KUALA LUMPUR: The commitment of the government to ensure mobile network service providers do not charge extra for access to the 5G network shows the government’s continued efforts in reducing the burden on the people’s lives.
Private sector worker Nur Fitri Ismail, 39, is of the view that access to 5G network today is a necessity because the development of telecommunications technology which affects the daily life of the community, including getting information to study, teach and work.
“In terms of children’s learning especially when attending online tuition classes, good Internet coverage is a requirement as large data is needed, for example for a plan of 60 gigabytes (GB) of data, my monthly bill has reached almost RM150… but we know the use of the Internet today is more than just daily usage.
“Normally, if there is a plan with large data, the price offered is already expensive, so when there is an additional charge for the use of the 5G network, it will burden the public more,“ she said.
Therefore, she hopes the government can continue to ensure that no hidden charges are imposed on users through packages or plan offers provided by telecommunication companies (telco).
Things like these may be detected if the service plan suddenly becomes more expensive and the government should have a mechanism to detect any change in charges on the offered plan.
“So in this regard, the government needs to play a continuous role by monitoring periodically to ensure that if there is any significant change in the plan or package offered, it can be detected early and action taken accordingly,“ she said.
Online trader, Farhana Zakaria, 32, said the government’s commitment coincided with her need to use 5G technology to sell her products on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee and social media.
“For me, there is no need for additional charges because there were no charges even in the old 3G era. Like me, online traders really depend on this facility.
“Besides, many people today are facing financial difficulties, if there are additional charges, usage will be limited because the people have to pay more and cannot take advantage of the technology and facilities provided by the government,“ she said.
The matter was also acknowledged by the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (FOMCA) chief executive officer Saravanan Thambirajah, who described the government’s commitment as appropriate to ensure that consumers are not left behind in getting 5G access.
Saravanan said the decision takes into account the current rising cost of living and is confident that it will increase the productivity of the people because 5G technology is a development that has significantly different capabilities compared to the previous 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G technologies.
“The technology is not only capable of providing a high-speed Internet experience at a rate of 10 to 100 times or up to 1.5GB per second compared to 4G technology, but also has a better quality connection.
“The efficiency of this connection which ultimately makes the rate of energy consumption lower on user devices, thus has great potential to boost mobile communication through innovation, in addition to creating a new industry that brings great benefits to the entire economy,“ he said when contacted.
Saravanan hopes that despite the efficiency of the 5G technology, the government will continue to monitor and investigate consumer complaints if any of them faced additional charges.
On January 9, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that no additional charges would be imposed by telecommunications companies on users to gain access to the 5G network and this decision was conveyed by all chief executive officers of telecommunications companies to him. – Bernama
