According to a recent study conducted by the Asia-Pacific Carriers' Coalition (APCC), the telecom operators in Malaysia made the maximum payment for their Ethernet broadband lines in the Asia-Pacific region.

The study collected data from seven international carriers. It also focused on three forms of access platforms namely Ethernet, DSL and leased lines.

The study, which was released on June 14, revealed that Hong Kong operators paid the minimum amount. The researchers discovered that Malaysia occupied the first place in four out of five categories. These categories were differentiated on the basis of network speeds. It covered monthly rental and cost of installation of Ethernet broadband.

Operators in Malaysia normally pay US$4,564 for the monthly rental and the cost of installation for 2Mbps circuit as compared to their counterparts in Hong Kong, who pay only US$374.

Thailand occupied a second place in the study, which only ranked countries with top two costliest bills and the country which paid the least bill.

In the year 2006, Singapore was the costliest place for telecom providers. However, it has plummeted in the list this year.

The study highlighted that there is an ever increasing demand for access to Ethernet broadband and also the requirement for more bitrates is on the rise.