The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) opened a public consultation on its review of licensing regulations, with a focus on how initial annual payments are made.

The agency noted in a statement it is looking for input on the current legislation and potential proposed amendments. The deadline for submissions is 30 April.

Its document explained the current payment method requires licence holders to pay the initial annual fee on the first anniversary of a licence being issued and then annually, which it refers to as a post-paid approach.

The commission is looking to switch to a prepaid method, with a licensee required to pay the initial annual fee at the beginning of the assignment period for both new and renewed licences.

MCMC noted records in other markets indicate the number and total amount of outstanding fee cases when using a prepaid approach are lower compared with Malaysia’s current licensing regulations.