A public inquiry has been launched by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on proposed revisions to the Mandatory Standards for Quality of Service (MSQoS) for wireless broadband, fixed line broadband and public cellular services. In announcing the consultation, the watchdog claimed that, with the quality of communication services being ‘very crucial with the rise of internet usage by consumers due to COVID-19 pandemic’, the MSQoS is one of the key regulatory instruments established to protect consumers. It has invited submissions on the proposals from all interested parties, setting a deadline of 4 June for feedback.
One of the more the noteworthy amendments relates to the required speeds of wireless and fixed-wireless access (FWA) broadband services. As per the consultation documents published by the MCMC, it has called for a revision of the standard for wireless broadband speeds that would require operators to provide a download speed of 2.5Mbps 90% of the time for connections made via both FDD and TDD technology; as per the current QoS standards, operators must provide downlink rates of 650kbps 80% of the time for TDD-based subscribers and 65% of the time for those using FDD technology. Meanwhile, for FWA broadband services, the proposed new QoS standard will require operators to ensure 25Mbps downlink speeds 90% of the time.