Julaihi (third right) and Sudarnoto, on his left, join the other VIPs in a group photo after the launch of the high-speed internet service at the RTC in Sampat, Sebangan.
KUCHING (Nov 14): Three localities in Sebangan, a small town in Sebuyau District near here, now have high-speed internet connectivity, thanks to the facilities under Sarawak Multimedia Authority’s (SMA) flagship SMART project and Sarawak Rural Broadband Network (MySRBN) services.
According to Minister of Utility and Telecommunication Datuk Julaihi Narawi, the areas of Sungai Ladong, Sungai Bilis and Senangeh are now equipped with the Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) and Fixed Wireless Broadband (FWB) services.
“With Sarawak now active in moving towards digital economy, various programmes and initiatives have and are being lined up to make sure that Sarawak would become a high-income state by 2030.
“Without good telecommunication infrastructure, it would be impossible to achieve internet stability.Nowadays, having internet accessibility is a right for everyone; it’s no longer a privilege for a few.
“The high-speed internet facility will encourage not only innovation, but will also provide the residents opportunities in various sectors involving agriculture, education, health, tourism and manufacturing.
“With such facility, I hope that the people in the rural areas would be more competitive and be able to set up companies like their counterparts in the urban areas are doing,” he said in launching the services at the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC) in Sampat, Sebangan yesterday.
Julaihi, who is Sebuyau assemblyman, also said Sarawak would take proactive approaches in dealing with telecommunication development.
Hoping that the 124 SMART towers would eventually provide MySRBN services to residents in Sarawak, he called upon the people to be patient as such an undertaking would involve many processes and challenges.
Meanwhile Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC) chief executive officer Sudarnoto Osman, in a separate statement yesterday, said the SMART and MySRBN services were among the components of the Sarawak Linking Urban Rural and Nation (Saluran) – an initiative meant to expand and upgrade 4G coverage in Sarawak.
“I hope that through the Saluran initiative, it would be a starting point towards a better Internet connectivity in Sarawak, enabling Sarawakians to stay connected and bridging the digital gap between the rural and urban areas.”
“SDEC aims to have 36,000 premises enjoy the MySRBN services by end of 2023,” he said.
It is stated that mainstream mobile telecommunication providers like Digi, Maxis, Celcom and U Mobile can now leverage on SMART infrastructure, thanks to the MOCN technology, allowing users a seamless communication experience without having to bring additional phones and SIMcards only to enjoy internet connectivity.
“This sharing strategy may reduce overall operating costs in addition to lowering mobile providers’ investments in new infrastructures,” said Sudarnoto.
MySRBN, on the other hand, utilises the FWB technology, enabling faster service deployment by utilising the existing infrastructures.
“The government is determined that every Sarawakian, in every nook and corner of the state, must have access to home broadband at an affordable cost to enable seamless learning, e-commerce, internet banking and other economic activities.
“The rural and suburban communities in Sarawak have unlimited access to the internet through MySRBN, which offers download speeds of up to 30 Mbps,” said Sudarnoto.
