THENATIONALTELECOMMUNICATIONPOLICY(19942020) PREFACE 1.Thisdocumentoutlinestheobjectives,strategiesandfeaturesoftheNational TelecommunicationsPolicy(NTP)forthe19942020period.Thispolicywasformulatedtoensure thatthegrowthoftelecommunicationsservicesanditsuseoftechnologysupportnational development,inlinewithnationalaspirations. 2.Thetelecommunicationssectorisexpandingrapidlywiththeintroductionofthelatestservices andequipment.Thisdevelopmenthasbecomeacatalystforthegrowthofthenation'scommercial andindustrialsectors.Theintegrationofthetelecommunicationsandcomputerindustriesalso resultedintherapidgrowthofsophisticatedtechnologywhichushersinanewInformation Technologybasedcentury.Inaddition,thetelecommunicationssectorasanindustryinitsownright hasgonethroughrapidgrowthtoo,andcontributedmuchtothenation'seconomicdevelopment. TheformulationoftheNTPisimportantbecauseitprovidesguidelinesforthedevelopmentofthe telecommunicationssectorinMalaysiaasitfacesfuturechallengesandsupportstheattainmentof theobjectivesofVision2020.

020. BACKGROUND 3.ThetelephoneandtelegraphicserviceswerespecificallyintroducedaftertheFirstWorldWarto helprunthegovernment'sadministrativesystem.Lateritexpandeditsroletothebusinessand industrialsectorsandlaterforpublicuse.Startingfromasimplenetwork,thissectorhasdeveloped tobecomeasophisticatedtelecommunicationsnetwork,usingopticalfibercable,microwaveand satellitesystemstolinkruralandurbanareasthroughoutthenationandwiththewholeworld. 4.Thegrowthrateintheuseoftelecommunicationsfacilitieshasincreasedtremendously,especially intheincreasingnumberoftelephonesubscribers.AttheendoftheSecondMalaysianPlan(1970 1975),therewere169,600subscribers.Thisfigureincreasedto1.58millionsubscribersattheendof theFifthMalaysianPlan(19861990).Thenumberoftelephonesforevery100personsincreased from6.5in1985to12in1993. 5.Besidesthegrowingnumberofcustomerswhomakeuseoftelecommunicationsfacilities,other servicesalsoexperiencedrapidgrowthsuchasthemobiletelecommunicationradio,trunkradioand pagingsystemaswellasdataserviceswhichincludeswitchingservices,datel,telefaxandother services.Theintroductionofhelatestvalueaddedanddownstreamtelecommunicationservices spurfurthergrowthinthenation'smanufacturingandeconomicservicesector. 6.Developmentofthepublictelecommunicationsnetworkisnotonlyconfinedtotheurbanareas. Effortstoexpandpublictelecommunicationsnetworktotheruralareasareactivelycarriedout.The totalnumberofruraltelephonesin1990was190,000andthisisexpectedtoincreaseto351,000in 1995,a11.5%growth.Theruraltelephonelinepenetrationrateisexpectedtoincreasefrom1.8

telephonesforevery100personsin1990to3.1telephonesforevery100personsin1995. 7.Theexpansionanddevelopmentoftelecommunicationsservicesareimportantforthegrowthof theindustrialandservicesectors.Tomoderniseandtoincreasetelecommunicationsservicegrowth rate,acompetitiveelementwasintroducedinstages.Thefirststepinvolvedtheincorporationof TelekomMalaysiain1987asagovernmentownedcompany.Later,newcompanieswerelicensedto providecertainservicessuchasmobilecellulartelephones,pagers,trunkedradio,twowayradio systemandothervalueaddedservices. 