New MSAP to enable broadband services offered at lower prices - Fahmi

KUALA LUMPUR - The implementation of the new Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) effective March 1 saw broadband service prices set lowered compared to the earlier MSAP.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said for example, the price for wholesale high-speed broadband services with a speed of 100 Mbps in the new MSAP for this year is RM254.64 per month compared to the previous price of RM515 per month.

"As such, it can reduce cost to the recipient of access services involved in providing fixed broadband services to users.

"Indirectly, services provided to consumers at the retail level can be offered at a lower and more competitive price or at a higher speed," he said during Minister's Question Time at Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying a question by Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) who wanted an explanation about the new MSAP which came into force on March 1 2023 and its impact on the telecommunications sector and consumers in Malaysia in terms of service quality.

MSAP, which was introduced in 2018, is one of the legal instruments issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to regulate wholesale access prices by access service providers.

Through the new MSAP which came into force on March 1 2023, maximum access prices have been set for 14 facilities and services listed for the period up to 2025.

Replying to Khoo's supplementary question regarding the long-term impact of MSAP implementation on Telekom Malaysia (TM), Fahmi said that although its implementation resulted in a slight loss for TM in the first year, the company was able to regenerate profits the following year.

Commenting further, Fahmi said that in 2017, TM recorded a net profit of RM730.5 million, but in 2018 after the MSAP began to be implemented, the company suffered a loss of RM260.5 million.

"But they were able to bounce back a year later by recording a net profit in 2019 of RM557.4 million and the trend continued to increase, until last Feb 28 when TM announced that they had recorded a net profit of RM1.14 billion for last year.

"This shows that the spirit of Malaysia Boleh is indeed present in TM even when given challenges but they are able to rise again," he said.

Fahmi said that TM's success can also be an example for the country and he understood from analysts that the trend for TM shares is 'still a buy'. - BERNAMA