The much touted NFCP or the National Fibre Connectivity Plan has been launched by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Ismail and witnessed by Communication Minister Gobind Deo at a fanfare event here in Cyberjaya.

At a cost of RM21.6 billion, the most ambitious connectivity plan to date will connect over 4 million premises both urban and rural with the aim of spearheading Malaysia to become one of the most digitally connected country in the region. The plan, which will take 5 years to complete will bring speeds of up to 500 Mbps to all state capitals within the next few years and looks to provide a minimum of 30Mbps to 98% of population by end 2021.

Funding for the project will come from the Universal Service Provision fund which is estimated to be within the region of RM10-RM11 billion while the rest will come from private sector telco operators. The connectivity project will use various platforms, including fibre, wireless, satellite and other means to reach maximum capacity of population.

Malaysia has been lagging behind on high speed broadband due to last mile connectivity and high price, ever since the new government took over,  the mandate has been to bring broadband speeds up and prices down under the MSAP (Mandatory Standard and Access Pricing) program by MCMC. Ever since than, the price for broadband plans both wireless and fixed has come down substantially but still above the affordability range for many rural homes.

However, with the launch of NFCP the price is expected to come down even lower and speeds to increase as competition heats up.