PETALING JAYA: With rising complaints about slow and unstable broadband speeds, the regulating authority has come out to say that users must enjoy faster connectivity “at least 90% of the time”.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it monitored the quality of broadband services according to the “mandatory standard for service quality” on fixed broadband service, which stipulates that telcos must adhere to the condition.
“If telcos fail to adhere to the mandatory standard, the MCMC will take appropriate action,” its chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak (pic) told The Star.
He is aware that there are still subscribers who have yet to get their broadband speeds upgraded.
“I would like to inform that services and upgrades are being conducted by the telcos in stages.
“MCMC has been informed by the telcos that up to December 2018, at least 75% of the customers have been upgraded with the rest to be done by the middle of this year,” he said.
The Star reported recently of the many complaints by broadband users about dismal connectivity despite being promised improved services by the telcos.
One user said she was upgraded to an Internet package that offered speeds of up to 300Mbps but that she had not experienced any difference in daily browsing.
Another said he was still waiting to be upgraded to a faster connection and cheaper package by his service provider.
Al-Ishsal said MCMC would continue with its efforts to monitor the telcos and to improve the infrastructure for broadband services.
“MCMC is currently finalising its National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) to increase the coverage and speed for broadband services at an affordable price, to support the growth of the national digital economy,” he said.
He said a report released by Ookla, a global leader in Internet testing and analysis, stated that Malaysia was one of the most improved countries for mean download speed for fixed broadband with a +85.5% difference from 2017.
The report revealed that Malaysians were now enjoying download speeds at an average of 35.83Mbps.
“MCMC is aware that there is still room for improvement on quality on high-speed broadband services,” Al-Ishsal said.
A telecommunications official, who did not want to be named, said there were various reasons why users did not experience the higher broadband speeds.
One reason could be insufficient bandwidth, or congestion on the backhaul from site to the service provider’s core network, or congestion from the service provider’s core network, he said.
He said a misconfiguration of equipment by the service provider at the customer’s premises was also a factor.
“It can also happen when a user’s end device is connected to the network termination unit.
“This normally happens when a user is connected via WiFi that is located far away from the user.
“Limited bandwidth could also be caused by environment within the customer’s own premises connecting to the user’s device,” he said.
The official urged users who experienced poor service to lodge complaints with their service providers and also with MCMC.