Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin. -filepic
IPOH: About 50% of the populated areas here already have 5G services, says mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin.
He added that this was achieved about 11 months earlier than expected.
"The Federal Government has set a target to have 5G coverage in 40% of the populated area by the end of this year.
"By the middle of January, we have achieved 50%," he told a press conference after a working visit by state local government committee chairman Sandrea Ng Shy Ching and communications committee chairman Mohd Azlan Helmi Helmi to the Ipoh Integrated Operations Centre at the Urban Transformation Centre here on Friday (Feb 3).
"The Federal Government has also set Dec 31, 2024, for us to have coverage in 80% of populated areas here.
"We will try to expedite it and achieve this target by the end of this year," he added.
Meanwhile, Ng said areas with 5G coverage here included the city centre, Canning Garden, Ipoh Garden, Meru, Klebang, Pasir Puteh, Gunung Rapat, Ampang and Tambun.
She said Ipoh was the fifth city in the country and the first in the northern region to have access to 5G coverage with 1Gbps speed.
"The Ipoh City Council is aiming to turn Ipoh into a Smart Green City by 2030," she said.
Mohd Azlan Helmi said the state planned to extend 5G coverage to Kampar and Batu Gajah, as part of a "Greater Ipoh" plan for better networking.
"We will work closely with the city council on its implementation.
"We will also discuss at the state executive council meeting on setting up a body to streamline the development of 5G coverage in the state," he said.