KUCHING: A total of 3,430 out of the 4,055 completed 4G towers in Sarawak are now “On Air”.
Utility and Telecommunication Minister Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the rest of the towers are expected to be “On Air” by the third quarter of 2024.
For 5G sites, he said, a total of 341 out of 589 sites are now integrated giving a Coverage of Populated Area (COPA) of 44.9 per cent to date.
“The rest of the 5G sites are expected to be integrated by the end of this year giving a COPA of 60 per cent,” he said after chairing the third Telecommunication Coordination Committee Meeting (TCCM) for 2023 here today.
The TCCM would be held every two months, to report on project progress and performance by all agencies under the ministry, covering both physical progress and financial progress; to highlight issues and challenges for projects that are delayed or potentially expected to encounter delays; to provide intervention actions to resolve the issues or challenges; to facilitate the delivery of the projects or initiatives; and to discuss any telecommunication matters in Sarawak.
During the meeting, relevant agencies and telecommunication providers presented the progress of telecommunication projects implemented by them respectively for the previous quarter.
Julaihi said other related issues that were deliberated included issues related to wayleaves and vandalism, which caused millions of ringgits of losses to the Utilities.
He said the way forward for wayleaves application and approvals would be to digitalise the processes.
Meanwhile, various initiatives on anti-vandalism utilising the latest technologies were also discussed and considered to be implemented during the meeting.
The industry players also took the opportunity to highlight in the meeting, the challenges faced by them which were deliberated.
A total of 130 participants from 43 ministries, departments, agencies, telcos and service providers attended the TCCM.
Also in attendance were Deputy Minister Utility and Telecommunication (Telecommunication) Datuk Liwan Lagang; Permanent Secretary Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication Jafri Lias as well as senior management from Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication (MUT), Sarawak Media Authority (SMA), Malaysians Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC); other related ministries, departments and agencies.
