Headline TM-TNB fiberisation termination a boon to industry MediaTitle The Edge Financial Daily Date 25 Jul 2018 Language English Circulation 4,549 Readership 13,647 Section Home Business Page No 1,7 ArticleSize 391 cm² Journalist Sangeetha PR Value RM 12,858

7 HOME BUSINESS Gobind: TM-TNB fi berisation termination a boon to industry Headline TM-TNB fiberisation termination a boon to industry MediaTitle The Edge Financial Daily Date 25 Jul 2018 Language English Circulation 4,549 Readership 13,647 Section Home Business Page No 1,7 ArticleSize 391 cm² Journalist Sangeetha PR Value RM 12,858 TM-TNB fi berisation termination a boon to industry

It has also prevented a monopoly — minister

BY SANGEETHA AMARTHALINGAM Yesterday, the minister said the & CHESTER TAY MoU had shown some form of co- operation or partnership between KUALA LUMPUR: Th e government the two entities. says the cancellation of the memo- “We want to assure Malaysians randum of understanding (MoU) that despite the fi berisation plan’s between Telekom Bhd (TM) termination, the government would and Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) on continue with its agenda to ensure the National Fiberisation Plan (NFP) Internet connectivity nationwide.” is a boon to the industry, and does Th is, he said, has been his focus not aff ect Putrajaya’s agenda to roll- since he was appointed communi- out Internet connectivity nationwide. cations and multimedia minister to Communications and Multime- ensure that Internet access at a lower dia Minister said rate, higher speed and good quality the cessation of the collaboration is provided soon. between the two state-owned pow- In his reply to the original ques- erhouses to establish a detailed joint tion by Datuk Hasbullah Osman (Ba- proposal for the NFP has prevented risan Nasional-Gerik), Gobind said a monopoly in the industry. Gobind: The government would 379,246 connections had been made “It also allows them (TM and continue with its agenda to ensure under the suburban broadband pro- TNB) to work independently with us Internet connectivity nationwide. Photo gramme (SUBB) as of March, with and other companies to provide the by Bernama another 114,620 connections in the [necessary] infrastructure throughout implementation process. the country,” he said in the Dewan clude them from considering other The initiative, allowing broad- Rakyat yesterday. collaborations, should there be future band speed to increase to 20Mbps Replying to a supplementary business opportunities benefi cial to in suburban areas, is in line with question by Khoo Poay Tiong (Paka- both parties. the government’s nationwide plan tan Harapan-Kota Melaka), Gobind During the MoU’s signing, TM and to expand high-speed broadband. said several parties have voiced con- TNB said the collaboration would Under the cellular and mobile cern that any cooperation between capitalise on their strengths, enabling broadband expansion initiative, 1,749 TM and TNB would cause a huge the most effi cient cost structure and communication towers have been monopoly in the industry. accelerating the fibre broadband built and are in operation, while an- “Th is would be a barrier for com- network reach in line with the gov- other 286 towers are being built. panies to provide similar services, ernment’s move to drive Malaysia’s About 4,700 existing towers have resulting in competition and a better digital economy. been upgraded to the 3G/4G service, system,” he said. At the weekend, Gobind report- and another 865 towers are being The decision to terminate the edly said the Pakatan government upgraded. MoU signed on Jan 16 was an- may replace the NFP with the Na- “Apart from the focus on fi berisa- nounced by the two companies on tional Connectivity Plan, to allow tion, we must also understand that Monday. Th ey said the decision was wider and more extensive Internet the last mile such as rural areas would mutual and the move did not pre- accessibility. need a wireless service,” Gobind said.