300,000 1Malaysia netbooks to be distributed next month

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CYBERJAYA: A total of 300,000 units of netbooks will be distributed to eligible groups under the second phase of the 1Malaysia Netbook programme, which will begin next month.

Acting Senior Director of Universal Service Provision (USP) Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) Zulkarnain Mohd Yassin said the distribution of the netbooks would take three months to be completed.

Under the first phase of the programme, 123,000 units of netbooks were distributed to the target group, comprising those earning below RM3,000 in rural areas and below RM5,000 in urban areas, he told a media conference here yesterday.

Also present was MCMC chairman Tan Sri Khalid Ramli.

Zulkarnain said some 65 per cent of the netbooks were distributed to students, with priority given to secondary school students with neither computer nor broadband subscriptions, while the other 35 per cent were distributed to low-income families throughout the country.

He said the distribution of the netbook which involved a cost of RM1 billion was among the projects under the USP worth RM4.79 billion.

Among other projects are to provide basic telephone which costs RM629 million, telecommunication tower for the expansion of mobile coverage (RM1.87 billion) and community broadband centre (RM573.7 million), he said.

Zulkarnain said each netbook cost RM1,000 and bore the brand names of Samsung, Hewlett Packard (HP), Dell and Acer.

He said the programme was expected to contribute between nine and 10 per cent to the country’s broadband penetration rate. — Bernama