Towards a New Era of ICT: Exploring the Horizon of High Speed Broadband in Malaysia

Research Profile
An undergraduate-based research work which involves a field study initiated by Multimedia University’s engineering students. This research is a study on the new era of ICT in exploring the horizon of high speed broadband in Malaysia.

Research Objectives
The research objectives are:

1. To analyze history and current situation of broadband in Malaysia.
2. To observe the implementation of high speed broadband in Malaysia and other countries.
3. To recognize the differences between Malaysia and other countries in order to formulate potential growth of the high speed broadband sector in Malaysia.
4. To highlight the benefits of broadband and to identify attractive broadband contents and applications for Malaysians.
5. To analyze the influencing factors that could potentially accelerate the broadband adoption and growth in Malaysia.

Research Background
In 2001, broadband services were introduced in Malaysia as part of the ICT industry in line with the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative which aims to cultivate a knowledge-rich society and take the country into the Information Age. Till today, the broadband in Malaysia is not up to the standards in terms of service and the bandwidth in comparison to other leading countries in the world. As of June 2006, statistics indicate that broadband penetration in Malaysia is as low as 2.5%. According to MyICMS 886 Strategy, one of the focus ICT services will be high speed broadband, whereby Malaysia planned to improve the broadband take-up by introducing optical fiber access in 2007 and expects more penetration rate in broadband using optical fiber from 2008 to 2010.

Despite all these plans, the outcome from the introduction of broadband is not up to the expectations. Compared to other countries, Malaysia’s implementation in broadband access is very slow. Some of the customers prefer using dial up connections, while others remains uninterested for broadband services. Furthermore, not all the places in Malaysia are getting this broadband access.

The low penetration rate shows a bad prospective towards the new ICT era in our country. With the growing competitiveness in the global market, the lag of development process in ICT would result in major implication in Malaysia’s economy. Since high speed broadband is an important infrastructure required in the ICT industry, adoption and utilization of high speed broadband in daily lives of Malaysians will give the industry, the catalyst to compete in the international market.

In conjunction with this, the main purpose of our research is to study the new era of ICT in exploring the horizon of high speed broadband in Malaysia. This research will focus on the higher education and training, strategies and policies, and the future prospects. All the research areas are expected to enhance the high speed broadband growth in the country and thus, build a strong foundation to ensure that the Malaysian ICT industry will survive successfully in international competitive growth.

Literature review
Information and communication technology (ICT) in Malaysia has become the most important driving force of the country’ economy and the development towards Vision 2020. ICT has become a part of the daily life of the people, business and industry in Malaysia and it is inevitable that the development of the ICT industry act as a catalyst to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of the country.

In MyICMS 886 plan YB Dato' Sri Dr.Lim Keng Yaik, Minister of Energy, Water and Communications has forwarded “Since the implementation of the regulatory framework under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the industry has made significant progress. In the last five years the gross turnover of the communications and multimedia (ICT) industry has doubled from RM12 billion in 1999 to RM24 billion in 2004. The ICT industry is important for the development of the country, not only because of the revenue and investments it generates, but also because it constitutes an important component in the production process of other good and services and can define the competitiveness of the country."

"MyICMS is intended to present a cohesive and comprehensive strategy towards further invigorating the ICT industry. Implementation of MyICMS 886 would maximize the linkages between the services, infrastructure and growth areas. On the commercial front, he said the effect of the blueprint would further spur Malaysia's e-services, e-commerce and other web-based services. It also might help the creation of a domestic market for related appliances and devices" (www.bernama.com December 19, 2005 18:13 PM)

The Ninth Malaysian Plan which acts as the blueprint for the nation’s development identifies development of ICT industry as a major importance for the development of the country. In line with that the government has emphasis on the development of ICT services and usage in the country. With ICT as key determinant in the development process to move the economy up with the value chains, efforts will be intensified to main stream ubiquitous access to ICT services and facilities and, equally important, to promote the wider adaptation and usage in all aspects in everyday life. The pervasive ICT environment will enable Malaysians to have more equitable access to, and participation in, the new and emerging knowledge-driven economic opportunities. Measures will be undertaken to enhance ICT-related skills and competencies as well as the infrastructure expansion for broadband connections, for multimedia applications, local content development, greater e-commerce adoption and improved information security. The country will need to increasingly harness ICT to improve productivity and competitiveness as well as progress to high value added and knowledge intensive economic activities. The Government will build upon and enhance ICT capacity for ubiquitous access, develop more competencies, narrow the digital divide and expand usage of electronic transactions as part of the overall effort to empower the populace to partake in the growing networked economy. Simultaneously, this will allow greater expansion of ICT-related industries and services.

ICT industry consists of many areas and each and every area is highly dependent on a solid broadband infrastructure and services. YB Dato' Sri Dr.Lim Keng Yaik in MyICMS plan says “ High speed broadband, which a few years ago was considered a luxury is today a necessary part of the industrial, commercial and lifestyle landscapes” .

