Telekom Malaysia has reportedly urged the government to delay and adjust the implementation of the government's Mandatory Standard on Access Pricing (MSAP), citing the potential for financial hardship.
The MSAP, which was intended to come into effect in June, would require wholesale broadband providers to lower prices on high speed broadband access for other providers. The new regulation is expected to hit government-linked Telekom Malaysia hardest out of all the market's operators.
Now Telekom Malaysia is seeking to halt the implementation of the new standard due to its potential impact on the company's already under pressure earnings, the Malaysian Reserve reported.
The MSAP had first been intended to be implemented in January, but was delayed due to an earlier appeal by Telekom Malaysia.
Regulator MCMC set a July 31 deadline for operators to complete all access agreements based on the regulated prices, but operators have yet to receive agreements from Telekom Malaysia to date, the report states.
As a result, the implementation was delayed until the end of August, but Telekom Malaysia is seeking to have the implementation suspended on a longer term and the terms of the standard potentially revised.
The MSAP forms part of the government's commitments to double broadband speeds in the market while halving the price, and the government expects prices to be reduced by up to 25% by year end.