Thursday, November 12, 2009

50% Broadband Penetration by 2010?

After struggling for 8 years, the Government has only managed to achieve broadband penetration of approximately 24%. Hence the BN Government's National Broadband Plan target of 25% household penetration by 2006 and 50% by 2008, has clearly failed miserably. The Government has now set a new target, which has been endorsed by none other than the Prime Minister himself. I had sought clarifications from the Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture, Heng Seang Kie.
...saya hendak tanya Yang Berhormat Timbalan Menteri, target sebenar bagi National Broadband Plan bagi Malaysia adalah untuk mencapai 50% penetration pada tahun 2008, tetapi sampai sekarang kita tidak sampai lebih kurang 25%. Saya difahamkan melalui media statement yang dikeluarkan oleh Yang Berhormat Menteri, Datuk Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim, dia kata dia hendak capai 50% pada tahun hadapan.Jadi, kita ingin tahu apakah langkah yang akan diambil untuk mencapai 50%? How realistic is this? Adakah ini menubuhkan KPI yang fix bagi Menteri ataupun disebutkan sebagai sasaran sahaja? Adakah ini sasaran KPI seperti sasaran KPI antara kementerian yang lain? Apakah dibuat untuk menjamin supaya sasaran ini akan dicapai? Terima kasih.
And the Deputy Minister's reply is as follows:
[...] Seterusnya ialah tentang soalan yang ditujukan oleh Yang Berhormat PJ Utara lagi iaitu untuk pengetahuan Yang Berhormat PJ Utara, sebenarnya sasaran kadar penembusan yang telah ditetapkan pada akhir tahun 2009 adalah 30% dan seterusnya 50% pada akhir tahun 2010, bukan pada tahun 2008 seperti mana yang telah didakwa oleh Yang Berhormat PJ Utara tadi.

Satu lagi ialah tentang soalan yang dibangkitkan sama ada ini merupakan KPI, sama ada penembusan perkhidmatan jalur lebar ini merupakan KPI kementerian, jawapannya ialah ya.
Listen to some of the replies from the Ministers, and you can understand why we can get frustrated in parliament. I can understand that the newly appointed Deputy Minister has no clue about the previous National Broadband Plan targets of wanting to achieve 50% penetration by 2008.

But while she has confirmed that the 50% target for 2010 is indeed the Ministry's KPI, she didn't say how this was going to be achieved, beyond earlier stating that the Highspeed Broadband project worth RM11.3 billion has been awarded to Telekom Malaysia.

We have only 24% penetration today, do you think we'll achieve the 50% target by December 2010? Forgive me for being a pessimist, but based on the answers and actions taken by the Government today, we should be thankful if we hit 35% broadband internet penetration.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

. . . but Telekom is inefficient and neglecting new Tamans housing projects ( including township built by giant names developers ) where residents have shifted into new homes for months without landed lines / streamyx . . .

ais ~

Ray said...

Tony,

I'm amazed with your persistence and strong effort to really push the government to increase broadband penetration in the country.

Obviously the BN lawmakers are in the dark on how to do their work. I involve in the telcos industry and I myself very frustrated with speed of progress made by the major telcos.

Until we change the government, not much that we could do to change the situation.

Anonymous said...

Share your concern. A plan is a plan.Come Dec 2010 who can remember? and who is still in office? BTW,who is responsible for the present delay? The contractor or the ministry? If it is the former,any penalties? What are the term of agreements this time with TM? Any default payments if 50% target is not achieved?

Anonymous said...

What really gets to me is the whole HSBB plan will do little to increase the number because its simply just the wrong incentive.

They subsidy should have been on additional subscriber sign-up basis rather than just a contract to install equipment. All it does in the end is majority people who sign up for HSBB will already be on broadband in the first place i.e., the first movers. Its effect on subscriber addition is marginal and only because TM can drop the price of old lines but that since access will still be limited for old lines, its additional sub is small.

When AT&T did his deal with the US govt to give a phone line to anyone who wanted one more than half a century ago, they figured this out already.. Unbelievable, these guys can't figured it out 100 years later..

lionel0008 said...

"...sebenarnya sasaran kadar penembusan yang telah ditetapkan pada akhir tahun 2009 adalah 30% dan seterusnya 50% pada akhir tahun 2010, bukan pada tahun 2008 seperti mana yang telah didakwa oleh Yang Berhormat PJ Utara tadi."

Seems that they think that what was said by past ministers is none of their concern.

Shows how ignorant they are.

On another note, it's kind of weird that a small and compact city like Hong Kong is installing optical fibres to provide 100mbps at USD13 per month while we are struggling to reach even 10mbps for casual users

Shawn Tan said...

Can.. Easy to achieve.. All we need to do is redefine the word 'broadband' to include all slow connections and/or wire everyone up regardless of capacity. It's 'best effort' after all.

Unknown said...

