s development projects, but the concern is that it will raise house prices.

“It’s all very vague right now but we can assume that this will be a requirement for developers. We’re hoping that this initiative will not see price transfers from the developer to the user,” he says.

MCMC believes that, as broadband becomes a public utility, the processes will be simplified and executed at a reasonable operational cost, allowing more people to enjoy faster communications services in urban, suburban and rural areas.

It will also ensure better planning for the development or redevelopment of areas by including requirements for communications infrastructure such as reserve land or spaces for communications structures, and in-building coverage or tunnels within the planning process from the earliest stages of development. 

“With that, necessary infrastructure will be readily available for service providers to offer their services instead of having to retrofit after physical development has been completed. For fixed broadband services in particular, it would be important to be able to install infrastructure before services are offered,” MCMC says.

“In the case of mobile, developments will usually have a dedicated space to install the structure to serve that area. Having designated spaces within the plan will avoid complaints from residents, as they are aware from the beginning about the location of communications structures.”

Telcos and broadband operators welcome this move and are making the necessary adjustments to accommodate this provision, such as meeting the standards set by the government’s Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) initiative.

U Mobile’s Woon says that, since the government has classified communications services as a utility, the company is waiting for guidelines on infrastructure within new developments.

“We work closely with local councils, building owners and various parties to ensure connectivity issues will be rectified. We are also always looking at usage patterns and investing in capacity to better support our customers’ needs. This is an ongoing process,” he says.

“Consumers can also play a role by educating themselves on some common factors for signal degradation. They may perform simple troubleshooting if it happens to them.”

Idham says city and township developers should work closely with telcos to ensure that their development master plan has taken into consideration the connectivity needs and demands of their future residents.

“This includes ensuring a strategic location for telecoms structures and fibre routes. Planning this upfront will benefit not only the developers but also future residents,” he says.

TM’s Azizi agrees, adding that developers are expected to ensure that property developments include the necessary infrastructure to provide broadband service such as fibre internal wiring facilities, space allocated for cabinets, ducts, manholes, poles and other broadband equipment.

Allo’s Muhammad says the company will continue to focus on covering as many underserved areas as possible with its open-access fibre connectivity infrastructure, enabling existing connectivity players to access untapped markets.

“This will give users multiple options as well as allow them to enjoy speeds of up to 1Gbps. From a business perspective, it will stimulate healthy competition among service providers,” he says.

The majority of consumers’ needs can be met by 4G networks. The impending retirement of the 3G network will also free up spectrum for a better 4G experience, which will result in better connectivity.

However, businesses are expected to be the biggest beneficiary of 5G connectivity for digital processes. The introduction of 5G may not necessarily be feasible for users, as there is a lot to consider before 5G becomes a norm, such as infrastructure and the cost of 5G-enabled consumer devices.

Idham explains that 5G technology, which uses C-Band (3.5 GHz) or Millimetre Wave (mmWave), requires the implementation of new infrastructure, which will take time to deliver. 

He says: “5G may not immediately resolve signal degradation issues in both rural and urban areas. The Jendela programme, which is focused on 4G, will complement 5G deployment in ensuring maximum coverage and best customer experience.”

According to TM’s Azizi, 5G comes with offerings that will benefit both consumers and businesses. The first is enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), which promises “fibre-like speeds”, with much lower latency. He says this would later promote the use of even higher-quality videos for the benefit of content creators, online platforms and new applications such as extended reality (XR).

5G will also provide the missing puzzle to smart cities solutions, says Azizi, enabling more reliable connectivity for smart water and electricity meters, lamp poles and traffic lights, among others.

“5G will significantly and positively improve the livelihood of Malaysians working and living in remote and rural locations. The Covid-19 situation calls for a review on how we address remote learning, precision farming, telehealth as well as other services and applications in our rural and remote areas,” he says.

“Reports have suggested that higher internet speeds have direct correlations with positive economic outcomes for rural areas.

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