KUALA LUMPUR: Norways's Telenor Group, a parent company of Digi Telecommunications Bhd, sees Malaysia having the potential of higher penetration in terms of mobile and Internet users among Asian countries, thanks to its good regulatory framework in place.
Telenor Group executive vice-president and Asia Operations head Sigve Brekke said Malaysian regulators have been quite good and understanding on how to regulate the industry and handle spectrum issues.
"However, regulators need to view spectrum allocation as even more important in the future than has been in the past.
"That's the only way we can carry out our responsibility and provide Internet services to subscribers," he told a press conference at the KL Converge multi-platform digital media and communications event here today. Internet penetration in Malaysia has climbed steadily over the years on the back of a national target to grow broadband penetration to 75 per cent by 2015.
Telenor, through its 49 per cent stake in Digi, currently has 4.6 million Internet users in the country and expect this to grow rapidly, year on year, as the domestic telecommunication industry is growing with higher Internet use among consumers.
The telecommunications giant has a presence in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand.
Telenor's Asian market has seen an unprecedented rate of mobile data growth and demand in the past two years.
Brekke said the group expected to increase its mobile Internet subscriber base in Asia to 45 million users by year-end, an increase of approximately 64 per cent, year over year, and the company's fastest uptake of mobile Internet users to date.-- Bernama