MCMC to review 5G coverage disparity among telcos, says Fahmi

New Straits Times

17-05-2025

CYBERJAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will examine the disparity in 5G Coverage of Populated Areas (CoPA) among telecommunications companies (telcos) in different locations, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil.
He said that although Malaysia has achieved an overall 92 per cent 5G CoPA nationwide, coverage levels vary significantly between telcos.
"Some telcos have CoPA as low as 76 per cent, while others go up to 86 per cent," he told reporters after officiating the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2025 celebration here today.
Fahmi said he had instructed MCMC to provide detailed reports showing both the national aggregate and individual telco CoPA, broken down by state.
"We want to make sure that when Malaysians pay for Internet packages, they receive coverage across the country - not just in selected areas. We're paying for nationwide access," he said.
Fahmi stressed that 5G services must be available throughout Malaysia, and that the government had been actively working to enhance network-sharing among telcos.
"I've worked hard to get all telcos to participate in network sharing, and we formalised this through a recently published framework," he said.
On another development, Fahmi said the soon-to-be-enforced Online Safety Act (OnSA) 2024 would play a crucial role in holding social media platforms accountable for the content they host, particularly in protecting users from scams and online harm.
He emphasised that OnSA would compel platforms to share the responsibility of ensuring a safer digital environment.
"One of the key objectives is to make sure that social media platforms are responsible for the kind of content available on their platforms," he said.
Fahmi also raised concern over the lack of action by major platforms, especially Facebook, in tackling scam and gambling advertisements, despite these being paid content.
"For example, there are many scam and gambling ads, yet Facebook hasn't done enough to remove them - simply because scammers are paying for them," he said.
"As such, we're waiting for the Online Safety Act to receive royal assent, and once it comes into effect, we believe that the OnSA will play a pivotal role," he added.
Passed by Parliament in December last year, the OnSA will require social media platform providers to meet three core responsibilities: ensuring platform safety, protecting children under the age of 13, and limiting access to harmful content.
Platforms will also be required to issue clear user guidelines, including terms of use, and provide mechanisms for users to report harmful or offensive content.