Sabah to get 400+ new telco towers, 4G upgrades

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 423 new telecommunication towers will be built in Sabah while 2,221 existing transmitters will be upgraded to 4G technology under the first phase of National Digital Network (Jendela) plan, says state Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Yakubah Khan.

This is among the initiatives that will be rolled out in phases to improve connectivity in Sabah from now until 2022, he said.

Yakubah was responding to Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi (Warisan -Segama) on Sabah’s cooperation with the Federal Government to expedite the upgrade of Internet and communication services in the state’s rural areas.

“Sabah is the biggest recipient of the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) initiative.

“The state government will continue to cooperate and will facilitate on-site approval processes, ” he said during the state assembly sitting on Tuesday (Dec 22).

Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohamed Yassin (PN-Nabawan) asked if the ministry would give priority to remote and rural areas first since Sabah Education Department’s statistics show that 70% of schools are located in rural areas, while 52% of students do not have Internet access.

Yakubah replied that the ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are aware of this situation.

“That is why we will carry out upgrading work and add more towers across Sabah so all the people can enjoy Internet communications.

“We are also discussing whether to use VSAT (very-small-aperture terminal) technology to improve services in Sabah, ” he added.

To a question from Datuk Ewon Benedick (Upko-Kadamaian)on whether the government has short-term plans to ensure no students will be left out of online learning during the current MCO, he said the ministry is discussing this with several companies to ensure Internet access can be improved in rural areas.