Kampung Orang Asli Kerling first site for Starlink POC in Malaysia, says Teo Nie Ching

HULU SELANGOR: Kampung Orang Asli Kerling here has become the first location in the country to implement a proof-of-concept (POC) for Starlink as an alternative to fibre optics for improved telecommunications connectivity.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said the choice of Starlink as the core connection to the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela) tower in the village was made due to the challenges of installing fibre optic cables.

"For fibre optic use, we face challenges because the distance between the tower and the node (fibre point) is quite far, approximately 7.5 kilometres, and it involves crossing many private lands.

"We see an urgent need to resolve this telecommunications service issue, and there's a Starlink alternative with reasonable costs and satisfactory speeds of around 45 Mbps to 56 Mbps. So we made this the pilot project here with the installation of two satellites," she said here on Thursday (May 9).

Teo said this during a press conference after inspecting the operation of the two Starlink satellites in Kampung Orang Asli Kerling, which is about 18 kilometres from the town of Kuala Kubu Baharu.

Also present was the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) State Coordination Division head, Bukhari Yahya.

Teo said that the effectiveness of the POC implementation will be monitored by MCMC before it is expanded to other locations, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.

"This service will facilitate daily communication, education, and other purposes for the villagers, with telecommunications service offers from major telco companies such as CelcomDigi, Maxis and U Mobile," she added.

On May 4, MCMC announced that the decision to implement the Starlink POC as an alternative to fibre optics was made due to the demand for telecommunications services in the village.

According to MCMC, the activation of the tower benefits more than 250 Orang Asli residents in the village. - Bernama