PPTelecom, PCCW Global of Hong Kong sign MoU
KUCHING: PPTelecom Sdn Bhd, a Sarawak-based telecommunication entity and PCCW Global of Hong Kong, an information and communication company headquartered in Hong Kong on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in California, USA.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg witnessed the signing during his working visit to Silicon Valley in California.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office, the two entities signed the MoU as a private collaborative initiative to create a global network connectivity for Sarawak leveraging on the global infrastructure and the extensive IP network of PCCW Global.
“Covering more than 3,000 cities and 150 countries, the PCCW Global network supports a portfolio of integrated global communications solutions that would provide a strong cyber connection between Sarawak and the whole world.
“PCCW Global with a strong presence in the Silicon Valley is the international operating division of Hong Kong Telecom Ltd (HKT), Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications company majority-owned by PCCW Limited,” the statement added.
The Chief Minister in his address after the signing ceremony said the Sarawak government would lend its support to the collaboration that would connect Sarawak to the 3 billion consumers in China, India and Asean.
He said Sarawak with its wealth of renewable power, abundant water supply, strategic location in Asia and an environment free of pollution and natural disasters offered a comparatively favourable location for a secured digital highway and an alternative data centre in the region.
Abang Johari and his delegation also visited the Plug and Play headquarters in Sunnyvale near San Francisco where they were given insight into the innovation platform that brings together the best startup and the world’s largest corporations.
Another team from the delegation who visited the NVidia headquarters also in Sunnyvale to gain insight into artificial intelligence (AI) technology and was taken on a tour of the facilities.
Later, the delegation was feted to a dinner in Sunnyvale hosted by the Malaysian diaspora in California.
On Thursday, Abang Johari witnessed the signing of two MoUs in San Jose, near San Francisco primarily to work on the creation of a data centre and cyber protection for Sarawak’s digitisation initiative.
The first MoU was signed between a Sarawak-based company PPTelekom and Cisco, a global leader in data centre technology at the conglomerate’s headquarters in San Jose while the second MoU was signed between Sarawak Information System (Sains) and also Cisco.
The Chief Minister and members of his delegation comprising key Sarawak government officials arrived in San Francisco on Wednesday for the second leg of a working visit overseas.