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Malaysia
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Half of Malaysians experience poor internet connectivity as digital divide hampers 5G goals

  • About half of Malaysia’s over 30,000 telecommunications towers are located in just four of 13 states, EdgePoint CEO Suresh Sidhu says
  • The digital divide is also reflected across Southeast Asia such as in Indonesia and the Philippines

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A girl in Malaysia using a smartphone to search and buy things online. Photo: Shutterstock
Joseph Sipalan
Half of Malaysia’s 34 million population living outside the country’s industrial and urban centres are making do with poor internet connectivity, the CEO of a regional telecommunication tower builder said, as the digital divide blunts the country’s 5G ambitions.
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About half of Malaysia’s over 30,000 telecommunications towers are concentrated in just four of the country’s 13 states - Selangor and Penang, the country’s two most industrialised states, along with Negeri Sembilan and Perak - along the peninsula’s west coast, EdgePoint CEO Suresh Sidhu told This Week in Asia.

“When the government says there’s a communications deficit in Malaysia, there is and it’s pretty large,” Suresh said.

“Digital transformation” is a tagline of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, as underscored by the rapid rollout of new infrastructure in Malaysia to support the expansion of 5G high-speed connectivity.

Malaysia’s 5G network is rated as among the fastest globally by network intelligence firm Ookla. It has so far reached 80.5 per cent coverage of populated areas and over 11 million subscribers as of February, according to government data.

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The government has promised to ensure half of the country’s rural areas will be covered by the 5G network, which it has said will boost productivity and growth.

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