8.TheEnergy,TelecommunicationsandPostsMinistryisresponsiblefortheformulationofpolicies andtheplanningoffuturelongtermcourseofthetelecommunicationssector,whiletheMalaysian TelecommunicationsDepartment(JTM)isresponsibleforthesupervisionofthetelecommunications sector.TheJTMalsoencouragescompetitionandensuresanorderlyandefficientdevelopmentor thetelecommunicationsindustry.Theseareinadditiontotheworkdoneinlicensingand enforcement. THENATIONALTELECOMMUNICATIONPOLICY(19942020) 9.TheNTPwillfunctionasacatalysttowardsthegrowthanddevelopmentofthe telecommunicationssectorinitseffortstobecomeamodern,sophisticatedanddynamicsector. 10.TheNTPwillformulategeneraloutlinesforthedevelopmentofthetelecommunicationssector notonlyatnationalbutalsoatinternationallevels.Thiswillserveasguidelinestoallpartiesinvolved includingproviders,investorsandtheGovernmentparticularlywithregardstotherequirementsof investment,humanresourcedevelopment,networkandservicefacilities,absorptionofnew technologyandresearchanddevelopment. 11.Atthenationallevel,theNTPwillcoordinatetheemergenceofacompetitiveatmosphereinan orderlymannertoensuretheoptimumuseofthecountryresources.Forthedomesticservice,the NTPwilloutlinethecreationofquality,hightechnology,costeffectiveandsophisticated telecommunicationsservicesatparwiththatfoundindevelopedcountries. 12.Intheinternationalarena.theNTPwillensurethatMalaysiaisregardedasacompetitive telecommunicationsservicesupplierandapremiermarketleaderknownthroughouttheAsiaPacific regionandtheworld. THEMISSIONANDOBJECTIVESOFTHENATIONALTELECOMMUNICATIONSPOLICY 13.MissionStatement TheNTPwillbethemaincatalysttowardsthecreationofaninformationrichandintelligentnation. 14.TheobjectivesoftheNTParedividedintomacroandmicroobjectives.

 14.1MacroObjective ThemacroobjectivessupportstheNationalDevelopmentPolicyisaimsofnationalunity.and integrationbyencouraginginteractionbetweentheracesandregionsthroughtelecommunication facilitiesandservices.Inaddition,theNTPalsohelpstorealizetheobjectivesofVision2020in creatinganeducatedandinformationrichsocietythroughtheapplicationofmodernand sophisticatedtelecommunicationsnetwork.Thedisseminationandexpansionofinformation technologywillproduceasocietycapableofcontributingtowardsthedevelopmentofnew technologytoenhancethecountry'seconomicandindustrialgrowth.Besidesinformation technology,theapplicationofalltypesoftelecommunicationstechnologyinallsectorsofthe nation'seconomywillbeenhanced. 14.2MicroObjective Themicroobjectivesareforthe: 14.2.1Provisionofmodern,sophisticatedandqualitycommunicationsservicesatareasonablecost. 14.2.2Ensuringthattelephoneservicesareexpandedtotheruralandurbanpopulationata reasonablecost. 14.2.3Ensuringthatthetelecommunicationsinfrastructureisadequateandeffectiveinsupporting thecountry'sindustrialisationefforts. 14.2.4Encouragingthegrowthofvalueaddedservices. 14.2.5Ensuringthathumanresourcedevelopmentisintandemwiththeneedsofthe telecommunicationssector. 14.2.6Ensuringthatlocalmanufacturingindustriesforthemanufacturingoftelecommunications equipmentcontinuetoexpandandgrow. 14.2.7Ensuringtheuseoflocalproductsbythetelecommunicationssector. 14.2.8Encouragingresearchanddevelopment(R&D)tofacilitatetheabsorptionofnewtechnology andtoupgradetelecommunicationsfacilitiesandservices. 14.2.9PromotingbettertiesbetweennationstowardsmakingMalaysiaaninternational telecommunicationshub. 14.2.10Encouragingthehealthyparticipationoftelecommunicationscompaniesintheinternational marketandinvestmentinothercountriesinthefieldsoftelecommunications.

