KUALA LUMPUR: A strong mobile signal or full bars on a phone do not necessarily guarantee Internet access, with network congestion, transmission failures and damaged communications infrastructure among the key reasons behind the problem, says Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
She said the quality of mobile Internet service can be affected by a range of factors, including network capacity congestion caused by high data usage and disruptions or failures in transmission (backhaul) links.
Service interruptions can also result from fibre optic cable cuts, vandalism, theft, natural disasters, wild animal interference and construction works.
“Apart from network-related factors, users’ experience is also influenced by the condition of their devices, phone settings, the type of subscription plan and the available data quota,” she told the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
She was responding to Datuk Anyi Ngau (GPS-Baram) on the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) plan to address core network failures.
Teo said the MCMC and telecommunications service providers had introduced a series of measures to strengthen network resilience, capacity and service quality.
Among the initiatives are increasing network capacity in high-traffic areas, upgrading transmission networks with high-capacity fibre optic infrastructure and expanding communications coverage under the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela).
To minimise disruptions caused by vandalism and theft, Teo said MCMC and service providers are strengthening communications infrastructure by introducing link redundancy and alternative transmission routes to reduce the risk of a single point of failure.
She added that supporting facilities, including backup power systems, are also being upgraded to improve network resilience and ensure service continuity during disruptions.
Teo said all communications sites are monitored around the clock through service providers’ 24-hour network monitoring centres to enable service disruptions to be detected and rectified promptly.
