By STEVEN PATRICK

PUTRAJAYA: Broadband penetration must increase dramatically for the nation to continue progressing — this was a key topic at the 12th International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said there needs to be broadband penetration on a massive scale for the country to go even further.

He quoted a World Bank report which said that for every 10% increase in broadband penetration there would be a 1.3% increase in economic growth.

He was speaking at a press conference after the IAP meeting on Tuesday.

Najib said the Government’s target of 50% broadband penetration by the end of next year, as outlined in the National Broadband Plan, is achievable. Currently 24% of Malaysian households have broadband.

“TM (Telekom Malaysia) is pushing hard while YTL (one of four WiMAX licence holders) has just launched its 4G (fourth generation wireless broadband) service, he said.

Ng Wan Peng, chief operating officer of the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), also believes the goal is reachable. MDeC is guardian of the MSC Malaysia initiative which was establised to push the country towards a knowledge-based economy.

She said all the industry players are working hard to achieve the broadband penetration target. Also, the industry regulator “the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) is getting tough on players who are not rolling out their broadband services on time,” she added.

Several WiMAX licensees were fined by the SKMM recently for failing to roll out their services according to the timetable.

Ng said the country’s High-Speed Broadband (HSBB) programme would also contribute to an increase in broadband penetration. The project, spearheaded by TM, is set to connect 1.5 million households out of the country’s 5 million by 2012.

C.J. Ang, president of The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom), said that perhaps the Government is including mobile websurfing in its calculations for broadband penetration, and therefore would be able to meet the set target.

“However, this is not enough. We have only 14 months to go. There should be a massive broadband campaign to go after those households that are not on broadband yet,” he said.

Ang said there is a need for a price reduction for broadband services, in order for the take-up to increase.

“We are beyond strategies now; we have to show the people that broadband can be both empowering and affordable,” he said.

Brian Mefford, chairman and chief executive of Connected Nation, a member of the IAP, said that when broadband was introduced in the US state of Kentucky it helped enhance the livelihood of the rural population.

“They had better access to education opportunities and were better informed,” he said.

Connected Nation is a non-profit organisation that works to accelerate technology availability in rural and underserved areas in the United States.

This year’s IAP meeting is themed Innovation Economy: Paving the Path to Prosperity.