PARLIAMENT | Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo is in talks with Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) to potentially challenge Telekom Malaysia's (TM) dominance.

"I have started discussions with TNB. TNB can use its existing fibre infrastructure that is already laid throughout the country, especially in the peninsula.

"I have had discussions with TNB so that they can be a major infrastructure supplier," he told Parliament during the Minister's Question Time.

Gobind was responding to Khairy Jamaluddin (BN-Rembau), who asked about the possibility of TNB providing broadband services to break TM's monopoly.

While there are other fibre internet service providers at present, such as Time, they are limited and are unable to challenge TM's wide reach.

Electricity companies use fibre networks to communicate and control their electricity grid, allowing this same infrastructure to be tapped for other purposes.

Furthermore, TNB also supplies electricity to power existing telecommunication towers by various players, allowing them to leverage on such infrastructure.

For this reason, Gobind said he was glad that TNB and TM had terminated their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which would have seen both companies working together on a national fiberation plan.

"If the MOU between TM and TNB had gone ahead, it would create a giant monopoly, and that is a problem that we should avoid.

"Without an MOU, they can compete, as they both have their respective strengths.

The ministry's direction is for us to see if TNB can enter the telecommunications sector," he said.

However, Gobind stressed that notwithstanding his discussions with TNB, any decision and announcement must come from TNB.

Both TNB and TM are government-linked companies.