An impact study on the key success factor in universal service provision projects

Abstract

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is responsible for bridging the digital divide by catalysing the industry through deploying Universal Service Provision (USP) Projects and utilising the USP Fund. This research is intended to analyse the key success factor of the USP Projects from MCMC’s perspective and formulate an appropriate intervention to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the appointed division in MCMC in managing USP Projects. The Six Sigma (DMAIC) Methodology is adopted as there is no necessity to revamp the current implementation process, and mixed-method is selected for data collection and analysis. Based on the analysis, the key success factor for MCMC is unique as USP Projects are the statutory obligation in the Act and legislation under it, and the challenge in implementing USP Projects is to process manually the voluminous data from on the ground reports, which is time consuming and prone to human error. This leads to delay in effective troubleshooting, strategic decision-making, and action taken is remedial and not pre-emptive. As the key success factor of USP Projects for MCMC is the availability and adequate communications service at the intended area, any failure will directly impact the national framework and Malaysia’s communications future in its entirety.