Sarawak Multimedia Authority to erect 300 towers this year, another 300 next year in bid to boost coverage, speed connectivity
Abang Johari holds a light-bulb which is powered via voice command during his stop at one of the exhibition booths.
KUCHING: Sarawak is expected to achieve full-Internet community by 2025, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
According to him, the Sarawak government is now rolling out initiatives towards this goal, such as building telecommunication towers to boost the coverage and speed for connectivity.
He points out he has directed the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) to erect 300 towers this year, followed by another 300 next year.
“These towers are for clouding; at the same time, we are putting in fibre-optic cables.
“Hopefully by 2025, we would be all out. Between 2020 and 2023, the fibre-optics would be there.
“That means by 2025, it (Internet) would be all out,” he told reporters after officiating at the ‘Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (Centexs)-Sara X Safari’ event here yesterday.
Abang Johari said by then (2025), Sarawak would also be using 5G and in this regard, what the government is doing now is planning for 5G coverage via fibre-optic cables.
He said the 5G-speed connectivity would then be linked to the international cable, either the one operated by a private sector, or by a government-linked company (GLC).
He said as an example of such connectivity, Brunei could go direct to Hong Kong; from Hong Kong, it would be linked to the US and Europe because there are many cables in Hong Kong.
“Sarawak’s 5G is going to be linked to Hong Kong. We will by-pass Singapore, and by-pass Mersing in Johor, and go directly to Hong Kong – meaning, the communication would be faster,” he said.
Abang Johari predicted that by 2025, terrestrial televisions (TVs) would no longer be around because people would be using digital TVs.
He pointed out: “That is the future because even now Samsung has Smart TV, and the Smart TV is using Internet.
“Then your news would be there, in smart communications. So the whole landscape would change in terms of dissemination of information,” he said.