14.2.11Ensuringthatradiotelecommunicationsspectrumresourcemanagementisadministeredin aneffectiveandfairmanner. 14.2.12Encouragingtheactiveparticipationofbumiputeraentrepreneursinthedevelopmentofall sectorsoftelecommunications,inlinewiththegovernment'spolicytocreateaBumiputeraBusiness andIndustrialsociety. STRATEGIES 15.ThecloserelationshipandcooperationbetweentheGovernmentandprivatesectorarecritical tothedevelopmentofthetelecommunicationssectorandtherealisationoftheobjectivesofthe NationalDevelopmentPolicy.Therefore,theNTP'sstrategiesarebasedontheGovernmentPrivate sectorsynergy,workingtogethertocreateamodern,sophisticated,efficientandproductive telecommunicationssectorinmakingavailableservicestoeverysegmentofsocietyatareasonable cost.ThefollowingstrategiesareidentifiedtohelpattaintheobjectivesoftheNTP. 15.1ExpansionofServicesinaSystematicandComprehensiveManner 15.1.1Thetargetofthetelephonelinespenetrationrateforthenationbytheyear2020isfixedat 50telephonesforevery100persons.Therateisfixedat25telephonesforevery100personsforthe ruralareas.Thistargetistobeachievedthroughanincreaseinbasicfacilities,anexpansionof existingtelecommunicationsnetworkandprovisionfornewones. 15.1.2TheGovernmentwilllicensecertaincompaniesifnecessarytosupplycertaininfrastructure andservicesinaccordancewiththelongtermplansofthetelecommunicationssector.Anintegrated andreliabletransmissionnetworkthatcoversthewholenationandcapableofprovidingvoice, video,dataandimagingserviceswillbeexpanded. 15.1.3TheGovernmentwillrevisetheratesandtariffsforalltelecommunicationsservicesfromtime totimesothatthecostoftheservicesisreasonableandatparwiththosechargedbyneighbouring countriesandtheinternationalmarket. 15.1.4Inthelongterm,thetelecommunicationsnetworkwillexpandtoincludefibreoptic, microwavenetworkandsatellitesystems.Inaddition,competitioninthesupplyof telecommunicationsnetworkinfrastructurewillbeencouragedinanexpandingmarketthat attractsagrowingnumberofusers. 15.1.5Therealisationofsocialobjectivesinparticulartoincreaseandupgraderural telecommunicationsfacilitieswillnotbeneglected,andindeedalllicensedtelecommunications companiesespeciallythecarriernetworkproviderareresponsibletoachievethisend. 15.2DevelopmentofaStrategicandExportOrientedManufacturingIndustry 15.2.1Tostrengthenthenation'seconomicgrowthandspurtechnologicaltransfer,local

manufacturingandassemblyoftelecommunicationsequipmentareencouraged.Besidesensuring thattechnologicaltransferiscontinuousandtoprovidemoreemploymentopportunities,thelocal telecommunicationsindustryisexpectedtogearitselffortheexportmarketinalargescale. 15.2.2Todevelopthelocalindustry,theuseoflocallyproducedequipmentisencouragedthrough licensingregulationsforallprovidersinthetelecommunicationssector.Inadditiontothat,fiscal incentivesarealsoprovidedtoencouragethegrowthofthelocaltelecommunicationsindustry. 15.3EncouragingCompetitiveness 15.3.1TheNTP'smainapproachistoencourageahealthyandorderlycompetition.The telecommunicationssectorhasbeenopenedtocompetitionwherebasicinfrastructureand telecommunicationsservicesareoperatedbyprivateenterprises.Themainobjectiveofthe telecommunicationssectoristoencouragecompetitioninthetelecommunicationssectorinorder toachieveefficiencyandtoprovideexcellentandqualityservice.Thisisinadditiontotheprovision ofservicesthatwillsatisfyallusersandpeople,inlinewiththeNationalPrivatizationPolicy. oEncouragingcompetitivenessinthetelecommunicationssectorwillbecarriedoutinstages.Itwill startwithvalueaddedservicesfollowedbytheprovisionofinfrastructureandotherservices. oCompetitioninthissectorwilltakeintoaccounttheexistenceofsimiliarfacilitiesthatarenot profitableandproblemsresultingfromdifferenttechnologies. oHowever,competitionwillnotonlybeencouragedbetweensystems(technology)butalsoamong providersusingthesamesystem. oThiselementofcompetitivenessisencouragedatthedomesticandinternationallevelsbytaking intoaccountthenation'scommitmentininternationalagreementssuchasGATTandothers. oDomesticallycompetitioninthete1ecommunicationssectorisimplementedbytakingintoaccount thedevelopmentofanewsystem/infrastructurethatemergesfromtimetotimeinkeepingwiththe riseindemand. oEventhoughontheWholetheNTPencouragescompetitionitdoesnotnecessarilymeancreating separatesystems. oEventhoughcompetitionisencouragedtheGovernmentisempoweredtodeterminethenumber ofcompetitorsthatareeconomicallyviableforcertaintelecommunicationssystem/services.The NTPwillprovideahealthyenvironmentandequalopportunitiestoallcompetitors. 