SIBU, May 4: Song District, which is home to 23,000 residents across 160 longhouses, is currently lacking the digital infrastructure necessary to support local economic growth.
Highlighting this, Katibas assemblyman Lidam Assan urged the government and responsible parties to take action to speed up the implementation of digital infrastructure facilities in Song District in particular and Sarawak in general.
“The community in Song needs telecommunication networks which would have significant economic benefits to the local people, especially in enabling them to better market their products such as handicrafts and agriculture produce and expand their business opportunities,” he said in a press release today.
Lidam conveyed this during a briefing session at Song District Office today in conjunction with Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Teo Nie Ching’s working visit to Sarawak.
At the briefing, Teo emphasised that the Ministry is targeting an 80 per cent coverage of 5G network throughout Malaysia by the end of this year.
“The ministry in collaboration with the Sarawak government and other stakeholders are determined to expand the telecommunication network in Song District and other populated areas in the region,” she said.
The Sarawak government is also actively working with the Federal government to develop telecommunication infrastructure through the SMART Tower and Sarawak Rural Broadband Network (MySRBN) projects.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Sarawak Regional Office director Adiman Ajem informed that as of the fourth quarter of 2022, there were 216 operational sites for 5G network facilities, with 87.12 per cent 4G coverage in populated areas.
For Song District, 44.67 percent coverage has been achieved so far.
“There are currently 13 telecommunications towers in operation, with eight of them funded by the MCMC’s USP fund and the other five are commercial.
“Additionally, there are 32 towers scheduled for implementation in 2023, with 17 of them under MCMC and 15 under the Sarawak Development Economy Corporation (SDEC),” he added. — DayakDaily