Dear Sir,
By whichever way the government awards its contract to any broadband supplier is the same that local broadband users can not get the better services and cheaper servicing fee.
TMnet, Digi and Maxis all are crony companies of GLCs. What can we expect from them to give users better and reasonably proper services they supposed to give if they have to share their earning with other sleeping partners who do nothing as lollipop men?
Singtel of Singapore once bidding to buy over Time Engineering Bhd which was the main fibre optics provider. Its proposal stated guarantee to give better and higher frequency as well as faster transmission and most important part was cheaper charger for Malaysian frequency users provided they could successfully buy over the stated company and get the contract. But it was turned down by ruling elites of BN under Tun Dr. Ma. What the BN government worried was obvious and understood. This was the obstructive hindrance to better broadband improvement.
Unfortunately, we are definitely 30 years behind than other developed countries in the broadband progression.
Any way that can help Malaysian users to get better frequency from the sky with cheaper charges?
"Yes", we can. How?
It needs opposition political parties to generate themselves more stronger to add up more chances to successfully take over this government. Other wise nothing will be going to change. The cost of social expenses are too high. It causes government bears too much of its national debts. Financially, our government is going to be lame and quagmire in various prospects in order to improve and implement.
Only the the change of government will once for all settle this limbo. Bn is too old to understand the important of reinvention itself. Opposition party should put in double efforts to generate itself to be more aggressive and powerful. With the help of people, opposition "Must" and "Can Be Able" to replace this perfidious inefficient government.
Better future will be coming if we work together more harder to succeed the replacement of government. Malaysian must look forward for betterment and developed.
Carefully watch out for the vicious elements such as cancerous paid internet troopers. Can not let those cyber troopers out there messing up around doing their jobs conveniently.
We can see dogs are barking around everywhere in the internet. In this irritating fiasco, suggested dog killers should be arranged to track them down. Just don't give them the platform to publish their malicious comments easily and freely. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

hell...i could still remember my home's streamyx was out of service for 1 month but the telekom still charged me for RM66 for that month.
this country's corruption is sucking us up.

Anonymous said...

Actaully do anyone notice something?

You get a real sense that the Cabinet Ministers from Hissamuddin, Nazri, KTK, Rais, etc. when under pressure and not able to come up with good answer, the modus operandi is ‘Anyhow Hentam..Lah’..

In other words, there is a sense that so long as they just say something, even the worst crap, they will still be OK. They don’t seem to worry that the opposition is making zingers after zingers at them believing that somehow it won’t matter much. They are betting that so long as things are not disasters, they will live to fight another day and get lucky somehow..

In other words, PR is making grounds bit by bit against them but BN believes its small and slow. Eventually all these zingers are going to matter but the fact the BNers are not panicking tells us that they are literally numb at the attacks on them..

What is encouraging is this, if so many of them don’t know what to do, eventually all eyes will look to Najib for the solution – then it will get interesting because Najib will surely fail them. He is a screw up when chips are down. Najib himself is lost at what to do because he all his plans keep falling apart.

If this continues, Najib will have to act on something truly desperate – e.g. using the crookest means to topple Selangor or something equally desperate. Its in his history. Its may very well be that somethings are already in motion something truly henious and despicable..

PR have to watch its back over the next year or so because this Najib will sink to any low..There is no low he will not go.. Now it the time to be vigillant and keep an eye on Najib’s agents…

Unknown said...

Yang Berhormat YB Tony, you have been totally misled by this deputy information minister.
In fact, she couldn't give you any answer for your parliamentary question she should answer.
Where as she knows nothing about the broadband penetration, then how to give you a proper answer? She is only getting her Gaji Buta of emolument.
We don't know how MCA president OTK persuaded Najib to accept her and appointed her as deputy information minister as she wishes. This is how we can see this government runs of its governance.
Put a shield to defend its lousy and improper implementation of broadband policy.
This can be considered a test and a sign for opposition parliamentarian to tolerate this BN's designation naff of sandiwara.
Things have recently been picking up its momentum fiercely acting by MACC to fetter the movement of opposition. MACC has started its oprasi again. Even Kelantan's MB Tok Nik Aziz was questioned by MACC officer for querying his HJ trip to Mecca. And the checking of PMBK has rocked Kelantan government.
Opposition's project of taking over the federal government will face its tantamount difficulties. ISA could be launched again to cripple opposition leaders in order to halt it from happening.
Hoping all the PR elected representatives take good care and always in the position of alert. War is coming right ahead. The seditious court case of Karpal Singh and the court verdict of fining Tian Chua for more than two thousand ringgits, these are two of the many coming ups.
To recapitulate it that "Beware for sailing far!"
Note that, Najib is a professional politician, he may use his secret weapon to keep himself in the throne. What is his secret weapon? Think it over that who is his father. The fervent of his tracking for catching PR's friendly supporter RPK. The utilization of Monarchies.
Suffice to say, these are few of his weapons to subside PR importunate approaching succession of forming federal government.

Anonymous said...

The govt knows it loses in the internet political war. Don't be silly. Do you all think the govt will do its utmost to increase the broadband penetration? All sandiwara only, not until BN garnered enough support that assures them of no danger in doing so.

Unknown said...

Please ask the ministry to clarify what constitutes a broadband. In countries like Japan, my associate told me that if you cannot watch a High Definition movie with your connection, you are not on broadband.

In addition, don't waste time with a deputy minister who occupies the place just because she is from a BN component party and needs the pay. A deputy minister is not part of the decision making process. If you don't believe me, please study the organisation.

Ravin P said...

Tony,

The governments broadband penetration vision is all BS. The point of contention is the activation fee charged by Telekom Malaysia. Why don't Telekom activate every telephone port(as long as it is ADSL enabled on TM's side) in Malaysia? The activation fee is around RM50 I believe. Put it this way Tony even if each and every Malaysian had a Streamyx user name and password we would still fail to achieve high usage because TM has yet to enable all the ports. To enable ADSL all it takes is to flick a switch and they charge RM50 or so.

democrazyman said...

ya, i am so keen to subscribe to the poor service to be offered by Telekom! Improve the quality of the current broadband speed.