15.4ResearchandDevelopmentToEnhanceTheApplicationofTechnology 15.4.1Thoseinvolvedintelecommunicationareencouragedtocarryoutresearchanddevelopment (R&D)tosupportlocalindustrialgrowthandtospeedutransferoftechnology.Therequirementto carryoutR&Dwillbepartoftheconditionsunderwhichlicenceswillbeissued.Itisstatedthatat

least1%oftheannualexpenditureshouldbeallocatedforR&Dpurposes.IncentivesforR&D activitieswillalsobeprovided.R&Dincertaintelecommunicationsfieldsshouldbeinitiated.Among theimportantfieldsidentifiedareinformationtechnologyandthedevelopmentofinformation technologywhichpossessestremendouspotentialforexpansionthroughtelecommunications systems.R&Dshouldalsobemadeinthefieldsofcellulartechnologysatellitefibreoptics microwaveandothers. 15.4.2ToenhancethecapacitytofacethechallengesofVision:2020theNTPproposesthesetting upofanationalresearchanddevelopmentinstituteinhefieldoftelecommunications. 15.5DevelopmentofaDynamicandInnovativeHumanResource 15.5.1Thedevelopmentofhumanresourceinthetelecommunicationssectorisanimportantfactor inensuringitssuccess.orthispurposethecreationoftrainedandskilledhumanresourceinallfields oftelecommunicationsmustbestressed. 15.5.2Alltelecommunicationsenterprisesareencouragedtoestablishtheirownhumanresource trainingprogramme.Atpresentthemaintelecommunicationssectorproviderhasitsowntraining programme/planaswellasahumanresourcedevelopmentinstitute.Asothercompaniesappear, thetrainingofhumanresourceinthissectormustbecoordinated.Effortsmustbemadetosetupa nationalhumanresourcedevelopmentinstitute.Thisinstituteneednotnecessarilyberunbythe Government;indeeditcouldbeoperatedbytheprivatesectorandmanagedcommercially. Overlappingoffunctionsamongtheprovidersmustbeavoided. 15.5.3Theneedtocreateshort,middleandlongtermplansforthetrainingofhumanresourceis imperative. 15.6UpgradingRuralTelecommunicationFacilities TheNTPwillcontinuetoemphasiseeffortstoupgraderuraltelecommunicationsfacilities.Themain aimoftheNTPwithregardtotheruralsectoristoprovidetelecommunicationsfacilitiestoevery householdby2020.Besidesthemainprovider,whichnowisrequiredtosupplytelecommunications servicestotheruralareas,alltelecommunicationprovidersareexpectedtocontributetowardsthis end. 15.7EncouragingActiveBumiputeraParticipation TheNTPwillcontinuetoencouragebumiputeraconcernstoenterthetelecommunicationsfields thatarecloselyassociatedwiththeneedtoprepareaninfrastructureforaninformationrich society.TheNTPsupportstheaspirationsofbumiputeraentrepreneurstoparticipateactivelyinthe telecommunicationssector,particularlythroughtheirinvolvementinthefollowingfields: (i)telecommunicationsservices (ii)manufacturing (iii)researchanddevelopment

(iv)humanresourcedevelopmentandconsultancyservices 15.8InternationalStrategicInteraction 15.8.1BasicfacilitiestolinkMalaysiawiththerestoftheworldareneededtomakethecountrythe regionalandinternationaltelecommunicationshub.Atpresent,Malaysiantelecommunicationslinks withtheworldaremadethroughsubmarinecablesystemswithASEANandAsiaPacificnations.The installationofsubmarinecableslinkingherwithothercountriesisbeinglaid.Thiswillcontinuetobe upgradedtoexpandMalaysia'sinternationalnetworkandeasetrafficaccesstoNorthAmerica, Europe,theMiddleEastandAsiaOceania. 15.8.2Malaysiacanalsobelinkedwithothercountriesthroughsatellites.Continuedrelianceon othercountries'satelliteswillcreatefutureproblemsintermsofsecurityandbalanceofpayments. Inlightofthis,thecountryneedstohaveherownsatellite. 15.8.3TheprovisionofbasicfacilitiessuchassubmarinecablesandsatelliteswillprojectMalaysiaas aregionalandinternationaltelecommunicationshubbesidesupgradingtelecommunications servicesinthecountry. 