Lim Kit Siang [Ipoh Timur] minta Menteri Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan menyatakan beberapakah jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa yang akan ditambah mengikut perancangan oleh TM untuk menampung HSBB dan penggunaan Internet Streamyx bagi setiap suku tahun (quarterly) mulai 2009 sehingga 2014.
Jawapan:
Untuk makluman, perancangan penambahan kapasiti jalur lebar pihak TM dibuat secara tahunan dan bukan mengikut suku tahun. Sehingga 2 Jun 2009, jumlah kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa adalah sebanyak 112.0Gbps. Bagi tahun 2009, kapasiti jalur lebar Internet antarabangsa yang dirancang adalah sebanyak 149.4 Gbps dan dijangka meningkat kepada 715.0 Gbps pada tahun 2013.
Jumlah anggaran perancangan kapasiti jalur lebar Internet yang akan ditambah untuk menampung keperluan perkhidmatan TM mengikut tahun adalah seperti berikut :
| Tahun | Kapasiti |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 149.4 Gbps |
| 2010 | 190.1 Gbps |
| 2011 | 405.8 Gbps |
| 2012 | 547.6 Gbps |
| 2013 | 715.0 Gbps |
Selain itu, perancangan ini akan turut disokong beberapa insiatif lain seperti pemusatan kandungan (content hubbing) dan peningkatan hos tempatan (mirroring site) agar penggunaan kapasiti antarabangsa lebih efisien di samping mengurangkan pengaliran keluar trafik.
Generally speaking, the broadband speed one enduser can enjoy depends on:
1) The quality of the broadband provider’s service.
2) The distance from the enduser’s local telephone exchange.
3) How many other people are using broadband in the enduser’s area.
4) The quality of the enduser’s local area network and computer hardware.
In order to determine the true reason for the slow broadband, the enduser should try to find some clue about whether the speed problem is general to the enduser’s area or specific to the enduser’s broadband provider’s network.
When the enduser has an idea about what is behind his slow broadband, he now has some choices, which are generally workable in cyber advance countries like the United States.
a) Discuss the enduser’s slow connection with the broadband Internet Service Provider. They may be able to easily help. (Note: Telekom Malaysia Berhad may be an exception).
b) If the enduser feels that his is not getting anywhere with his provider, he could try and switch broadband provider. Be aware that this might not necessarily speed up his connection if the source of the problem is over-subscription of broadband in his area. (Note: This solution may not be applicable in Malaysia because Telekom Malaysia Berhad monopolises the Backbone Internet Service business.)
c) Try an alternative way of getting broadband. For example, the enduser could try changing from xDSL (telephone line) to cable (if available in his area). He could also try mobile broadband and see if this is a possibility for his location. (Note: This suggestion is also a vain effort because all broadband users in Malaysia must go through the backbone service of Telekom Malaysia Berhad due to public licensing regulations.)
In short, whether we get an efficient internet service in Malaysia or not will largely depend on how far Telekom Malaysia Berhad can achieve in relation to the operational efficiency as a monopoly business of internet service provider in Malaysia!
Thanks for asking the question YB Kit Siang. You have hit the nail on the head, that is TM does not have sufficient international connectivity and will not in the coming years. A major cause of the congestion is video. Can you ask for a breakdown of current usage, our much is being used by video traffic? TM should dramatically lower their local hosting cost, in order to attract local content owners such as Malaysiakini, to host their video content locally, instead of on Youtube.
While the planning for future expansion of broadband infrastructure capacity is important for the cyber development of a nation, we should also not overlook the bandwidth bottleneck problems which have been created by either the inefficiency of the mainframe computer of TMB or the unreliable telephone line or inadequate telephone exchange hub or the enduser’s personal ineffciency in local area network design or the enduser’s inadequate computer hardware capacity.
The following comments published on 27 August 2009 by the Corporate Vice President, Technology Policy & Strategy Division of Microsoft Corporation, Mr Anoop Gupta, may give us some hints on the areas of telecommunications planning work the policy makers are supposed to pay attention for the coming years ahead:
“I want to commend FCC (Federal Communications Commission of the United States) Chairman Julius Genachowski and his colleagues for vigorously taking on this incredibly important and urgent challenge. Every 18 months, data storage capacities (driven by Moore’s law) are doubling, and devices and applications are quickly evolving to take advantage of the trend. Bandwidth available in homes is rising too, but more slowly. This discrepancy is already creating a bandwidth bottleneck, and the situation will get worse over time.”
simple enough for an 8 year old to understand and know how to resolve this situation where vast majority of the internet users in the country regardless home fixed line (broadband or dialup) together with mobile broadband (mobile internet or mobile broadband services). the core issues to be resolved before we talk about how much international lines we should increase until the cows come home are:
1. the real devil behind all problems – TM a.k.a. Telekom Malaysia (owned GLC company of
the government. what’s the real issue here is the licensing of all other service providers in
the country regardless whom they are. the licensing cost of TM is killing everyone, therefore
all cost will be redirect to the end-users a.k.a. the public us. TM is using third parties to
dig every dime of the public money while at the same time, TM put their ISP packages just
below all the others so that it make the impression that they are the cheapest in the country.
2. the infrastructure of TM and all other ISP in the country – it make no sense if the high speed
internet services comes with a considerable fair pricing (regardless compare with neighbor countries
or otherwise) if the coverage is limited to a few. although over the years these providers has been
dramatically increase the coverage areas but they had done it in the way of blindness a.k.a. Bodohlism.
if you examine various ISP broadband coverage (besides TM since they are leveraging on fixed line),
you will find that there are alot of wasted coverage where maybe the population is far unrealistic that 5% of that area are occupied by housing or human-reachable instead of make the coverage into oil palm estate, thus leave the real populated area uncovered.
3. marketing & penetration scam – if we all agree to whom had tried a few mobile broadband services in the country shall know that these ISPs make false advertisement or misleading information. using uncertain keywords like “…up to XXX Mbps” and a few that trying to cone end users to sign up their expensive package and lock them down for 1 year service contract, where there is no justified reason for the service contract at all regardless whether are there 7 or 14 days cooling days period. we are talking about infrastructure services, why could’nt the ISPs do signal test way before they commit or publish coverage and usage speed?
without resolving all these issues, making the international links bigger does not solve the ultimate problems because the broadband service is not luxury items that enjoyable within a few but should be by all citizen of Malaysia. the time has changed and internet access not only meant for R&D purposes but it involved all aspect of today’s life from academic to medical, sports to lifestyles. therefore should the MCMC be tough and aware of the situation, all the issues above should be taken into serious action rather being a dummy agency that takes complaints and issuing licenses only. that makes no different that any other government agencies that we all hated for centuries.