Page 110 - FREN-C2021 PROCEEDINGS

There seems to be an increase in mobile usage since the total lockdown (Movement Control Order)
was established due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This phenomenon matched and is noticeable with a
lowering rate of 4G download speed. Ever since the Malaysian Government introduced the Movement
Control Order, there has been an increase in the citizens’ dependence on internet access to facilitate
work, education, and social interactions (Wyrzykowaki, 2021). The Malaysian mobile service
provider industry has reached its saturation point, as indicated by the penetration rate of around 131.9
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. The average penetration rate for Asia & the Pacific regions was at
105.3 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in 2018 (MCMC, 2019). According to the 2020’s Third
Quarter Report from MCMC, there were 42,338,500 subscriptions in 2017, 42,413,400 subscriptions
in 2018, and 44,600,700 subscriptions in 2019.

The increment in subscribers of mobile service providers has reflected the rise in recent customer
complaints. Customer complaints and feedbacks ultimately allow service providers to improve their
products and services and evolve them. Compared to 33,257 complaints in 2017, MCMC received a
total of 49,065 complaints in 2018, an increase of 47.5 per cent. With regards to the settlement of
complaints, 92 per cent of the cases were resolved and closed as of the end of 2018, while 8 per cent
were scaled up for further investigation. Complaints were primarily related to problems related to
communication and multimedia systems, with 43 per cent related to cellular services. Coverage and
speed were common problems faced by customers. According to the report by MCMC, the most
common complaint received in 2018 was network coverage at 54.1%. There was an increase of
complaints by 40.5% in 2018 (49,065 complaints) compared to 2017 (33,257 complaints). According
to Annual Report 2018 by MCMC (2021), the increased usage of online applications in mobile
phones indirectly increases the demand for the quality of wireless broadband services.

Given that the coverage problem embodies the highest number of complaints received, this situation is
quite worrisome in terms of achieving the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for
information and communication technologies (ICTs). ITU has approved the Strategic Plan for the
Union for 2020-2030 that links with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) and in particular
Target 9. c; significantly access to information and communications technology and strive to provide
universal and affordable access to the internet in the least developed countries by 2020. The rationale
of Target 9.c, is to provide the right percentage of the population covered by a mobile cellular
network based on the penetration rate per 100 inhabitants of the country population. As a regulator,
MCMC should be concerned about the situation, moreover during this pandemic, when everything
goes online especially the MySejahtera application. It was reported that many rural areas did not have
stable connectivity that may hinder certain populations from registering the vaccination program.
Since this can have serious consequences, this study should be carried out as it would yield useful
information about the trouble that subscribers encounter nowadays. This study may recommend to the
regulators and mobile service providers how they may improve our quality of life better in a new
world norm based on the useful information.

From the marketing point of view, having numerous amount of subscribers would guarantee business
but having loyal customers would be promising to the business's wealth. In the journey for having
such a goal, the business may face various challenges as the customer expectation and the experience
are somehow very difficult to justify. As it is with other service industries, the customer is a focal
point; it is crucial to make them satisfied and happy to retain customers for repeat business (Ahmed et
al., 2020; Alrawadieh et al., 2019; Prentice et al., 2017).

The studies on customer loyalty in Malaysia were mainly conducted in tourism (Kwok et al., 2017;
Mohammed & Al-Swidi, 2019; Mohammed Shobri & Putit, 2015; Othman et al., 2019), banking
services (Ong et al., 2017; Thaker et al., 2019), education (Hassan et al., 2019), and
telecommunication services (Abdullah et al., 2014; Quoquab et al., 2018). To the best of the

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