Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said to date, only two telcos – Telekom Malaysia and Maxis – have adhered to the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) that was enforced in June.

“We are still waiting for the other telcos to do the same. We’ll take action against them if they fail to adhere to the MSAP by month-end. We are serious about this,” he said.

On July 13, Gobind said he hoped all telcos would come up with a proposal soon on ways to reduce broadband prices and increase speed.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) Preparatory Group meeting, Gobind said Malaysia had achieved 94.4% broadband penetration in populated parts of the country as of July. The target is to achieve 94.5% penetration by year-end.

“The target of achieving 95% broadband coverage in populated areas throughout the country by 2020 is achievable.

“To achieve the remaining 5% may not sound difficult but those who have been in this industry know that it’s the last few which will be the most expensive to reach,” he said.

Gobind added that the remaining 5% broadband coverage would be challenging and costly because of locations with diverse terrains, population densities and most importantly, differing distances to existing broadband infrastructure and networks.