Penrissen folk complain about frequent disruptions to Kampung Tanpa Wayar initiative

KUCHING: Frequent disruptions in the Kampung Tanpa Wayar (KTW) Internet service have irked many rural residents here.

Some claimed that the service was too slow while others said they could not even open the logon page at all.

A resident from Kampung Semadang, who contacted The Star yesterday, claimed the KTW service had not been working since Monday.

“There is no line and I can’t even open the logon page.

“I understand that a few other kampungs in the area are also affected by the disruptions,” the resident, who did not wish to be named, said.

It is learnt that most of the villages along Jalan Penrissen or Puncak Borneo have been installed with the KTW service.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) helpline, when contacted yesterday, said it was unaware of the problem and advised residents facing the problem to call the helpline.

“The problem can be rectified, but our side or the service provider must be informed,” said a source, who requested anonymity.

In June last year, former Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim said the ministry was targeting to install the KTM service in 701 kampungs in Sarawak by 2013.

Attempts to contact the MCMC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for the latest figures, however, went unanswered.

The KTW project is an initiative identified under the National Broadband Initiative that is expected to help accelerate the national broadband penetration target.

The implementation of the KTW initiative is mainly focused at public areas such as the local library and other suitable locations such as schools and community halls, so as to benefit the students and the surrounding communities.

The initiative primarily serves to boost the take-up of broadband access service thus increasing penetration rate for broadband access service in the universal service targets.