Short answer: In Malaysia, Tier-1 Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) is usually sold with a 99.7% uptime SLA on a single fibre path and 99.9% on a dual-path, dual-homed connection. A 99.9% SLA still allows about 43 minutes of downtime a month. What matters just as much is the repair time (MTTR) and whether the contract pays service credits when the carrier misses the target. For near-zero downtime, use two DIA lines from two different carriers.
How much downtime does each SLA allow?
| SLA (availability) | Allowed downtime per month (30 days) | Allowed downtime per year |
|---|---|---|
| 99.5% | 3 h 36 min | 43 h 48 min |
| 99.7% | 2 h 10 min | 26 h 17 min |
| 99.9% | 43 min | 8 h 46 min |
| 99.95% | 22 min | 4 h 23 min |
| 99.99% | 4 min 19 s | 53 min |
These figures are simple arithmetic: (100% minus SLA) times the hours in the period.
Typical DIA SLAs from Malaysian carriers
| Carrier | Single fibre path | Dual path / dual homed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIME dotCom (Internet Direct) | 99.7% | 99.9% | TIME public Enterprise Internet Services service schedule |
| TM (DIA / TM DOME) | Availability is set in the service order; typically in the 99.5%–99.9%+ range depending on design | DACS project experience | |
| Maxis Business DIA | Ask for the carrier service schedule | Ask for the carrier service schedule | Carrier contract |
| uMobile DIA | Ask for the carrier service schedule | Ask for the carrier service schedule | Carrier contract |
The SLA in your own service order is what counts. Always ask for the carrier’s service schedule for your exact configuration.
Uptime is not the whole story: MTTR
Uptime is an average over the month. A carrier can hit 99.9% and still take several hours to fix one outage. The repair commitment, usually called MTTR (mean time to repair or restore), tells you how long a single fault can last. Check three things:
- When the clock starts. From the moment the line goes down, or only when you open a trouble ticket? If nobody notices for two hours, a ticket-based clock starts two hours late.
- Who monitors the line. Proactive 24/7 monitoring means the fault is reported before your staff notice it.
- What is excluded. Planned maintenance, faults inside your building, power failure at your site and force majeure are usually not counted as downtime.
Our 24/7 Network Operations Centre monitors customer circuits and chases the carrier for you when something goes wrong.
Service credits: does the SLA actually pay?
Some Malaysian service schedules pay service credits against your next invoice when availability falls below the SLA. Others describe the SLA as a good-faith target with no credits at all. Before you sign, ask for the credit table in writing: how much credit per hour or per percentage point missed, the monthly cap, and how you claim it.
Buyer checklist: 8 questions to ask before you sign a DIA SLA
- Is the SLA for a single fibre path or for dual-path, dual-homed delivery?
- How is availability measured, monthly or yearly, and from whose monitoring?
- What is the MTTR, and does the clock start at the outage or at the ticket?
- Is there a service credit regime, and what is the cap?
- What counts as excluded downtime (maintenance windows, customer premises, force majeure)?
- Is the router managed by the carrier, and is it covered by the SLA?
- Is there 24/7 monitoring with proactive fault reporting?
- What does it cost to add a second path or a backup line from another carrier?
How to get closer to zero downtime
| Setup | Typical SLA level | Protects against | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single DIA, single fibre path | 99.7% class | Shared-bandwidth slowdowns (not path or carrier faults) | Offices with a broadband backup |
| Single DIA, dual path dual homed | 99.9% class | A single fibre cut | HQs, cloud-heavy offices |
| DIA + business broadband failover | DIA SLA plus best-effort backup | DIA line outage (with reduced backup speed) | SMEs on a budget |
| Two DIA lines from two different carriers | Highest practical resilience | Fibre cut and a full carrier outage | Banks, factories, 24/7 operations |
See our guide to near-zero internet downtime for the redundancy designs, and the DIA price guide for what each option costs.
Frequently asked questions
What SLA comes with dedicated internet access in Malaysia?
Most Tier-1 DIA in Malaysia comes with a 99.7% availability SLA on a single fibre path and 99.9% on a dual-path, dual-homed setup. TIME's public service schedule, for example, lists 99.7% for single fibre single homed and 99.9% for dual path dual homed Internet Direct.
How much downtime does a 99.9% SLA allow?
About 43 minutes a month (based on a 30-day month) or about 8 hours 46 minutes a year. A 99.7% SLA allows about 2 hours 10 minutes a month, and 99.5% about 3 hours 36 minutes a month.
What is MTTR in a DIA contract?
MTTR (mean time to repair or restore) is how quickly the carrier commits to fix a fault. Uptime is an average over the month; MTTR tells you how long any single outage can last. Check whether the MTTR clock starts when the fault happens or only when you open a ticket.
Do I get money back if the carrier misses the SLA?
Only if the contract has a service credit regime. Some Malaysian service schedules pay credits against the next invoice; others state the SLA is a target with no credits. Ask for the credit table in writing before you sign.
How do I get better than 99.9% uptime?
Use two DIA lines from two different carriers on separate fibre routes, with automatic failover on your router. This protects you from a single carrier's outage, which no single-line SLA can do.
Get a side-by-side quote: send us your address, bandwidth and contract term and we will compare at least 3 Tier-1 carriers for you. Contact DACS
Last updated: 14 October 2026. SLA figures come from public carrier service schedules and DACS project experience; your contract terms apply.