PUCHONG (Feb 15): Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the government is in active discussions with telecommunication solutions providers, including foreign ones, to look for ways to improve the country's overall connectivity infrastructure.

"We have been speaking to different people who have different technologies," he said, as the government is looking to move beyond fibre technology.

Gobind said he has also "met various groups" on the subject of connectivity infrastructure technologies during his various working trips abroad, to look at what technologies local telecommunication companies (telcos) can use to address the connectivity gap between well-connected and poorly connected areas.

He said the deployment of technologies to resolve connectivity issues has a “multi-layered dimension”, as different areas have different networking requirements and limits. 

He added that the issue of country-wide connectivity is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed.

“We cannot say: let’s wait for 10 years so we can wire up the whole country, because we do not have that kind of time. What we need to do is try and get the entire country wired up [now].”

He highlighted that schools need to be connected to ensure that the standard of education throughout Malaysia is improved, as education “takes a digital perspective”.

Gobind also added that the government has to go to the “ground level” and listen to members of the business community to form a comprehensive ecosystem for the communications industry.

On that note, he said the ministry is looking at setting up a “one-stop shop” commission for industry players, where startups and telco companies can interact with the government.

"We should look at setting up a commission for the digital ecosystem. The whole idea is that we have an ecosystem where players and industry across the country have access to the government," he said, adding that it is not necessarily a commission that regulates.

Gobind also said telcos in Malaysia need to focus on providing connectivity to rural or less networked areas.

When asked about the local business community's response to the government's push to reduce broadband prices, he said he felt the business community has been supportive of it. “Wherever I went, I was told by many that they support the initiative.”

But there are still issues, he said, as some consumers have complained they have yet to receive the benefits of the price reduction initiative, as they still get the same internet speed and price. “This is something I have taken up with the telco companies and they are working on it,” he said.

Consumers can also forward their complaints to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Gobind said. As for the telcos, they have to also present the MCMC with a schedule of the complaints they received and how they plan to resolve them, he said.

"In so far as they (telcos) are concerned, the prices we have today are the prices they have agreed upon. This is something that they are comfortable with,” he added.