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Malaysia and Singapore telco operators to lower charges
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians and Singaporeans will enjoy lower mobile roaming charges in two months, says Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
He said telecommunications operators in both countries had agreed to lower their charges by up to 30% for calls and 50% for text messages.
“In two months’ time, we should be able to solve the matter because the industry (players) have already agreed to this policy,” he told reporters at the 10th Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting (Telmin) yesterday.
Dr Rais said the deal, which was agreed to with his Singaporean counterpart in June last year, would cover text messages, voice calls and mobile data transfer.
Keynote address: Najib delivering his opening speech at the 10th Asean Telmin and Related Meetings with dialogue partners in Kuala Lumpur Thursday.
Singapore Information, Com-munications and the Arts Minister Lui Tuck Yew said operators on both sides of the Causeway had agreed to lower roaming charges.
On another issue, Dr Rais announced that the Telmin’s dialogue partners China, South Korea and Japan would contribute about US$3mil (RM9.17mil) for various ICT projects in Asean over the year.
“This meeting will also involve future policies on Asean ICT.
“China, South Korea and Japan will also take part in the various ICT projects that we will implement together,” he said.
Earlier, in his opening speech at Telmin, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Asean countries had to make their broadband networks more readily available and cheaper across the region by 2015.
This is to draw investments and trade, as well as to raise the quality of life.
“It is imperative for Asean to be in the mainstream of global ICT development, to focus resources on improving connectivity in the region of 600 million people,” he said.
Najib said that Asean must not forget the importance of its eastern cultural values to combat Internet indecency and the irresponsible use in a borderless online world.
“We should never, in the name of development, compromise on our values,” he said.
The annual Telmin will, for the first time this year release the Asean ICT Masterplan (AICTM) that aims to coordinate ICT and telecommunications develop-ment among member states as a whole.
It will be launched by Rais today at the end of Telmin.
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M’sia-S’pore roaming deal may trigger domino effect
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Singapore’s deal to reduce roaming charges between both countries may trigger a domino effect in Asean, said Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.
The Information, Communications and Culture Minister said a letter of understanding would be sent to his Singaporean counterpart in “one or two weeks” and a rate schedule would be produced in two months.
“Malaysia and Singapore will be publishing a rate schedule and that will be signed as an impetus (for lower mobile roaming rates),” he said after launching the first Asean ICT Masterplan at the 10th Asean Telecommunications and Information Technology Ministers Meeting (Telmin) here yesterday.
Ambitious project: Dr Rais (centre) and Telmin delegates celebrating after launching the Asean ICT Masterplan in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — Bernama
Dr Rais said the tariff, mechanisms and details on voice calls, video calls and data roaming were agreed upon with the operators’ welfare and consumer needs in mind.
“There are grouses that roaming in Asean is expensive, the tariff structure is not uniform, the transparency part questionable as well as faulty billing,” he said.
Singapore Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lui Tuck Yew described the deal as a template.
“It remains to be seen whether it will set the pace and direction for other Asean countries. It is one of the items of the masterplan to look at reducing roaming charges for data and text messages,” said Dr Rais, who chaired the 10th Telmin.
On the masterplan, he said it was expected to draw billions in investments and training value and help realise an integrated Asean community by 2015 through six strategic thrusts.
The strategies are to use ICT for economic transformation, engage and empower its people with ICT, drive ICT innovation, develop ICT human capital and bridge the digital gap between urban and rural communities.
Besides incentives to individuals and businesses to provide e-services and creating digital content, it would push for information and personal data security.
