‘Over 5 Tbps of Internet speed enough to meet rising demand’
KUCHING: Sarawak looks forward to enjoying a communication backbone with capacity of five to six terabit per second ( Tbps).
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said it would be good for the state if it has higher Internet transmission speed as it transforms its economy from conventional to digital.
He added that a capacity of over five Tbps would be sufficient to meet the rising demand for digitisation.
“My target is five to six Tbps for the backbone so that it ( Internet traffic) is not congested,” he said at a news conference following the launch of Sistem Kabel Rakyat 1Malaysia (SKR1M) submarine cable system, or 1Malaysia People’s Cable System, at a leading hotel here yesterday.
The new cable system, which spans over 3,800km and carries commercial traffic between Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, has an initial capacity of four Tbps.
With state- of-the- art 100 Gbps technology, SKR1M is capable of being upgraded to at least 12.8 Tbps of design capacity.
Abang Johari recorded his thanks to Telekom Malaysia (TM)
My target is five to six Tbps for the backbone so that it (Internet traffic) is not congested.
for extending SKR1M to Sarawak with three landing points; namely in Kuching, Bintulu and Miri.
He said the submarine cable system would meet Sarawak’s aspiration to transform its economy so as to bridge the divide between rural and urban areas.
He believed that the enhanced connectivity would benefit all sectors across the state of Sarawak that is on the road to establishing a Research and Development Council.
According to the chief minister, researchers and scientists in the state need analytical software and high-speed Internet in conducting their work.
“So the signal must be strong because things need to be done in real time. Researchers need to teleconference with people overseas.”
He added that Sarawak’s economy would be transformed with digital connectivity.
Abang Johari also said the state government would collaborate
Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, Chief Minister
with Telekom Malaysia ( TM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission ( MCMC) towards achieving digital economy.
He said he would share his fiveyear masterplan of enhancing digital connectivity with TM and MCMC to improve Internet speed state-wide.
In this aspect, he said he targeted to have Internet connectivity of at least 100 Mbps for urban areas and 50 Mbps for rural areas.
“TM is the national telco (telecommunication company), so we work together with TM as well as MCMC. The RM1 billion from the state is meant to fast-track the development.
“Now somebody provided the backbone, we can use money to connect to the backbone and spread out the connectivity. Areas that are not covered by TM, the state government will come in.
“Resources are scarce, we have to coordinate. Why waste resources if we can work together?” he added.
Abang Johari pledged that he would remain committed to digitising the state’s economy so as to ensure that Sarawak attains high-income economy status by 2030.