Govt granted more power over telcos, with changes in 6 areas

The Government now has more power to regulate the telecommunications industry by curbing monopolistic behaviour and ensuring continuity in services.

Key changes to six areas of the Telecoms Act were passed on Monday. These ensure the sector remains competitive, said Minister of Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Yaacob Ibrahim in Parliament on Monday.

First, the Minister can now order a telco to divest its assets or business to a separate entity.

Dr Yaacob noted that an operator which controls the network infrastructure and also sells its services 'may not have the commercial incentive to open up these services to its competitors. It may even discriminate against them to gain an unfair advantage for itself'.