Information Infrastructure

The 2003-2004 Global Information Technology report ranked Malaysia the highest for an Asian developing country and ranked Malaysia as second for largest improvements in the World Competitiveness report. The Vision 2020 plan is guiding the stimulation of the telecom industry in Malaysia, by the government, to achieve the status of Malaysia as a developed country by 2020.

There are only a few players in the telecom market and Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TMB), a government backed telecom provider, has by far the largest market share⁴. For the private sector, the barrier to entry is high and lacks government encouragement. ⁴

Internet Availability

In 2005, it was estimated that Malaysia has 11.016 million internet users². An earlier study found that while urban areas have access to higher internet speeds, the rural population has access to less than 56 kbps, as show below¹. Broadband access remains low, at below 1 percent in 2004³. This is a fairly low number when compared to the resources and energy committed to stimulate the telecom sector³.

Access to the Internet in Urban Areas¹

Access to the Internet in Urban Areas¹

Internet Affordability

On average, internet for residential and business users isn't cheap; in many areas, coverage is limited. The mean monthly gross income, which has gone up year over year, in US dollars is $800 per month⁶ and when currency is converted to US dollars, here are the internet rates.

Residential⁵:

Wired: $6/month - $55/month

Wireless: $55/month - $80/month

Satellite: $45/month - $250/month

Commercial⁵:

Wired: $120/month - $340/month

Satellite: $100/month - $250/month

Network Speed and Quality

Network quality and speed are a direct function of where one is location in Malaysia. Urban areas have access to faster speeds via wire, wireless, or satellite. Rural locations lag far behind and have very limited access to speed or good quality. Specifically, PSTN/ISDN dial-up access and ADSL/SDSL access are widely available in urban areas.

Hardware and Software

Major hardware, software and consulting firms have expanded to Malaysia, such as, IBM, Microsoft, CSC, Sun, and HP. Some are providing solutions for consumers while others are providing end-to-end solutions for businesses in Malaysia.

Service and Support

Offshore support and service to Malaysia is becoming more of a trend. Best practices from offshoring to countries like India are being applied to offshore to Malaysia. In July of 2006, HP had to defend its move to offshore some of its support to Malaysia⁷. Dell has moved part of its support team from India to Malaysia earlier in 2006. New ISPs have recently emerged in the market to provide competitive rates and web related services.