By Brad Rantayy
MIRI, Oct 9: More than 300 sites have been identified and planned for this year by the federal government for the implementation and rolling out of the 5G network in Sarawak.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said these areas are in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu to help boost Internet connectivity especially within industrial areas.
“This will cover about 34 per cent of Sarawak’s population coverage, and more importantly, these areas are the main economic areas that will impact and benefit companies in Sarawak,” he told local media today after handing over free tablets to 20 recipients from various education institutions and schools in Miri under the ‘PerantiSiswa Keluarga Malaysia’ (PRSIS) programme.
The ceremony was held at the Teachers Education Institute (IPG) Miri campus in Tanjong Lobang.
The recipients are from Curtin University Malaysia campus, IPG Miri, Kolej Vokasional Miri, SMK Agama Miri, SMK Chung Hua Miri, SMK Merbau, SMK Baru, Kolej Datu Haji Bujang Miri, SMK Lutong, and SMK Luar Bandar Miri.
“As of today, Kuching already has 52 5G sites available,” Annuar disclosed.
On another note, he said Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) is currently working actively with the relevant State authorities as well as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to expedite the 5G rollout.
“More importantly, the use of 5G in Kuching, Miri and Bintulu will be a catalyst to support Sarawak’s digitalisation vision to further develop its Industrial Revolution 4.0 (readiness) and I expect more telco companies will be launching their 5G services in Sarawak in the near future,” he said.
Annuar is also expressed his confidence that Malaysia is on the right track to reach its target of 5G network coverage of almost 40 per cent of populated areas by the end of 2022, and hopes to meet the target of 70 per cent next year as mentioned in Budget 2023 which was presented two days ago in Parliament.
He added, the 5G network which has been available since December 2021 is expected to provide coverage to nearly 23 million Malaysians across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak by the end of 2023.
“Of course, people will be excited to know that the device ecosystem has also grown rapidly over the past 10 months. Currently at least 12 of the handphone brands now offer 5G-compatible devices,” he said.
Currently, Annuar disclosed, there are over 6 million 5G devices in the country, and this is expected to double to more than 12 million 5G devices next year. — DayakDaily
