The Communications Ministry is optimistic about new technologies being trialled in Johor and Sarawak to improve Internet connectivity in remote areas, according to its minister.
During a working visit to Kampung Seri Bunian on Saturday (Dec 14) to observe the proof-of-concept trial for the Tarana Wireless telecommunication tower, Minister Fahmi Fadzil stated that the ministry is testing various advanced technologies to support the seamless implementation of Phase Two of the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela), with a particular focus on rural and underserved areas.
He also emphasised the importance of hybrid solutions to overcome Malaysia's geographical challenges, including mountains, rivers, and islands, which complicate the rollout of fibre optic infrastructure.
00:00I came to Pontian, especially in Pantajupiai, Sribunian village, to see a test with PIMCMC
00:26which uses a new technology, which is TARANA, to see if this technology is suitable for solving the internet problem
00:40in what we consider as the last mile
00:46We found that to solve the problem of interconnection or the internet, the issue we face is the installation of fiber
00:57and this optical connection in some places is not suitable, so we need a different solution or a hybrid solution
01:08What we have seen today, this technology enables interconnectivity in an area of 3-4 km
01:21and I see from the specification, PIMCMC will continue to study, but it looks promising
01:30There are a few things that I think we can consider in the future, for example, in the FASA II window program
01:44but what is interesting is that in two locations, in Johor and Sarawak, the internet speed that has been obtained seems to be quite fast and quite good
02:01and we hope that with a few considerations, including completing some other technology using free space optical or microwave
02:14and also some solutions in the end, using more Wi-Fi, I think this will be able to help communities that may not have had interconnection before
02:27It is a bit technical, but I have followed and received instructions before this, so our presence today, I would like to thank the leaders and all the people in Kampung Seribunian
02:42because they are ready to be a test site, and I hope that the new technology that has just emerged, which we have obtained, is stable, it is somewhat mature, meaning it has been used in several other countries
03:04and is able to solve specific problems. For example, in Malaysia, we have places like Gunung Ganang, Bukit Bukau, there are places that need to cross the river, cross to the islands, so to complete for 1.8% of the population who still do not have internet
03:27Seribunian is an experiment, so are there other places, like in Sarawak, just one?
03:34Just one, made by PISDEC, if here, we actually have two locations, one in Kampung Seribunian, the other in Sedena Tech Park, so there are at least four, there is a mosque, there is a school, there are many people
03:52so we have studied the data from these four locations, since October, so 2-3 months, and since we are also going through the monsoon season, so the weather conditions give us good data, it started before the monsoon season and until today
04:21so we have data, in the rainy season, the weather is dry, so this data will be able to help, because there are two different locations, two different minarets, four different locations, and we will study in detail
04:40When will the decision be made for the new roads?
05:11And from that number, only 808 minarets have been on-air or can be used, this is not a good achievement, meaning that in more than two years, the Phase 1 General Project was implemented, it is not satisfactory, very unsatisfactory
05:30And when we look at the mistakes, and we can consider it as a mistake at that time, the technology used is not in accordance with the location, there are problems with land, power, so in the last 2-3 years, a lot of technology has changed
05:55For example, we can now provide temporary solutions that make use of satellite internet, so this is very helpful, especially for locations that take too long to complete the cable replacement process
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