KUALA LUMPUR: The proposals to set up its own Internet-based exchange and have its own domain name are expected to be discussed at the next Asean telecommunications and information technology ministers (Telmin) meeting in Myanmar, which will be held by year end.
Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said the region would gear towards realising those goals as early as 2015.
"Asean needs the technical guidance on this. Indeed, it was generally agreed that we should have our own Internet exchange. (For) now, (Asean countries) need to go to California (for instance), which is not very practical."
On Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had suggested that Asean's telecommunications and information technology ministers consider pooling their resources to improve pan-Asean connectivity.
If this could be done, said Najib, the cost of bandwidth in Asean could be lowered while enhancing the value of Asean products and services.
Indonesia had proposed that Asean should have its own domain name, dot Asean (.Asean), as was being done by the European Union with dot EU (.EU).
Its Minister for Communication and Information Technology, H.Tifatul Sembiring, said the proposal was tabled to reflect Asean countries' unification.
Asked if any country had offered to host the Internet exchange or to help set up the domain name, Rais said no one had done so since this idea was still fresh.
"Maybe someone will suggest Jakarta, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur due to their central location."
Meanwhile, the ministers yesterday unanimously agreed to adopt the Kuala Lumpur statement on ICT, which will officially kickstart the implementation of the Asean ICT Masterplan 2015 (AIM 2015).
After two days of deliberations, the 10th Telmin meeting concluded with an agreement to task senior officials and the Asean Telecommunications Regulators' Council to undertake the actions and measures needed to achieve the targets of the master plan.
The ministers also reviewed reports of studies undertaken during the previous work cycle, noting in particular the outcome of the study on the International Roaming (SMS and data) Market in the Asean region.
Among its findings, the study reported high pricing disparities between roaming SMS retail charges and domestic SMS retail charges, attributing the differences to high wholesale tariffs.
http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/15azar/Article/
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