15.8.4ToprojectMalaysia'simageasaprogressivetelecommunicationscentre,theprivatesector andtheGovernmentshouldstepuptheirparticipationininternationalandregionalfora.Thisis importantinordertoensurethatthenation'sinterestsarecontinuallytakencareof.Inaddition, Malaysiawillcontinuetoparticipateactivelyinactivitiesorganisedbyinternational telecommunicationsagencies. GUIDELINESFORTHEDEVELOPMENTOFTELECOMMUNICATIONSSERVICES 16.Inadditiontothestrategiestoencouragethegrowthanddevelopmentofthe telecommunicationsindustriesoutlinedearlier,theNTPalsoproposesafewguidelinesforthe developmentoftelecommunicationsservices.TheNTPproposesthatthestructureofthenational telecommunicationssectorberevisedtoensureamoreeffectivedevelopment.Thenewstructure willbeasfollows: 16.1FutureTelecommunicationsSector'sStructure Thestructureofthetelecommunicationssectorinthefuturewillbedividedintonetwork infrastructureandte1ecommunicationservices. 16.1.1NetworkInfrastructure Thisisfurtherdividedintobasicnetworkinfrastructureandvalueaddednetworkinfrastructure. (i)BasicNetworkInfrastructure

Thiscoversuserprovidernetworkandservicesforpersonalorpublicservices. (ii)ValueAddedNetwork Thevalueaddednetworkinfrastructureprovidesinfrastructurefacilitiesthroughsuppliesfrombasic networkproviders.Generally,thebasicnetworkinfrastructureprovideralsosuppliesandoperates basicandvalueaddedtelecommunicationsservices. 16.1.2TelecommunicationsServices Telecommunicationsservicesaredividedintobasicandvalueaddedtelecommunicationservices. (i)BasicTelecommunicationservices TheseareservicesprovidedbythebasicinfrastructurefacilitiessuchasPTSN(PublicSwitched TelephoneNetwork)publictelecommunicationsnetwork,PDSN(PublicDataSwitched Network),telexandtrunkedtelecommunicationsnetworkortransportnetwork. (ii)ValueAddedTelecommunicationsServices Thesetelecommunicationsservicesarebasedordependentontheinfrastructurefacilities mentionedearlierfortheprovisionofbasicservicesorotherserviceswithoutbuildingitsown infrastructurenetwork.Infrastructurefacilitiescovershardwareaswellassoftware.Anorderly competitionisneededtoprovideandmanagebasicfacilities. 16.1.3CorporateTelecommunicationsNetworkInfrastructure Thisisspeciallybuiltforinternaluse,suchastheexclusivetelecommunicationsserviceforinstitutes, companies,governmentagenciesandthesecurityagenciesthatarenotcategorisedunderthetypes ofprovidersmentionedearlier.Thesenetworksarenotallowedtoofferthetelecommunications servicescommerciallytothepublic. 16.1.4ITSuperhighwayNetworkInfrastructure TheNTPemphasiseshowimportantitisforthenationtobuildasophisticatedITinfrastructureto facethechallengesofinformationtechnologyinthe21stcentury.Towardsthisaim,theNTPcallsfor thebuildingofanITnetworkinfrastructurethroughoutthenationbysupplyingfibreopticchannels, microwaveandsatellitenetworksystemsinordertocreateastrong,permanentandreliableIT superhighway.TheNTPwillencouragetheuseofthesuperhighwaynetworkbyallusersforvarious informationservicessuchasdatacommunications,videoconferencing,voiceinformation,faxand otherservices. 17.Tohelpattaintherestructuringofthetelecommunicationssectormentionedearlier,theNTP proposesthefollowingguidelines:

17.1BasicTelephonyServices 17.1.1TheseareprovidedbytheBasicTelecommunicationsServiceProviderswhoalsoprovide PTSNpublictelecommunicationsnetworkinfrastructurefacilities,besidesbasicinfrastructureforthe useofotherproviders.Generally,thebasictelecommunicationsnetworkinfrastructurecontainsthe switchingsystemcomponent,locallinenetwork(cableandradiocommunications)andtransmission systematnationalandinternationallevels. 17.1.2Competitioninthesupplyoftelecommunicationsservicescanbeintroducedseparatelyin threestages,i.e.basictelephonyservicesatlocal,internationalandnationalnetwork(trunked). Competitionisintroducedtothetrunkdiallingservicethroughfibreopticnetworks,satelliteand microwavesystems.Competitionforinternationalserviceisintroducedtooandwillsooncoverlocal areas.Certainaspectsaretakenintoaccountwhenconsideringtheintroductionofcompetitionfor theprovisionofbasictelephonyservices.Theseincludetelephonelinepenetrationrate,thegrowth rateoftelecommunicationsservicesinruralandurbanareas,reasonableservicechargeand infrastructurewastage.Thereforecompetitionisintroduceinanorderlyandselectivemanner. Competitioncanencourageusewherebyitbringsaboutaloweringofservicechargebesides enhancingthequalityofservice.Atthesametime,competitionhelpsthenation'seconomicgrowth. 