Malaysia's telecoms markets are among the most liberalized in Southeast Asia, but Malaysian operators are only beginning to capitalize on this. Ineffective enforcement of interconnection and poor consumer awareness have left incumbent Telekom Malaysia (TM) in control of the country's fixed-line assets. This has prompted the government to declare that too much liberalization was a bad thing, and give its blessing for consolidation to occur. Malaysia's mobile market has been much more competitive, and has sustained its vibrancy despite a complex but soon-to-be-completed 5-to-3 consolidation. With penetration approaching 50% and new subscriptions increasingly limited to lower-income and rural users, a significant slowdown is anticipated by 2005. Operators are finally starting to seize data services for both consumer and corporate sectors as the way forward. This 20-page report takes a comprehensive look at the Malaysian market, covering immediate issues facing the market, in the context of the political, economic, regulatory, and competitive environments. It includes fixed communications predictions, mobile communications predictions, vendor relationships, and risk assessment.

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