Learning trip: Fahmi takes in an exhibit displaying a miniature undersea cable while on a visit to the Telekom Malaysia - operated undersea cable station in Santubong, Sarawak. - Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia is on the right track to achieve its target of 80% of populated areas covered by the 5G network by the end of this year, says Fahmi Fadzil.
The Communications and Digital Minister said as of March, 4,634 sites providing 5G coverage had been developed nationwide.
“With such a total, the readiness of the 5G network has reached 57.8% coverage of populated areas, with the aim of reaching 80% by the end of 2023,” he said in his speech yesterday at the Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2023 celebration in Sarawak.
The celebration is an annual event by the International Telecommunication Union to increase public awareness of the importance of information technology and communication in bridging the digital gap and overall economic development.
Fahmi said this year’s celebration was commemorated with the theme “Empowering the Community Through Information and Digital Technologies”.
“The government has implemented various initiatives, including the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela), which aims to improve connectivity and provide high-speed Internet access to the people.”
Fahmi said that Jendela’s goal is to expand access to a gigabyte fixed broadband network to nine million premises by 2025. Additionally, it aims to achieve 100% coverage of populated areas for Internet access and an average mobile broadband speed of 100Mbps.
“As of March 31, the first phase of Jendela, which was from 2020 to 2022, has shown encouraging results with 7.9 million premises being covered with fibre optic Internet, exceeding the target of 7.5 million,” he said.
Mobile broadband also reached a mean speed of 116.03Mbps and a median speed of 47.72Mbps, surpassing its initial goal of having a mean speed of 35Mbps.
“The 4G coverage in populated areas has also been widened to 96.94%.
“In addition, 839 Orang Asli communities and interior areas have been provided with broadband wireless access through satellites in Sarawak, Sabah, Orang Asli villages, as well as several areas in Peninsular Malaysia,” Fahmi said.
He added that Jendela’s second phase, from 2023 to 2025, will focus on providing Internet coverage for the remaining 3% of populated areas and widening the gigabyte access for fixed broadband networks to nine million premises.
“The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission will ensure the 5G implementation under Digital Nasional Bhd will achieve the 80% target by the end of the year and move to a dual network model smoothly by early 2024,” he said.
In Sarawak, Fahmi said Jendela’s positive impact could already be felt.
“As of the first quarter of this year, 4G mobile broadband coverage has reached 87.36% in populated areas with an average mobile speed of 40.29Mbps,” he added.
For 5G, 218 sites are up and running as of May 9, while another 369 locations are scheduled to be operational in stages until the end of this year.
To ensure the digital economic opportunities can be accessed by all, especially those in rural areas, Fahmi said Digital Economy Centres have been set up to carry out training sessions to help small businesses jump onto digital platforms.
“We are targeting to provide one of these centres in every state constituency.
“As of now, we have 133 centres in Sarawak, with another 23 expected to be ready by this year,” he said.
Sarawak Utilities and Telecommunication Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the state government, through the Sarawak Linking Urban, Rural and Nation (Saluran) programme, is aiming to build 600 new 4G telecommunication towers.
“We are targeting all towers to be fully operational by the end of this year,” he said.
