By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, June 25: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will be conducting a survey at a village at Pakan, Sarawak in the near future to gain an accurate picture of the recent revelation that a student there had to travel far from home to access telecommunications coverage.
According to MCMC in a press statement, the findings of the survey will be matched with telecommunication development plans to enable residents there to enjoy quality telecommunications services while simultaneously improve their standard of living.
It asserted the development plan will enable more people to enjoy better Internet coverage and standard of living.
MCMC also revealed that 185 new telecommunication towers have been planned for construction under Phase Two of the National Fiberisation Connectivity Plan (NFCP 2) throughout Sarawak.
From this totaol, seven new telecommunication towers have been earmarked for construction in Pakan.
MCMC asserted that all the new telecommunication towers are expected to be ready and operational by the third quarter of 2021.
According to the commission, the initiative to expand Internet coverage throughout the country has been implemented since 2003 and funded by the Universal Service Provision (USP) under the commission.
Until May 2020, the commission with the collaboration with telecommunication services companies have built 553 telecommunication towers besides upgrading 1,064 telecommunication towers with 3G and 4G coverage in Sarawak.
However, the commission is aware that there are still many areas especially rural areas which have yet to be provided with stable Internet connectivity.
It disclosed that besides the geographical landscape in Sarawak which posed a challenge, the lack of electricity connection have also created difficulties for the commission and telecommunication services companies to build towers in rural areas.
MCMC explained that the alternative approaches that it uses including satellite networks and electricity supply from diesel generators can cause the Internet network to be unstable.
Despite this, the commission highlighted it is committed to providing inclusive telecommunication services to the people especially those living in rural areas in order to narrow the digital gap throughout the country. — DayakDaily
