Update on Number of Low-income Households That Have Benefitted from Home Access 3.0 Programme and Plans to Increase Minimum Broadband Speed

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) whether there is any update on the number of low-income households that have benefited from the Home Access 3.0 programme for minimum broadband speeds since it was launched in April 2020; and (b) whether the Ministry can consider providing a minimum broadband speed higher than 500 Mbps for the Home Access 3.0 programme to cater for the growing need for online access.

The Home Access programme offers subsidised broadband to low-income families. To support the needs of our citizens, the broadband speed offered had increased over the years.

Home Access 3.0 was launched in April 2020 and eligible households may choose between a 500Mbps or 1Gbps subsidised broadband subscription, up from 300Mbps previously.

The broadband speed of 500Mbps is higher than the minimum speed available on the market and is sufficient to support a typical family for common daily activities such as internet surfing, video calls and video streaming.

To-date, the programme has supported over 9,100 beneficiaries and more than 90% of beneficiaries have opted for the minimum broadband speed of 500Mbps.

We will continue to review the Home Access scheme regularly, to consider what is available on the market and balance that with ensuring its offerings keep pace with the needs of citizens.