17.1.3StudiesoftheGrossNationalProduct(GNP)growthrateshowthatthetelephoneline penetrationratewillincreasefrom12telephonelinesforevery100personsin1993to30linesfor every100personsin2005.ThismeansthattheNTP'saimofproviding50telephoneslinesforevery 100personsby2020iswithinreachandintroducingcompetitionisthebestmethodtoachievethis objective. 17.1.4Astudyofconsumerneedshasshownthatthedemandfortelephonyservicesintermsof basiclinecapacitywillincreasefrom64kbpsto150Mbps.Thistargetwillbeachievedwhenthe nation'sexportofvalueaddedproductsincreasesandthereisademandforEDIservicesandthat theintelligentnetworkhasbeenbuilt. 17.1.5Basictelephonyserviceswillcontinuetobemodernisedthroughtheintroductionofdigital servicesandnetworktomeettheincreasingdemand.Theprocessofdigitalisingitsexistinganalogue networkwillcontinuetobeencouraged.Therestructuringwillchangethenetwork'sbasicstandard, includingthenumberingscheme,andtheinstallationroceduresfromhierarchytomesh.Wiring procedureswillchangefromnormalcabletofibreoptics.Asaconsequence,theneedfordifferent typesofcompetentpersonnelwillchangefromtimetotime. 17.2SupplementaryServices 17.2.1Theseareservicesthatcometogetherwithbasiclecommunicationsservices.Theseservices includepayphone,telefax,leasedcircuit,tollfreenumber,voiceinformation,homecountrydirect, datel,tieline,faxplus,bureaufaxandotherservices. 17.2.2Licencesarerequiredforpayphoneandvoiceinformationservices.Othersupplementary

servicesareallowedonconditionthattheyuseapprovedequipment. 17.2.3Thepayphoneserviceisaformofsocialservicefortheconvenienceofthepeople.Theycan makecallsusingcoins,prepaidcardsorcreditcards.Atpresent,therearetwopayphoneservice operatorsintheruralandurbanareas.Competitionisencouragedfortheprovisionofthisservice andtheNTPurgestheimplementationofuniformprepaidcards. 17.2.4Thevoiceinformationserviceisthelatestservicewithtremendouspotentialwherethelatest informationonvarioussubjects,isrelayedtouserswhodialspecialnumbersgiven.Thisserviceis opentocompetition. 17.3DataandInformationFacilityServices 17.3.1Theseservicesmeettheneedfortherelayingofinformationwhichresultsfromthe integrationofcomputersandtelecommunicationstechnology.Thetypesofservicesunderthis categoryincludeMAYPAC,MAYCIS,DIGITALINEandISDNservices.Eachservicehasitsowntechnical featuresandthechoiceofserviceisdependentonthebitratetobetransmitted,thecostofthe service,andthestandardoftheequipmentused. 17.3.2CompetitioninthesettingupofdataserviceintheformofValueAddedNetworkServices VANSisencouragedforbothnationalandinternationalservices.VANSisimportanttomeetthe needsofthenationalEDIwhereallbusinesstransactionsaredoneelectronically.LocalVANS companiesareencouragedtoestablishjointventureswiththemainVANSprovideratthe internationallevelsotheservicecanbeoperatedeconomically. 17.3.3ISDNisthelatestservicethatencompassesdata,imageandvoice.Itcaninteractwithother dataandvoiceservices.Italsoprovidesvarioussubscribersfacilitiessuchascallernumberand conferencingfacilities. 17.4MessagingandTextTransmissionServices 17.4.1TheseservicestransmitinformationintheformsofmessagesandtextsandcoverTelemail, TelexandTelegramservices.Theuseoftheseserviceshasdecreasedowingtotheemergenceof moresophisticatedservices,buttheywillstillbemaintained. 17.5RadioCommunicationsService 17.5.1Thisisarapidlygrowingserviceduetothesophisticatedtechnologicaldevelopmentinthe semiconductoranddigitalprocessingfields.Theavailabilityoffrequencybandandradiopath,which hasbeenlimiteduntilrecently,hasbeensolvedandhigherfrequencybandshavealreadybeenused. 17.5.2Toensurethecontinualrapidgrowthofthetelecommunicationsservices,monitoringthrough computerisedfrequencymanagementsystemwillstillbecarriedout.Tomaketheservicemore complete,rearrangementofthefrequencybandsusedisdonefromtimetotimetoprovideaccess tootherservicesifneeded.

