MCMC: Celcom, Digi and U Mobile may face fines up to RM200,000 for not meeting quality standards

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — In a statement by Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today, the regulatory body has revealed that they have warned three telcos—U Mobile, Digi and Celcom—for failing to meet broadband service standards. — According to the MCMC, they were carrying out a quality audit nationwide in 3,038 locations across 13 states and three Federal Territories. All these locations were chosen based on complaints from Malaysians to the MCMC.

Of these 3,038 locations, the MCMC has issued three commission directives to Celcom Axiata Berhad, U Mobile Sdn Bhd and Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd for failing to fulfil broadband service standards and failing to improve their quality of service in several locations across Langkawi. These include Langkawi Highway and a number of tourism hotspots.

The commission directive was sent out to the three telcos on May 19, 2022, and calls for the three companies to make improvements to the quality of their service and the quality of the user experience so that it meets the MCMC’s mandatory standards for quality of service. If any of the telcos involved fails to follow through with the directive, they could be fined up to RM200,000 under Section 109 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.

MCMC also said that they’ll be deploying even more teams to carry out audits across the country to ensure telcos and internet service providers meet the necessary standards for wireless broadband access services.

Last week, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the MCMC must step up its regulatory efforts by conducting audits on telco performance. He said he wants the MCMC to perform their own mapping for the entire country instead of relying on reports from the telcos themselves. He added that the MCMC should compare the performance results as there are residents that are still complaining of poor telco services.

Annuar Musa added that Malaysian telcos are making huge profits. He said there’s nothing wrong with making profits but they should also invest back in solving connectivity issues faced by the public as there are people climbing trees and hills to stay connected.

The Mandatory Standard of Quality of Service (MSQoS) was revised last year and telcos are required to deliver a mandatory speed of 2.5Mbps for wireless broadband and 25Mbps for fixed wireless access, 90 per cent of the time. Before the revision, the mandatory standard for mobile was 650kbps, 80 per cent of the time. — SoyaCincau