KUCHING: The launch of the Luban Ulu telecommunication tower was a historical moment not only for locals but also for the people throughout Sarawak, as the tower is the first digital infrastructure completed by Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) under its SMA 300 initiative.
SMA general manger Dr Zaidi Razak said the initiative is part of a major effort by the state government to connect and at the same time to bridge the digital divide in rural areas and areas that are not covered by broadband network.
He said with the setting up of the telecommunication tower, the local community especially in Luban Ulu area can now enjoy 3G and 4G network coverage from the respective service providers — Celcom, Digi, Maxis and U Mobile.
“The local community also has the opportunity to get high-speed and high-capacity internet compared to the previous networks which only cover EDGE network,” he said at the launch of the Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication (SMART) 300 Luban Ulu telecommunication tower and services on Saturday.
He also said with the telecommunication tower, local residents would be able to expand their businesses online.
“Not only that, other transactions such as paying bills and shopping can also be done online. Therefore, it can stimulate the growth of investment inflows especially digital business,” he said.
He said the tower would be able to provide wider bandwidth coverage up to 5km radius.
“Under this SMA 300 initiative, a total of 61 percent or 184 towers have been completed covering all parts of Sarawak,
“In Betong area, SMA has successfully built 31 towers out of 36 towers and another five towers are under construction.
“Hopefully, by 2030, the quality and coverage of high-speed internet which is stable will be enjoyed by all spheres of the community in Sarawak,” Zaidi said.
