Malaysia's rural SMBs tap broadband boost

More small and midsize businesses (SMBs) that are based in the rural areas of Malaysia are turning to broadband Internet to promote their products and services, and this has helped elevate the numbers.

Malaysian news daily The Star reported Friday that there are now some 305,000 companies, out of the country's 541,000 SMBs, using broadband services to conduct their businesses online. This trend started with those in towns and cities but the momentum has since shifted to those in the rural areas of Malaysia, said Azizi A. Hadi, executive vice president of small and midsize enterprises at Telekom Malaysia, in the report.

"Many of them now realise that due to their remote location, the best way to connect to their target market is through online channels," said Azizi, who added that interest among rural SMBs for Internet access has been growing for the past three years.

In 2004, the Malaysian government announced the National Broadband Initiative, which hoped to increase broadband penetration from 21.1 percent that year to 50 percent by the end of 2010. However, a user told ZDNet Asia in August 2010 that Internet connection was still lacking.