95% broadband coverage by 2020 – Salleh
KOTA BELUD: The government, in collaboration with telecommunication companies has been actively implementing various telecommunications infrastructure development initiatives to ensure 95 per cent broadband coverage in the country by 2020.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said even satellite technology, such as the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) had been used to provide broadband services in remote areas, like the interiors of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
“To widen access to high-speed Internet, 423 exchanges have been upgraded throughout the country under the Rural Broadband project, which provides fixed broadband services with speeds of up to 20 mega bits per second.
“Through the mobile broadband coverage initiative, 1,686 new communications towers have been built and are operating with 3G and 4G coverage, and 4,061 existing towers have also been upgraded with the same coverage nationwide,” he said.
He said this when officiating at the Sabah state-level Connectingthe-Unconnected Negaraku Programme here yesterday.
Also present were Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad and Kota Belud District officer Abdul Gari Itam.
Meanwhile, Salleh said the government through the ministry was very concerned about the living conditions of the rural and remote communities.
“Therefore, expanding on the scope of the CTU programme, we have implemented an initiative to renovate dilapidated houses in rural areas. A total of 189 CTU projects have been identified.
“For Sabah, 20 houses have been selected for the refurbishment programme, of which five are in Tenom, five in Beluran, five in Sandakan and five in Tawau. All the homes have been repaired,” he said.
He said the ministry would continue efforts to ensure the welfare and well-being of those in the interior were taken care of.
In this regard, he urged the people in Sabah, especially those in Kota Belud to continue to support the government’s efforts to implement developments for the benefit of the people.