In 2001, broadband services were introduced in Malaysia as part of the ICT industry in line with the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative which aims to cultivate a knowledge-rich society and take the country into the Information Age. Till today, the broadband in Malaysia is not up to the standards in terms of service and the bandwidth in comparison to other leading countries in the world. As of June 2006, statistics indicate that broadband penetration in Malaysia is as low as 2.5%. According to MyICMS 886 Strategy, one of the focus ICT services will be high speed broadband, whereby Malaysia planned to improve the broadband take-up by introducing optical fiber access in 2007 and expects more penetration rate in broadband using optical fiber from 2008 to 2010.

Beginning in MSC area, the broadband multimedia network with fiber optic backbone infrastructure will be expanded. Broadband offers a two-way capability and the ability to receive and transmit data at high speed. A broadband access, along with content and services will enable to transform the internet, both what it offers and how it is used. The multiple transmission media or technology that can be used to provide broadband access includes cable, enhanced telephone service called the digital subscriber line (DSL), satellite, fixed wireless and many more services. Broadband means always-on, always-fast Net access from just about anywhere to just about every piece of digital content.

The Malaysian government’s efforts to move Malaysia into the new knowledge economy has resulted in demand for a more efficient multimedia and communications network, especially for broadband services. (Kementerian Tenaga, Air Dan Komunikasiwww.ktak.gov.my)

While the government plans to emphasis on ICT industry by developing broadband infrastructure the private sector is also actively participating in the process. Especially the companies in telecommunication industry and in business service providing sector is benefiting from ever increasing technology in broadband.

Chief executive officer of Maxis said the bulk of the investment amounting to RM2.15billion would be used to expand 3G services and some RM850 million for broadband services. Of the RM2.15 billion for 3G he said a total of RM650 million would be invested year end to expand the 3G coverage. The remaining RM 700 million would be invested to next 3 years to roll out the broadband services. “As a part of our broadband commitment we are also making a concerted effort to develop local content and services. We have already committed RM10 million to our maxis developer programmer which is now not only open to mobile but internet content developers.” (The Sun, September 27, 2006)

Another company that implement broadband in a different perspective than optical cables, which is IPWireless Mobile Broadband System Deployed for AtlasONE’s National Broadband Wireless Network in Malaysia said “We selected IPWireless because we believe that its Mobile Broadband system offers the most technically and economically compelling broadband wireless solution, allowing us to bring Malaysia one of the most advanced data networks in the world today,” said AtlasONE Chairman Mohammad Badry bin Hanafi. “Consumers and enterprise customers can benefit from the availability, dependability and affordability of our wireless broadband service, which leverages non-line-of-sight architecture, to stay connected anytime, anywhere.” (http://www.wi-fitechnology.com/displayarticle378.html Thursday, August 07, 2003).

Capabilities of the broadband have yet to be developed, while many offices and business now have Internet broadband access, a remaining challenge which is providing the broadband over “the last mile” to consumers in their homes, Currently, a number of competing telecommunications companies are developing, deploying and marketing specific technologies and services that provide residential broadband access. Our local operators have a lot of catching up to do compare to their foreign counterparts.

The development of promising Internet services and media as an integral part of the broadband revolution has not been satisfactory. The broadband applications were narrowly defined (they assumed private connections and leased lines). The Internet is just acting like a door to several environments including developments of procurements, marketing and out-sourcing. A single bandwidth can be upgraded or improved allowing access to other corporate functions

The report from Kementerian Tenaga mentioned that the cost for developing and providing the communications infrastructure is high and it increases from-time-to-time. The local communications operators have spent more than RM 30 billion in the past years. The availability of the infrastructure involved implementation in stages and depends on the priority. The increment on cost is due to the development of network facilities in the new and urban areas nationwide in order to meet the high demand. Therefore, it will affect the return on investments to the operators. (Kementerian Tenaga, Air Dan Komunikasi Friday, October 13, 2006)

On the other hand, Japan which has been implementing high speed broadband earlier than other countries in the world has already using these services widely and improvising it from time to time. Japanese incumbent “NTT Group is finding that offering residential DSL and fiber is putting its current 1-Tbit/s backbone under strain, so the company has announced plans to build a 10-Tbit/s replacement. Compare this of course to the recent observations from an AT&T Research Labs VP, who stated the company's latest upgrade - a global OC-768 (40 Gbit/s) core - is rapidly filling up, and they'd need to move to a 100-Gbit/s backbone by the end of the decade.” (http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/78478)

Our neighboring country Singapore is also far ahead from our country in terms of implementing and the usage of broadband in the country. For instance, the country spurred adoption by small and midsize companies three years ago with government grants of as much as $200,000 for hardware, software and consulting services.

Moreover, its Singapore ONE initiative is meant to convert more than 800,000 households to high-speed fiber-optic — connecting as many as 2.5 million users by 2005. (http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2004-01-19-broadband_x.htm)

By: http://mescorp.mmu.edu.my/history0607.html