SMART initiative requires 700 telco towers to connect people to Internet

A briefing and discussion was held today (June 29, 2022) at SIC with SDEC representatives, representatives of elected reps, community leaders, tribal leaders, and longhouse chiefs. Photo credit: Ukas

KUCHING, June 29: The Sarawak government, through the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication (SMART) initiative, requires an estimated 700 telecommunication towers to ensure that residents of the State have access to the network and Internet, which serve as the foundation of the digital economy.

According to a news report today by the Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas), the government is also committed to building SMART towers to enable mobile service providers such as Celcom, Digi, Maxis, U Mobile, and MySRBN-SDEC to offer broadband services.

This will allow 93.6 per cent of Sarawakā€™s population to have access to broadband by the end of 2023.

Furthermore, residents in rural areas can access the Internet using the same broadband services as those in urban areas.

In this regard, a briefing and discussion was held today at Sarikei Innovation Centre (SIC) with Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) representatives, representatives of elected reps, community leaders, tribal leaders, and longhouse chiefs.

The purpose of the briefing was to inform landowners about the initiatives which will be implemented in order to avoid conflicts which will affect and delay the projectā€™s implementation.

Also present were Meradong assemblyman Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing, Meluan assemblyman Rolland Duat Jubin, as well as representatives for various elected reps including Baijuri Jauji (Kuala Rajang assemblyman), Anthony Tan (Repok assemblyman), Mohd Azmeer (Daro assemblyman), Basmi Mat (Igan MP), and others. ā€” DayakDaily