KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Teo Nie Ching today expressed hope that the 5G high-speed internet prices could be lowered with the expansion of its coverage.

Teo said currently the price for users is RM1.68 per (gigabyte) GB.

"I would like to offer a comparison, for now, if the cost for 5G for consumers, it’s RM1.68 per GB.

"But so far the price of 5G service access, for now, uses the price offered by DNB (Digital Nasional Berhad) through the reference access offer.

"If following that offer, the cost of 5G now is 30,000 per Gbps/month (one gigabits per second), or equivalent to RM0.13 per GB.

"So we believe that with the expansion of 5G channels, the price of our internet can be further lowered,” Teo told the Parliament during Minister’s Question Time.

Teo was responding to DAP’s Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, who asked the government about the cost and quality of 5G services offered by the company to users and efforts made to reduce the price further so that it becomes the lowest in Asean.

He also asked about the length of time needed to ensure 5G coverage is accessible throughout the country including Sabah and Sarawak.

On accessibility, Teo said the overall national rollout is at 54.7 per cent, however for Penang it is slightly faster at 56.6 per cent.

"The target of MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) and the Ministry, is that we achieve 80 per cent of coverage in areas with population,” she said.