By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, April 21: The collaboration between Reach Ten Communication Sdn Bhd (Reach10) and Measat (Malaysia East Asia Satellite) on the new Measat-3d High Throughput Satellite (HTS) East Malaysia Gateway supported by the new Measat-3d satellite will improve the State government’s ability to achieve equitable broadband access for the people of Sarawak, says Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi.
Reach10 announced an official partnership with Measat on the new Measat-3d HTS East Malaysia Gateway during a groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon at the Samajaya Free Industrial Zone.
“I am told that the new HTS gateway will enable connectivity for over 3,000 additional rural sites in Sarawak, while the new Measat-3d satellite will enable cost-effective high-speed broadband in areas without any terrestrial network nationwide, with speeds of up to 100Mbps.
“The rollout of this HTS gateway in conjunction with the launch of the Measat-3d satellite in June 2022 will certainly contribute towards the goals of our State government as announced in the Post Covid-19 Development Plan (PCDS) 2030.
“I understand that the new satellite will increase capacity to create a digitally inclusive society and support high-bandwidth applications for Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and the Internet of Things (IoT), for uses in areas such as healthcare, education, and much more,” said Julaihi in his speech during the groundbreaking ceremony.
He went on to say that these developments are in line with the government’s goal of ensuring that 93.6 percent of the State’s populated areas have telecommunication and Internet coverage by 2025, with 99.9 percent of households in urban and rural areas having internet connectivity, while internet speeds across the State are increased from 1-10 Mbps to 20-100 Mbps.
Meanwhile, President of Reach10 Goh Yong Tat stated that he believes satellites are the best interim solution for Sarawak’s vast geography because they can be deployed quickly and without the high costs of additional terrestrial infrastructure.
“I was told that the Measat-3d gateway has been allocated a capacity of 13gb for Sarawak alone, which translates to network connectivity to approximately 3000 remote areas.
“We anticipate the new Measat-3d satellite in orbit to go live in June 2022 and we expect this HTS gateway to be operational and in tandem a month later in July 2022,” he said.
Also present were Deputy Minister for Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak (Telecommunication) Datuk Liwan Lagang, Deputy Minister for Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak (Utility) Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Permanent Secretary, Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Sarawak Dato Ir Alice Jawan Empaling, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation chief executive officer (CEO) Sudarnoto Osman, Reach10 CEO Leo Chin, and Measat Global Berhad chief operating officer (COO) Yau Chyong Lim. — DayakDaily
