According to The Malaysian Reserve, TM has made an appeal to the government that the implementation of the Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP) is delayed to allow the company recover from the slump in earnings it is facing for the past few quarters.

MSAP was announced last month by Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Gobind Singh Deo and was backdated to 1 January 2018. The MSAP aims to slash broadband prices so more consumers can enjoy the high-speed internet facilities at a lower entry cost.

The MSAP stipulates the ceiling wholesale prices that can be charged by service providers for the facilities and services used by retail telco players. Referencing insider sources, The Malaysian Reserves says that an official appeal has been made to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF). TM is asking to halt the implementation of MSAP as it will effect its earnings for the year.

If the appeal goes through, it will delay the price reduction of TM broadband services across the board. While the company did announce new Unifi plans recently, consumers, in general, are still looking for more price reduction by the biggest broadband player in Malaysia. We will have to wait and see what is in store for Malaysian broadband consumers in the medium term.