Telecoms & IT
From The Report: Malaysia 2014
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In 2014 Malaysia’s ICT sector ranked highly in international indices, including internet and telephony competition, knowledge absorption and cluster development among other measures. Out of Malaysia’s population of 30m, 15.2m people use the most popular networking sites, spending an average of 16 hours a week online, far more than their counterparts in other South-east Asian countries. With a good base of talent, skills and technology, a wide range of supporting policies and programmes, an active local market and a good reputation, Malaysia has built an impressive foundation in IT. It now has to focus on going from a strong local player to becoming a regional leader and finding a way to establish its IT corporations and entrepreneurs internationally. This chapter contains interviews with Zam Isa, CEO, Telekom Malaysia; and Badlisham Ghazali, Former CEO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC).

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

The right mix: A large and diverse market offers consumers options and investors opportunities
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Telecoms in Malaysia is in transition as 2G and 3G are quickly giving way to 4G long-term evolution (LTE). The market for devices is rapidly evolving with the introduction of new technologies. In the long term this will mean an explosion in usage and innovation and greatly improved business for operators. It will also mean a better experience for users and considerable spin-off effects as speeds increase and networks’ capabilities increase dramatically. But as in the rest of the world, Malaysia…

Analysis

Evolving long term: With LTE getting off the ground, players are scrambling for a share
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Since early 2013, 4G long-term evolution (LTE) has been available in Malaysia. After a successful auction of the relevant spectrum, the major carriers almost immediately started offering the ultra high-speed wireless connection. However, though successful, the rollout has also been choppy. Different strategies, legacy technologies, high costs and the simple fact that most subscribers in the country are happy with 3G have all made the introduction more of a phased event than a big bang. LTE will be…

Interview

OBG talks to Zam Isa, Group CEO, Telekom Malaysia
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Interview:Zam Isa What can we expect from the second phase of the country’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) project? ZAM ISA: First and foremost, what was committed to the government under the first HSBB public-private partnership programme (HSBB1) has been achieved. HSBB, by definition, delivers speeds of 4 Mbps and above. Now, discussions are ongoing with the government on how best to extend the current agreement for the second phase, HSBB2. As of December 2013, we passed 1.49m ports covering…

Interview

OBG talks to Zam Isa, Group CEO, Telekom Malaysia
OBG
plus

Interview:Zam Isa What can we expect from the second phase of the country’s high-speed broadband (HSBB) project? ZAM ISA: First and foremost, what was committed to the government under the first HSBB public-private partnership programme (HSBB1) has been achieved. HSBB, by definition, delivers speeds of 4 Mbps and above. Now, discussions are ongoing with the government on how best to extend the current agreement for the second phase, HSBB2. As of December 2013, we passed 1.49m ports covering…

Overview

Getting it right: The sector has a good foundation and is working toward new advances
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Technological development has long been a priority for Malaysia, and it remains so. The country’s efforts are both big, such as Cyberjaya and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), and small, with entrepreneurs pulling together funds from friends and family to build websites and apps. The work has paid off to a certain degree. The country was ranked 33rd on the 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII), putting it ahead of most other upper middle-income countries in the survey. However, much remains to…

Interview

OBG talks to Badlisham Ghazali, Former CEO, Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC)
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Interview: Badlisham Ghazali What specific advantages does Malaysia possess over other ASEAN countries in the ICT sector? BADLISHAM GHAZALI: The Malaysian ICT industry has enjoyed the advantage of consistent support from the government, including during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. Another advantage is that English is widely spoken in Malaysia. One must also bear in mind that the types of segments that we are trying to develop in Malaysia are not just a pure technology play or a hardware…

Analysis

Getting started: The government is looking to capitalise on local talent
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The local environment is one that encourages and breeds tech start-ups. The economy is open, people are well educated, the law is straightforward, internet is fast and cheap, and most other costs are lower than they are in places like Singapore and Hong Kong. In Malaysia, it is easy for people to get together, test and market their tech ideas and form businesses around these ideas. But while entrepreneurs have been active in Malaysia and have built successful companies, the country has had few large…

Analysis

From the ground up: Improving connectivity will require large investments in infrastructure
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A drive to bring Malaysia’s internet services up to speed is gathering pace, with ICT infrastructure earmarked for an investment boost in 2015 and long-term solutions under discussion. Malaysia currently lags behind several of its peers when it comes to download speeds, while demand for faster broadband is set to rise significantly in the coming years. Increasing ICT’s contribution to growth forms a key part of the government’s master plan for the economy. Under its Malaysia Digital Economy…