Malaysia’s Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim has said that a fair and transparent bidding process will precede the country’s award of spectrum in the 700MHz band, claiming that all parties will have a fair chance to claim frequencies. According to Malaysia’s Star Online, the exact bidding process itself however is still under consideration by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), and reportedly requires a lot more work. Commenting on the matter Rais Yatim noted that a number of interested parties have enquired about bidding for 700MHz spectrum, hence the government’s aim to achieve a fair method for its sale, with the minister stating: ‘In this respect, the MCMC has already been directed to award all broadband spectrum in a fair and more transparent manner.’
As previously noted by the regulator, under the country’s National Spectrum Plan the 700MHz band had been set aside for broadcasting service and not for Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 4G mobile services as had been speculated. Earlier this month however Rais Yatim revealed that the issue of the allocation of 700MHz spectrum had been presented at a briefing for the economic council chaired by the prime minister last month. It is understood that the economic council was of the opinion that the spectrum should not be assigned until a complete study of interest in the frequencies had been conducted.