At the end of last year, broadband penetration was about 13 per cent of households, and the figure has now gone up to 16 per cent. Compare that to South Korea, which has a penetration rate of about 93 per cent, or Hong Kong at 80 per cent. A decade ago, these countries had below 10 per cent penetration rate.

The reason for the slow broadband uptake in Malaysia is probably due to subscription costs, which have yet to appeal to a large part of the population. At an average of RM60 per month, broadband service in Malaysia is still considered far more expensive than most countries and not within the reach of many average Malaysians. The rate is more than 10 times higher than many countries, which charge below RM6 per megabit per second (Mbps) per month. In Japan, for example, it is only about RM2 per Mbps per month. And while many countries are already offering 10Mbps or higher broadband speeds, ours is only 1Mbps. Although higher-speed broadband service is already available, it is targeted at premium customers at selected high-end housing areas.

There’s really a need to make broadband service more attractive to consumers. This is to enable them to enjoy the many benefits that the online world offers, which can be integrated into their daily lives.

So, the onus is on mobile operators and service providers to come out with more affordable and enticing packages to bring Internet broadband connectivity into more homes.

If that can be done, then the Government’s target of seeing half of the country’s six million households with broadband access in 2010, should be well on track.