KUCHING, Sept 29: The Sarawak government has successfully installed 250 Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) at rural sites across the State to address the plight of rural communities and school children.
Minister of Utilities and Telecommunications Datuk Julaihi Narawi said up to date, about 90,000 users are benefitting from this initiative.
Other than that, he said, the Sarawak government also installed 130km of fiber optic cables to provide high speed internet connectivity to rural communities in Sebauh, Bintulu.
He said the fiber optic cables are now benefitting 7,000 communities, and the project will be replicated in other rural areas.
Under the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication (SMART) project, Julaihi said 284 out of 600 new telecommunication towers have been constructed to date.
“God-willing, we aim to complete the project by year end. These new towers will be equipped with facilities that allow network sharing for the operators, using Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) technology, the first of its kind in Malaysia,” he said.
As for the Sarawak Rural Broadband Network (MySRBN) project, he said 168 sites have been equipped with the service to connect the underserved areas.
He said MySRBN is an initiative that uses Fixed Wireless Broadband (FWB) technology due to its fast deployment in resolving connectivity issues in a short time by capitalising the existing infrastructure.
“In short, this is to highlight the Sarawak government’s commitment and drive to ensure no one is left behind in the digital transformation journey in Sarawak and to show how ambitious is the Sarawak government about Sarawak’s digital future,” he said.
Julaihi was representing Premier of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg to officiate at the launch of the SMA Pavilion at the SMART Nation Expo 2022 in Kuala Lumpur yesterday (Sept 28).
With SMA together with Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) and Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (SAINS) co-exhibiting at the expo, it marked Sarawak’s first-time participation at the SMART Nation Expo to showcase Sarawak’s digital aspirations. — DayakDaily
