MCMC assures continued access to communication services

KUALA LUMPUR (March 19): The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has assured that Malaysians will be able to continue to have access to the broad range of communications services during the Movement Control Order from March 18 to 31.

MCMC in a statement yesterday said the telecommunications, broadcast, postal and courier sectors as well as digital signature certification authorities were committed to ensuring continuity of their operations in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said the telecommunications industry would ensure sufficient bandwidth capacity is available to cater for the increased use and network performance is strengthened around critical locations such as clinics and hospitals.

“Telecommunications operators have put in place business continuity plans to ensure network, online applications and customer services continue to operate as usual,” it said adding that mobile and fixed connectivity would be crucial in the coming weeks.

It added that operators would keep relevant retail touchpoints open to serve the public with the continuous access to telecommunications services, operating with minimal staff and opening hours, and limiting the number of customers in the stores where possible.

“Television and radio broadcast transmission will remain accessible on all platforms. Businesses are also encouraged to leverage on TV shopping channels.

“Local products can be marketed to generate extra income on TV channels such as Go Shop and CJ Wow Shop, which are made available on myFreeview, a content platform offering TV1, TV2, TV3, Bernama News Channel, Okey, TV9, NTV7, RTM Bes, RTM HD Sports, 8TV, TV Al Hijrah and six radio channels, “ the statement said.

As for postal and courier services, Pos Malaysia and GD Express Sdn Bhd have taken effort to continue its delivery services by reducing contact during delivery and having customers verbalise their Identity card number to the despatch staff or sending SMS to seek preferred mode of delivery.

To facilitate delivery to those under quarantine, despatch staff would leave the items at the doorstep of affected consignees and communicate via mobile phone.

“Where delivery to existing addresses are not possible due to closure, Pos Malaysia is encouraging the utilisation of Parcel Lockers or Ezibox as an alternate delivery address, currently available in 225 locations with the capacity to facilitate the delivery of 15,000 items,” it said.

For digital and certification authorities, licenced Certification Authorities (CA) would continue to facilitate trusted digital transactions provided to individuals and companies from both government and the private sectors.

“Relying parties are advised to refer to their CAs’ website or customer service contacts for information on service and support available by the CA during this period,” the statement added.

While staying at home during the Movement Control Order period, MCMC called on Malaysians to leverage on the variety of online services made available by service providers while at the same time, to always refer to official sources for updates regarding developments related do COVID-19.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets