Malaysia’s Star Online is reporting that, under new regulations being considered by the government, telcos will be more closely monitored for quality of service. Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor noted, ‘If telcos make promises they must deliver them and not short-change the consumers,’ revealing that the government will not accept excuses from operators which fail to offer services as agreed. Mr Shaziman also urged customers to continue providing feedback on providers while the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) continues preparing the new framework.
In separate but related news, Bernama reports that the government is considering revoking the WiMAX licence granted to an unnamed operator following its failure to offer services during the six-month trial period. No deadline has been announced for a decision on the matter, and Mr Shaziman has confirmed that the operator would be given an opportunity to provide information concerning any issues it had faced. The four operators granted licences – Bizsurf, Packet One, Asiaspace and REDtone – were obliged to roll out services to 25% of the population by the end of 2007 at download speeds of at least up to 1Mbps, rising to 40% coverage by the end of the third year of operation.