KUALA LUMPUR: Telecommunication companies and internet service providers (ISPs) are working hard to reduce the strain that residential connections are experiencing as a result of the surge in demand from households due to the movement control order (MCO).
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said among measures that telco players have taken include releasing additional bandwidth capacity for both fixed and mobile, as well as, optimising the coverage network for mobile broadband.
“The increased broadband internet traffic of 23.5% between March 9-15 (one week before MCO) and March 16-22 (the first week of MCO) clearly shows an increase in demand.
“With the implementation of the MCO, everyone is currently adopting the working from home concept which witnessed the shift of network traffic from business areas to residential areas,” the commission said.
It said the infrastructure and network upgrades of RM400 million by telcos, as announced recently in the Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package, are in place to enhance and maintain the networks to address slower broadband issues.
The MCMC said Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and TT dotCom Sdn Bhd (TIME) would be supporting telco players by providing additional fibre capacity to serve higher traffic demand.
The upgrading exercise, which also includes upgrading the capacity and improving coverage for critical locations, including hospitals, government agencies, enforcement agencies and media centres, would continue until the end of the second quarter of this year.
“Additional investment has also been allotted to enhance the network coverage and capacity for critical sites such as hospitals, key government and enforcement agencies, and media centres around the country, to name a few.
“All operators continue to invest, where needed. Teams are working 24/7 during this MCO period to maintain sites, upgrade capacity, optimise networks and improve coverage,” the MCMC said.
6 projects to improve infrastructure
On top of that, the MCMC said the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) would continue to be implemented.
There are six projects that focus on the deployment of infrastructure for fixed and mobile network, namely NFCP 1-6, which are all on track for implementation in 2020 and would be completed in stages between 2021-2023.
NFCP 1, 2, 4 and 6 are aimed at increasing LTE coverage at average speeds of 30 Mbps in populated areas by 2023.
NFCP 3 and 5 are aimed at ensuring that 20% of the premises in suburban and rural areas achieve broadband speeds of up to 500 Mbps by 2022.
“At present, the commission expects all projects on the ground to be implemented as planned, with no significant delays.
“The implementation of the NFCP projects is being closely monitored by MCMC in an effort to meet the stipulated project timelines,” it added.
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