SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA - MALAYSIA'S communications minister says Singapore and Malaysia have agreed to lower mobilephone roaming charges between the two countries, reported Bernama.

He expressed his hope that charges would be lowered as soon as possible, or by early next year.

Malaysian Minister for Energy, Water and Communications Shaziman Abu Mansor said that the agreement had been reached during a meeting held late last month between Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang and himself, in Bali, Indonesia.

'At the meeting, I asked for the roaming charges to be reduced and he agreed.' He said he had told the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission two weeks ago 'to proceed with this'.

Speaking to reporters at a Hari Raya open house in Rantau, near Seremban, he said the move would benefit both Malaysians who work in Singapore and Singaporeans who often visit Malaysia.

When informed of this development, Singaporeans who travel frequently to Malaysia adopt a wait-and-see approach

'As with any layman, I'll go with whatever is the cheaper option,' said a businessman in his 50s who often crosses the Causeway. 'I think the proposed cut for roaming charges is a way to compete with Internet phone services because roaming charges are very high.

'If you go to a WiFi zone, you can call without paying charges if you have a 3G phone and software like Skype.'

According to the SingTel website, a roaming subscriber calling home from Malaysia is charged 50 cents a minute.

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