Growth
Following the country's Independence in 1957, the Malayan Telecommunications Department was renamed Jabatan Telekom. One of its first tasks was to provide telecommunications facilities throughout the nation, as part of the Rural Development Plan. Microwave radio links were established which, by 1962, covered most urban centres in Peninsular Malaysia. In 1962, too, the Government took control of international calls from Cable & Wireless, which had been operating Malaysia's overseas telecommunications services for almost 10 years. Subscriber trunk dialling (STD) was introduced, enabling telephone owners in Kuala Lumpur to call Singapore directly, without having to go through an operator, using the first long-distance microwave link. Overseas calls were further enhanced with the roll-out of SEACOM, which formed part of the Commonwealth Cable Scheme.[7] In 1961, the Federation of Malaya and Singapore became partners in this initiative, with Malaya investing about $12 million in it. The first phase of SEACOM between Singapore and Jesselton (Kota Kinabalu), in Sabah, was opened on 15 January 1964. On 30 March 1967, the entire system was commissioned.
The expanding microwave network enabled Jabatan Telekom to launch television services in Peninsular Malaysia in 1963, using the same system. While Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) controlled the content of local TV, Jabatan Telekom managed the transmission of microwaves from the studio to homes.
As prior to 1963, Sabah and Sarawak were not part of the Federation of Malaya, telecommunications services in these East Malaysia states were managed independently, by the Telecommunications Department of Sabah and Sarawak. In 1968, this department merged with that of Peninsular Malaysia to form the Telecommunications Department of Malaysia.
In 1970, further expanding Malaysia's international connectivity, an earth satellite station was built near Kuantan for communications via the Indian Ocean Intelsat III satellite. The station, costing $9 million, was completed in a record 12 months by a fully local team. The station was to serve primarily external telephone, telegraph and telex communications, however it also enhanced the reception of international television programmes.
In 1975, the International Telex Exchange was opened, allowing businesses to send telexes. Four years later, International Direct Dialling (IDD) services were introduced and the first electronic exchange was commissioned in Johor Bahru. The volume of new development was such that, in the early 1980s, the department was compelled to appoint contractors to help build new lines and extend the cable network.
In terms of systems, the year 1985 was a watershed. This was when Automatic Telephone Using Radio (ATUR) 450 – the earliest precursor in Malaysia to today's mobile service – was introduced. The service provided almost universal coverage with the installation of five mobile telephone exchanges and many radio base stations.
In line with the Government's privatisation agenda, and in recognition of the benefits Jabatan Telekom would enjoy unencumbered by policies and budgets, steps towards this end were embarked on beginning in 1985. On 1 January 1987, a corporatised Syarikat Telekom Malaysia (STM) was born, under the Telecommunications Service (Successor Company) Act 1985. The company was immediately faced with various challenges including a huge debt, inventories that had been unused for years and a workforce that still operated on a civil servant mentality. Although the company embarked on a comprehensive programme to transform the organisation, with a strong focus on customer service, the results took time. Some disgruntled customers even suggested that competition be allowed in the industry to improve standards.
Challenges aside, STM continued to adopt new technologies as they emerged and to offer these to its customer base. Corporate Information Superhighway (COINS) was launched, a globally linked fibre optic backbone capable of transmitting digital signals at 10 Mbit/s, which was among the fastest of such service in the world. At the same time, the process of transforming the Main Trunk Route network from analogue to digital began, and was completed by 2000. This transformation received a boost once the RM150 million Kuantan-Kota Kinabalu submarine fibre optic cable became operational. For the first time, too, STM invested in a new optical fibre submarine cable system linking Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Each optic fibre in the cable system could carry traffic at 560 Mbit/s, equivalent to 30,000 simultaneous phone calls.
The next logical step to buffer its finances was to undergo a listing. STM was listed on 7 November 1990, achieving a market value of RM27 billion or 10% of the total market capitalisation of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (now Bursa Malaysia). The volume of trading was such that KLSE had to suspend activity on the stock for 10 minutes to prevent its system from jamming, as it was unable to handle the sheer number of incoming orders.
Following its listing, STM has evolved to be known as Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TMB), and the Company pushed ahead with new products to increase its subscriber base, launching services such as TELECAJ, a billing option for those who travelled a great deal; Malaysia Direct for those travelling overseas; and Telestock, a dial-up facility to retrieve up-to-date share prices. In 1992, it introduced video conferencing facilities nationwide as well as Centrex, a virtual PABX system that allows larger organisations the option of functioning without operators, enabling customers to reach staff directly. In 1993, the nationwide digital transmission network and the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) pilot projects were completed.
