WHEN it comes to broadband coverage, the unfortunate fact is that Malaysia is not up to speed. Too few Malaysians have high-speed connections, and those who do, pay too much for a service that is too slow. The nation has fallen behind other countries in broadband adoption. Only 18 per cent of Malaysian households subscribe to high-speed services, compared with 93 per cent in South Korea and 80 per cent in Hong Kong.

In fact, so slow has been the uptake of broadband services that, last year, the cabinet committee chaired by the deputy prime minister had to revise downwards the penetration target for 2010 from 75 per cent to 50 per cent.

Even though this is still a formidable figure, it has become a far from unrealistic mark to aim for, now that billions are going to be pumped to roll out a high-speed network.

The latest initiative will involve RM2.4 billion of taxpayer money and RM8.9 billion from Telekom Malaysia, the country's dominant broadband service provider, in the first phase, where 1.3 million households are set to reap the windfall from the new wave of broadband deployment. This is the sort of forward-thinking public-private partnership this country needs to remain competitive. While there may be risks involved in making such large-scale expenditure, investment of this scale to lay swathes of fibre-optic cables to jump-start capacity has become necessary.

Indeed, broadband service is no longer a luxury we cannot afford. It has become a basic part of the ICT infrastructure. Dial-up services over a modem may have been sufficient in the days of the email and website but are no longer enough in the high-speed broadband era of YouTube and other "killer apps". Broadband is needed to push the envelope of ICT applications from e-government to e-business.
Without broadband, the more exciting applications for video, including those used in interactive distance education and electronic home doctor visits, will not be possible. As the 135,000 new jobs that could be created suggest, broadband has a role to play in the development of high-tech industries and cutting edge technologies.

However, while changing old copper wire with newer fiber-optics seems a sound enough move in the drive towards faster and cheaper connections, there is also a need to speed up the rollout of wireless services.

The goal should be to provide coverage to all, including to those who are isolated, or beyond the reach of the fixed broadband services.