According to Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak there are no plans for a second high speed broadband (HSBB) network following the inking of a deal with Telekom Malaysia™ for a next generation network rollout, Malaysian news source The Star is reporting. With several operators looking to submit proposals for an alternative network amidst concerns that a single HSBB network might limit competition, the government has, however, issued assurances that it will ensure open access to TM’s infrastructure; operators have been instructed to submit an application for a network facilities provider (NFP) licence so that the government can begin work on the process of creating access policy for the new network. Pahang-based High Speed Broadband, one of the groups who had submitted an alternative proposal for the scheme has confirmed it will apply for both a NFP and NSP (network service provider) licence.
In related news Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) director Ahmad Nor Hisham Mohd Yusop has announced that the regulator’s first rural community broadband centre (CBC) would open in October 2008 in Sukau; the MCMC expects at least one CBC to be set up in all districts of East Malaysia next year, having already identified and surveyed thirteen more potential sites. Additionally the MCMC is also implementing a community broadband library (CBL) project in rural areas and towns where villagers can use the computer in their village library; the first one has been set up in Pitas, with the scheme expected to extend to further sites in the future.