Malaysia outpaces Singapore, Australia and NZ in NBN deployment

Malaysia is “comfortably outpacing” other countries in the Asia-Pacific region with its high-speed broadband (HSBB) network being built by Telekom Malaysia, according to recent figures released by Informa Telecoms & Media.

The Malaysian HSBB is apparently outpacing not only the Australian and New Zealand National Broadband Networks (NBNs), but also rivals Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (NGNBN).

The Malaysian HSBB had 310,000 subscribers by the end of April and had passed over 1.2 million premises in the country, according to Informa. The 70-30 venture between Telekom Malaysia and the Malaysian Government.is also likely to finish on time and under budget. The program’s success has prompted talks of expanding the network beyond the original target of 20% of homes and into several states.

Informa's NBN Deployment Status Report

In contrast, Singapore’s NGNBN has around 130,000 subscribers and is still not available to most households due to delayed completion of in-building wiring. Australia’s $43 billion NBN has about 7000 subscribers, while New Zealand’s Ultra-Fast Broadband deployment has only 500 subscribers at present.

“There is no doubt that Malaysia’s decision to stick with the incumbent, Telekom Malaysia, in deploying its next-generation broadband networks is definitely bearing fruit at the moment,” says Tony Brown, Senior Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

“The other NBN markets in the region have deployed more complex NBN models with new and independent entities created to build and operate their NBN networks - and that has taken a lot of time and created some significant teething problems, especially in Australia.”

However, Brown also commented that the Malaysian Government’s decision not to create an independent wholesale network access operator, as is the case in Australia, could prove to be a negative in the longer term.