KUCHING: The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) is prioritising the provision of rural broadband services to areas such as longhouses and villages including those in Baram.
“This is our effort to bridge the digital gap between urban and rural areas,” said Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin in reply to a question by Baram MP Anyi Ngau in Parliament, Putrajaya on Monday (August 3).
He said that as of June, the government had implemented various initiatives to improve broadband services in the Baram constituency.
“Among these are the construction of 43 communication towers and upgrading 46 transmitters on existing communication towers,” he said.
Besides this, Zahidi said that six new communication towers were being built in Baram.
According to Zahidi, the ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) were discussing with the industry and various government agencies populated locations in rural areas including Long Apu, Long Spigen, Long Palai and other areas in Baram.
He said this was to enhance service quality and coverage using various suitable technologies which would be implemented in the near future.
Meanwhile, Hulu Rajang MP Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong pointed out that his constituency and Baram faced similar situations. He suggested that the government replace diesel generators with solar hybrid technology.
“We are finding new technologies including the use of satellites and so on. This is what we are currently trying to do, especially in rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak,” Zahidi said in response.
