- Malaysia has achieved 96% 4G broadband coverage of its populated areas as at 2022. Over 90% of households have internet access, and there are more mobile internet subscriptions than there are people. - Nonetheless, user experience in many areas is poor and rural and remote communities face challenges obtaining internet access in their homes, even when they have an internet-ready device such as a smartphone. - Rural and remote areas with uneven terrain and low population density are a challenge for connective infrastructure, from roads to electricity wires to data cables. Simply put, it is expensive to lay fibre optics cables through hills and jungle to reach the interior. - Efforts to provide last mile connectivity in rural and remote areas include shared internet facilities in the form of community internet centres, shared signal receivers to enable wireless public internet access, broadband data being sent via power lines, fixed wireless broadband, satellite internet, and self-installed and self-managed community networks. - Each of these models has advantages and disadvantages. Technology has evolved but constraints caused by geography, costs and market incentives remain. - Given the different needs and locations of communities with limited internet access, there is no one solution that can bridge the digital divide. What is needed is a variety of policy options, and an agile regulatory framework to support them. - Three policy considerations are proposed towards achieving the goal of bridging the digital divide. The first is to expand access to the Universal Service Provision (USP) Fund, for example, to allow non-profit organisations working with rural and remote communities to fund last mile connectivity programmes. The second is to facilitate the development of community networks by interested rural and remote communities as a last-mile connectivity option. The third is to incorporate user-generated network assessments into USP strategy.