17.5.3Radiocommunicationsservicecoversvarioustypesofservices,suchasmobileradiophone, CT2,satellite,maritime,amateurradio,highfrequencyradio,leasedchannelandothers. 17.5.4Themobileradiophoneserviceisthemostpopularradiocommunicationsserviceamong users.Thisserviceincludescellulartelephones,trunkradio,pagerandCT2services.Allofthese servicesrequirelicencesandcompetitionisencouraged.However,theuseofoverlappingfrequency bandsmustbeavoidedthroughpropercoordinationatnationalandinternationallevels.Even thoughcompetitionisencouraged,theentryofnewcompaniesmustbebasedondetailedtechnical studyandtheresultantrealrearrangementoffrequencybandsonacasebycasebasis. 17.5.5Thetrunkedradioserviceprovidesmobileradiophoneservicetoradiouserswhosharea commonfrequencytooperatelocalorareawideservice.Forthepurposeofimprovingthequality ofserviceandthecoveragearea,technicalsuitabilitystudiesneedtobedonefromtimetotime. 17.5.6Thepagingserviceisaonewayradioservicethatrelaysmessagestothesubscribersthrough voiceand/oralphanumericformsatlocal,nationalandinternationallevels.Astherehavebeen manylicencesissuedforthisservice,astudymustbecarriedouttomaximisetheuseofradio frequency.Oneoftheapproachesproposedistomergelocalcompaniestoprovidethenationwide service. 17.5.7Thecordlesstelephoneserviceisawirelesstelephoneserviceusedbymobileusersbuttheir movementsarelimitedtoanareaofonly100metres.Atthemoment,itisonlylimitedtomaking calls.TheplantointegratepagingservicesinCT2equipmentwillincreasethecapacityofthis service.Competitionisencouragedandtheparticipationofbumiputeraequity,aswellastheuseof localequipment,arestressed.Thisserviceshouldalsobeenhancedbyusingnewtechnology,such astheCT'3andthePersonalHandyPhone(PHP). 17.5.8Thesatellitetechnologyservicehastremendouspotentialandshouldbeencouraged, especiallysincethenationrequiressophisticatedtelecommunicationsservicesthatcouldhelpher achieveVision2020ofturningMalaysiaintoanindustrialisednation.Malaysianeedsherown satellitenetworktosupportthedevelopmentofhertelecommunicationssector.TheNTP encouragesthemaximumuseofthecountry'ssatellite.ExistingsatelliteservicesincludetheIntelsat BusinessService(IBS),VSATandTVRO.TheTVROserviceenablesthecountrytomakeuseof internationalsatelliteservicestoobtainthelatestinnews,sportsandentertainment.TheNTPaims touseTVROaspartofthetelecommunicationsinfrastructureforthedisseminationofinformation tothepeople.Telecommunicationsservicesinthiscountryhastremendouspotentialofrapid expansionasweheadtowardsthe21stcentury. 17.6NewServices Newinternationalservices,suchasIRIDIUMProject21,INMARSAT,PCN/PCSvideoconferencingand telecommutingrequireproperplanningwithregardtothescopeofcompetition,theneedsofusers andthetechnicalitiesinvolved.TheNTPwillencouragetheintroductionofthesenewservices throughanequitableissuanceoflicences.

