This article is intended to give an overview of the history of telecommunications in Malaysia.

The first telegraph line

The first

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

line connecting to the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

at Perak House in

Kuala Kangsar The Kuala Kangsar (Perak Malay: ''Kole Kangso'') is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia. It is located at the downstream of Kangsar River where it joins the Perak River, approximately northwest of Ipoh, Perak's capital, and southeast of ...

to the house of Deputy British Resident in Perak at

Taiping __NOTOC__ Taiping, Tai-p’ing, or Tai Ping most often refers to: Chinese history * Princess Taiping (died 713), Tang dynasty princess * Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), civil war in southern China ** Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), the re ...

, and was laid by the Department of Posts and Telegraph in 1874. This telegraph line measured 42.5km and travelled across a forest at

Bukit Berapit Bukit, the Indonesian or Malay word for hill, may refer to: * Bukit Peninsula The Bukit Peninsula (Indonesian: ''Semenanjung Bukit'') is at the southern end of the island of Bali, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, ...

, and signalled the beginning of the era of telecommunications in Malaysia. However, during the Japanese occupation in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the telegraph lines were nearly completely destroyed by the Japanese army.

Evolution of telecommunications

* In 1967, the SEACOM cable line was introduced, connecting

Peninsula Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

via the South China Sea. * In 1983, the data telecommunications system was introduced. * In 1985, ATUR, the first wireless telephone system was introduced by Jabatan Telekom Malaysia (JTM). * In 1987, JTM was incorporated as Syarikat Telekom Malaysia Berhad (STMB) or

Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is a Malaysian telecommunications company founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become the country's larg ...

(TM) following the National Corporatization Policy, which was launched in the 1980s. * In 1988,

Celcom Celcom Axiata Berhad, DBA Celcom, is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia. Celcom is a member of the Axiata group of companies. Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone licens ...

Sdn Bhd was founded under its name STM Cellular Communications Sdn Bhd. It was the first to provide GSM based mobile services. * In 1997, Telekom Malaysia introduced CDMA based mobile homeline services. * In 2003, Celcom Axiata Berhad (formerly Celcom Sdn Bhd) became the first provider to introduce video call based on 3G WCDMA technology. * In 2008,

Packet One Networks UniFi Mobile is a Malaysian converged telecommunications, broadband, and 4G service provider. Originally known as Packet One Networks (P1), the company was founded on 11 February 2002 and is a subsidiary of Green Packet Berhad. Overview UniF ...

Sdn Bhd became the first provider to introduce

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMAX ...

service on 802.16e spectrum technology. * In October 2010 YTL Communications launch a nationwide WiMAX network offering mobile internet (IEEE 802.16m) subsequently in June 2016, YTL Communication launch its all 4G LTE network in 3GPP band 38 and band 40 to become the largest 4G network in the country * In 2013,

Maxis Berhad Maxis Communications or Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. It is one of the oldest and largest telecommunications companies in the country. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it provides a variety of communica ...

(formerly Maxis Sdn Bhd) became the first provider to introduce 4G LTE mobile network before any other service provider. Maxis the first to launch 4G LTE service
/ref> As of 2022, there are 5 licensed cellular operators in Malaysia: CelcomDigi,

Maxis Communications Maxis Communications or Maxis Berhad is a communications service provider in Malaysia. It is one of the oldest and largest telecommunications companies in the country. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it provides a variety of communica ...

, U Mobile,

YTL Communications YTL Communications or YTL Communications Sdn. Bhd. ''dba'' Yes is a mobile network operator in Malaysia, the fifth in the country overall. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, YTL Communications is a subsidiary of the utilities company Y ...

and unifi mobile (formerly known as webe digital).

End of telegram services

In June 2012, Telekom Malaysia announced the discontinuation of telegram services with effect from 1 July 2012.

Reference

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Telecommunications In Malaysia Communications in Malaysia History of Malaysia British rule in Malaysian history