Internet in Malaysia

From its beginnings in 1995, the Internet in Malaysia has become the main platform for free discussion in Malaysia's otherwise tightly controlled media environment.[1] As of Q1 2017, Malaysia has broadband penetration rates of 103.6% (per 100 inhabitants) and 81.8% (per 100 households).[2]

History

The year 1995 is considered the beginning of the Internet age in Malaysia. The growth in the number of Internet hosts in Malaysia began around 1996. The country's first search engine and web portal company, Cari Internet, was also founded that year.[3] According to the first Malaysian Internet survey conducted from October to November 1995 by MIMOS and Beta Interactive Services, one out of every thousand Malaysians had access to the Internet (20,000 Internet users out of a population of 20 million).[4] In 1998, this number grew to 2.6% of the population. The total number of computer units sold, which was 467,000 in 1998 and 701,000 in 2000 indicated an increasing growth.[5][6]

In 2005 the National Public Policy Workshop (NPPW) proposed a strategy to increase the uptake of Information and communications technology (ICT) and the Internet. Among the outcomes of the NPPW was the High Speed Broadband initiative launched in 2010. As of July 2012 Internet users in Malaysia reached 25.3 million. Out of that number, there are 5 million broadband users, 2.5 million wireless broadband users and 10 million 3G subscribers.[7]

Speed

As of February 2020, Malaysia's average internet speed for fixed broadband is 78.03 megabits per second (Mbit/s) ranked on 37th ranking, up from 62nd place on Q1 2017. Average speed for mobile connection speed also gone up to 23.8 megabits per second (Mbit/s) from 19.92 on December 2019.[8]

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission sets a low threshold for broadband.[9] It defines broadband as:

  • Any service beyond the scope of existing PSTN/ISDN and 2G cellular networks
  • With data rates that exceed the normal voice-related speed (56 kilobits per second (kbit/s) for PSTN and 64 kbit/s for ISDN)

This definition is far below the primary rate interface lower limit defined by the International Telecommunications Union in ITU-R F.1399.[10]

Access technologies
See also: Internet access

Cellular data

Cellular data and mobile broadband connections are provided by:

Internet service provider Cellular service technology Internet download speed
Altel EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE, 4G LTE-A Altel have the right to uses 2x20Mhz at 2.6 GHz, but didn't build their own network, the spectrum is shared with Celcom and Digi

2G/3G/4G services are provided by Celcom through roaming agreements

Celcom EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE, 4G LTE-A Up to 480 Mbit/s
Digi EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE, 4G LTE-A Up to 262.5 Mbit/s
Maxis EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE, 4G LTE-A Up to 375 Mbit/s
U Mobile EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE Up to 262.5 Mbit/s
Unifi HSPA, HSPA+, 4G LTE Up to 50 Mbit/s, operating at a lower 850 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz frequency

3G services are provided by Celcom through roaming agreements

Yes 4G 4G LTE Up to 20 Mbit/s, Yes 4G LTE network operates on TD-LTE in Band 38 (2600 MHz) and 40 (2300 MHz)

Digital subscriber line (DSL)

As of June 2012 there were 1,705,000 DSL connections. TM Net, a subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia (TM), is Malaysia's largest Internet service provider. While there are many ISPs in Malaysia, TM's ownership of the nation's last mile connections restricts competition to densely populated areas in major cities. Since there is no local loop unbundling, TM Net enjoys a virtual monopoly of the broadband market.

DSL connections are provided by:

Internet service provider DSL service technology Internet download speed
Maxis VDSL2
(for high-rise buildings only)		 From 30 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s for FTTB
Unifi From 30 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s for FTTB
Unifi (Streamyx) ADSL, ADSL2/ADSL2+ From 2 Mbit/s to 8 Mbit/s

Fiber optics

Telekom Malaysia Bhd has spent about RM1.9 billion, with the inclusion government funds amounting to RM990 million in the installation of high-speed broadband services throughout Malaysia.[11] The four initial areas that will be covered by high speed broadband services, that is being launched in March 2010 are Shah Alam, Subang Jaya, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.[12]

The benefits announced with the implementation of high speed broadband include smoother e-commerce activities, Internet-based health services, voice over IP (VoIP) communications, web surfing that contains detailed pictures and graphics, as well as faster data downloads. It has been promised that video-streaming will be smoother and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) could take off in Malaysia.

Fiber to the x connections are provided by:

Internet service provider Fiber service coverage Internet download speed
Celcom East Malaysia From 30 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s
City Broadband Cyberjaya From 50 Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s
Digi East Malaysia From 50 Mbit/s to 500 Mbit/s
Maxis East and West Malaysia From 30 Mbit/s to 800 Mbit/s
MacroLynx West Malaysia From 8 Mbit/s to 1Gbit/s
PenangFON Penang Up to 2 Mbit/s
Symphonet West Malaysia From 30 Mbit/s to 100 Mbit/s
TIME West Malaysia From 100 Mbit/s to 1GBit/s
Unifi East and West Malaysia From 30 Mbit/s to 800 Mbit/s
ViewQwest West Malaysia From 100 Mbit/s to 800 Mbit/s

Hotspot

Hotspot connections are provided by:

Internet service provider Hotspot quantity count Internet service registration
Digi Over 7,000 Required
Unifi Over 8,000 Not required
Y5ZONE Over 5,500 Required

Internet censorship in Malaysia
See also: Censorship in Malaysia § Internet, and Malaysia Internet Blackout Day (2012)

On 30 May 2011, the Malaysia government started to ban some websites, mostly file sharing websites;[13][14] this is despite a promise not to censor the Internet, made by the sixth prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Malaysia profile: Media", BBC News, 10 September 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  2. "Communications and Multimedia : Facts and Figures, 1Q 2017", Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, 2 August 2017, retrieved 12 September 2017
  3. Sreejit Pillai (13 November 2001). "M'sia oldest search engine upbeat in trying times". ZDNet. Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. Beta Interactive Services, 1996
  5. Lee, 2000c
  6. "Drivers and Impediments to E-commerce in Malaysia", John Paynter and Jackie Lim, Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, Vol.6, no.2, December 2001: 1-19. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  7. Salman Ali, Ah Choy Er, Amizah Wan Mahmud Wan, Abdul Latif Roslina (2013). "Tracing the Diffusion of Internet in Malaysia: Then and Now". Asian Social Science. 9. doi:10.5539/ass.v9n6p9.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Speedtest Global Index – Monthly comparisons of internet speeds from around the world". 2020-02-04. Archived from the original on 2020-02-04. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  9. http://www.mcmc.gov.my/what_we_do/spectrum/SRSP/BWA-%20802.16-WiMAX-a.pdf Archived February 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ABFL Groupe Intellex Archived 2009-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07) agenda item 1.4 responses, UK Office of Communications (Ofcom), 29 March 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  11. "TM To Launch HSBB Retail Service March 24". Bernama. 17 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  12. "TM Invests RM1.9 Billion, To Date, To Develop HSBB". Bernama. 18 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  13. "MCMC wants block of 10 websites that allow illegal movie downloads", Wong Pek Mei, Star Online, 10 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  14. "Malaysian Govt Orders ISPs to Block Pirate Bay, Megaupload" Archived 2012-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Jared Moya, ZeroPaid, 10 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  15. "No censorship of the Internet", Lester Kong and Zulkifli Abd Rahman, The Star, 8 August 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
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