TANJUNG MANIS: Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa has assured that the federal government is committed to assist Sarawak’s digital economy agenda.
This is being done by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) together with the Sarawak Multimedia Authority(SMA).
“The SMA is like a sister agency of the MCMC to implement connectivity in Sarawak.
“What is important is for MCMC to provide strong support to SMA’s plan and strategy.
“SMA has local knowledge and it has the backing of the State government,” he told SMA’s NUJU Digital team at a meet-the-people session on Saturday (Nov 27).
Annuar pointed out that under Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, Sarawak has a clear agenda on the way forward for telecommunication with the need for high quality internet connectivity.
“Sarawak has a very clear blueprint. So, the issue regarding 4G and 5G is something which we have planned.
“For instance, in the plantation sector, the chief minister has done some pilot projects on how to mechanise them so that the sector will not depend too much on foreign labour in the management of the plantation such as harvesting. And also, there is a plan to use robotic technology, which is now at an advanced stage. This needs 5G,” he said.
He also explained why the 4G will still be used even though 5G will be rolled out soon.
“As I have said, before we can migrate to 5G, we have to perfect the 4G first, as it is used for the masses, whereas 5G is for the industries such as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT). But both of these have to be done simultaneously,” he said.
Annuar said he was confident the digital economy could be implemented in the country as proper planning was in place.
“All these (initiatives) are contained in the blueprint and we have the timeline, such as in the next three years we will roll out 5G, which in actual fact we planned to start in 2023, but we brought it forward and started it this year.
“So, if we start next year, we can achieve 30 percent and in the next three years we can achieve 80 percent in populated areas.
“Previously for 4G, it took us eight years to achieve. But now for the 5G, we plan to implement it over the next three years,” he said.
He was also confident that the country could implement 5G with sufficient funding which he reckoned would be about RM50 billion.
“This will be implemented by both the government and the private sector. Just for 4G alone, we spent RM28 billion which has been committed by the government and the service providers,” he said.
Annuar also said that the 3G would be stopped next month as the focus would be providing 4G service for the whole of Sarawak, adding that the 2G service would be retained for rural areas as it is only for making calls.
At the same time, Annuar also assured that MCMC will assist SMA to get the telecommunication companies (telcos) to put up their equipment once the telecommunication towers are ready.
“We understand that SMA has some problems with the telcos. This is the case when the towers have been erected and the telcos are rather slow to come in. So, I have instructed MCMC that once the towers are completed, the telcos must bring in the equipment.
“I have been told that there are some instances whereby some towers have been completed for two years but there is still no equipment. In this case, MCMC will assist SMA,” he said.