THEMAINISSUESOFSUPERVISION 18Supervision TheGovernmentwillcontinuetoberesponsibleforthesupervisionofthetelecommunications servicesectortoensurethattheinterestsofconsumersandprovidersareprotectedandbalanced. TheGovernmentwillcontinuetoensurethattheinterestsofthenationaregivenpriorityoverother interests.Themainissueswhichcontinuallyattractattentionarelicensing,spectrummanagement, interconnection,tariffs,standardsandqualityofservice. 18.1AnOrderlyLicensingSystem TheNTPwillencourageatelecommunicationsnetwork/serviceinfrastructurelicensingsystemthat isorderly,efficientandeffective.Theissuingoflicenceswillbecarriedoutthroughabiddingoran opentendersystemtorespondentswhoarequalifiedaccordingtothecriteriaoftheLicensing Board. 18.2AnEfficientandEquitableSpectrumResourceManagement Spectrumresourcewillcontinuetobemanagedinanorderlyandequitablemannerandwillbeused asthebasisforthecreationofacompleteradiocommunicationsnetworksystem.TheNTPwill resolvetheproblemofoverlappingfrequencyatsharedborders.Itwillensureanequitable allocationoffrequencybandsamongneighbouringcountries.Furthertothis,theNTPwillensure thatanationalfrequencycentreisestablished. 18.3TariffDesign TheNTPwillemphasisetheformulationofatariffstructurewhichtakesintoaccounttheinterestsof variousparties.Ithastobenefitconsumersandensurereasonablereturnstotheprovidersbasedon theprincipleofequitabilityandguidedbymarketfactors.Itshouldalsobesubjectedtochangesin theConsumerPriceIndex(CPI).Thetariffbetweenoneproviderandanothershouldbebasedonthe principleoffairplay.Itshouldtakeintoaccounttheinterestsofallparties,i.e.,therateofreturnto providers,aswellasqualityofserviceforusers. 18.4NetworkandServiceStandardSystem TheNTPwillemphasiseanorderlyandcomprehensivenetworkandservicestandardsystem.The standardsystemisgearedtowardsthestreamliningandsynchronisationofthedesignsandtypesof nationaltelecommunicationsnetworkandsystems.Thestreamliningofstandardswill,coveraspects ofthenumberingplan,access,interconnection,wiring,thesafetyofusers'equipmentandbilling integrity. 18.5NumberingandAccessibilityPlan TheNTPwillencouragethesettingupofacomprehensiveandintegratednumberingplanamong

thenetworks.Theimportantaspectofthenumberingsystemistheaccesscodenumberwhichwill bedecidedinanequitablemanner. 18.6TelephoneDirectory TheNTPencouragesallprovidersoftelecommunicationsservicestoproducetheirowntelephone directoriesfortheconvenienceofthepublic.TheNTPencouragesthepublicationandproductionof thisdirectoryinallformats,includingelectronicprintingbytheprovidersthemselves,orbyany othercompanywithinterestindisseminatinginformation. 19.ConsultativeForum Initseffortstosetupanefficient,effectiveandcompetitivetelecommunicationsservice,the Governmentwillinitiateconsultativeforawherebyallpartieswithinterestsinthe telecommunicationssector,i.e.,theproviders,users,governmentagenciesandindividuals,canhave opendiscussiontodevelopandenhancethenation'stelecommunicationsservices. CONCLUSION 20.TheNTPpresentsmacroandmicrooutlinesofthedirectionthenationaltelecommunications industryisheadingtowardsasacatalysttothenation'scontinuedrapiddevelopment.A comprehensiveexplanationisgivenofthephilosophy,objectivesandstrategiesoftheNTPtoenable allpartieswithinterestsintheindustry,includingusersandthegeneralpublic,tounderstandandto concentratealltheireffortstowardsachievingtheobjectivesoftheNTP.Theprivatesector'srole, particularlyinanopenmarketwhereitissubjectedtocompetition,isimportantandcritical. Efficiencyandeffectivenessaretwoimportantcriteria,andtheyformthebasisfortheNTPinitsaim ofachievingthevisionofadeveloped,united,caringandcivilisedMalaysiannation. Source:MinistryofEnergy,TelecommunicationandMultimedia