FEATURE
INGENIEUR
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
SHAPING A
CONNECTED FUTURE
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) deftly balances its dual
role of regulation and development of the many sectors in the ICT industry. Under its purview,
Malaysians now enjoy fast evolving network communication services with 18 million 3G mobile
phone subscriptions and 3.8 million wireless broadband subscriptions. MCMC sees the need for
more specialised engineers in this field and more local content for future development.
I
CT convergence and fast
technical
obsolescence
pose keen challenges to the
Malaysian
Communications
and Multimedia Corporation
(MCMC). The Commission has
a mammoth task as it plays
the dual role of regulation and
development of many sectors,
namely
mobile
services,
broadband
and
internet,
broadcasting, fixed services,
digital certification and even
postal and courier. Its regulatory
framework falls under the
ambit of the Communications
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VOL 55 JUNE – JUNE
& Multimedia Act 1998 and
includes economic regulation,
technical regulation, consumer
protection and social regulation
(see Sidebar 1). Other legislation
includes the 2012 Postal
Services Act, Strategic Trade Act
2010 and the Digital Signature
Act 1997. Correlated is its role in
helping the Government achieve
ten National Policy Objectives
(see Sidebar 2) in relation to
communications and multimedia
development. Amongst these is
to establish Malaysia as a major
global hub for communications
and multimedia information and
content services.
It cannot be disputed
that the country’s networked
communication
infrastructure
and penetration rate have
grown by leaps and bounds
in the last 10 years. In 2012,
Malaysia’s
mobile
phone
penetration
has
reached
142.5 per 100 inhabitants.
According to MCMC statistics,
this places the country ahead
of Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia,
South Korea, Japan, USA and
China. Broadband penetration