KUCHING, Oct 12: The 5G coverage for populated areas (COPA) in Sarawak, mainly in Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu, now stands at 44.9 per cent with 341 out of 589 designated sites successfully integrated.
Minister of Utility and Telecommunications Datuk Julaihi Narawi emphasised that the remaining 5G sites are expected to be integrated by the end of this year, increasing the COPA to 60 per cent.
“For 4G towers, a total of 3,430 towers out of the 4,055 completed towers are now on air (operational).
“The rest of the towers are expected to come online by the third quarter of 2024,” he said in a statement after chairing the third Telecommunication Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM) for 2023 held at a local hotel here.
Other related issues were also raised and deliberated during the meeting, including concerns about wayleaves and vandalism, which have resulted in millions in ringgit of losses to the Ministry.
“The way forward for wayleave applications and approvals will be to digitalise the processes.
“In addition, various anti-vandalism initiatives utilising latest technologies were discussed and considered for potential implementation,” he said.
During the meeting, industry stakeholders had the opportunity to highlight the challenges they face, and several issues were successfully resolved.
The meeting saw the participation of 130 representatives from 43 ministries, departments, agencies, telecommunications companies, and service providers.
The meetings serve to highlight any issues or challenges that may lead to project delays and facilitate interventions to resolve them.
Additionally, they support the delivery of projects or initiatives and provide a forum for discussing telecommunications matters specific to Sarawak.
Also in attendance were Deputy Minister of Telecommunication Datuk Liwan Lagang, permanent secretary to the Ministry Jafri Lias, as well as representatives from Sarawak Media Authority (SMA) and Malaysians Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). — DayakDaily
