IN the midst of our struggles during Covid-19, in the heat of the lockdown, the inequalities in technological access amongst Malaysians became more apparent. We heard stories of how students didn’t have wifi to attend school classes, or do assignments. We featured heartbreaking efforts by parents to provide data for their kids whilst using the same network to work from home. It wasn’t enough that single parents had to juggle taking care of their kids at home whilst working multiple jobs.

Malaysia is at a crossroads; the technology revolution that is 5G is uniquely positioned to broaden digital access through cloud-based storage solutions, potentially lowering the cost of devices and networks. In this new chapter, just a little data can go a long way. Parents that previously could only afford the minimum plan can now use that threshold to work from home, give access to their kids to attend online class, and more. Something as simple as having your kids spend an hour or two playing video games, thereby giving parents time to themselves can have significant benefits for society; extra incomes could be acquired in that free time, errands can be run, volunteering can be a viable option. The introduction of 5G in Malaysia is essentially one of the biggest opportunities for the government to provide paralleled financial assistance to all; equalled only to a universal basic income plan.

So a lot is at stake.

The government seems to understand this too. In a joint press conference between the Finance Minister and Communications and Multimedia Minister (a sign that this agenda is priority), it’s clear that the previously criticised Single Wholesale Network (SWN) to rollout 5G—feared for being a government monopoly that would deter innovation or competition— has reached its peak middle ground.

Consensus is the name of the game; and the ministries involved have played it well.
In the newly announced set-up, the government will maintain the supply-driven, cost recovery method through SWN. Yet 70% of the equity holding within Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be offered to telecommunications companies with the remaining 30% remaining under the Malaysian government. Already, we are seeing the fruits of this set-up, with both ministers insisting that the promised wholesale 5G data pricing will remain at less than 20 cents per GB. With this, competition and innovation is introduced, and yet profiteering will be safely guarded against by the government.

This consensus will go a long way for the government. It sends a strong credible message to all investors, both domestic and international that Malaysia will honour its decision in any public-private partnership model. Moreover, it symbolises the government’s stand in providing robust private sector financing. In times of uncertainty in Europe, in times where many of our ASEAN neighbours are in economic and social transition; Malaysia’s policy and economic governance stability, even in midst of multiple changes of government, will go a long way.

It was barely 15 years ago that internet access was seen as a ‘bonus’ in your household. Heads of families and even companies still regarded it as a ‘nice to have.’ Only the more well-to-do income brackets had wifi in their homes. Today, even your local mamak would have wifi. Covid-19 and the lockdown has streamlined this demand beyond ways we could imagine. With many of us stuck at home, access too fast and reliable internet became the determinant for performance in schools and delivery at workplaces. In many circumstances, with doctors providing online health-consultations, having speedy connection determined life-threatening decisions.

Yet whilst we recover from one life-time event of lockdowns and a pandemic, we must prepare for the more prominent iceberg to hit our titanic; climate change. As the past flooding in KL and across the country have shown; the situation is getting worse. Our mitigation efforts against rising sea-waters and compounding heatwaves are seemingly not enough. More and more, climate change will put extreme weather events on our doorstep, again displacing us from work and again placing our livelihoods on the network we use to connect to work, school and family.

So whilst many may not see the long term impact that the government’s decision on 5G will have, economic and social analysts do. It takes no rocket scientist to realise why the government’s emphasis on providing reliable, yet competitive, and cheap networks to all is the great equaliser. That regardless of where you live in Malaysia; whether it be the edge of Perlis or the hills of Sabah, our country becomes smaller and more connected is a prominent step forward in ensuring that we all benefit from the innovations and fruits of new tech.

It’s not a matter of ‘nice to have,’ it’s now a matter of ‘need to have’ for work and education, for our working adults and studying students. The government’s decision is the first step in outlining their care for Malaysian’s future.