SEGAMAT: The Communications Ministry will adopt the principle of “where there is a track, there is internet” in efforts to improve internet coverage along the KL Sentral-Segamat Electric Train Service (ETS) route.
Its minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and telecommunications companies have been asked to resolve internet connectivity issues along the route within one month.
“I hope that Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) service users will feel more comfortable staying connected or working while travelling,” he said during an internet speed testing session on the KL Sentral-Segamat ETS service yesterday, Bernama reported.
Also present were the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah and MCMC managing director Abdul Karim Fakir Ali.
Fahmi said the tests for the 4G and 5G networks were conducted by MCMC, in collaboration with six major mobile network service providers.
He said it is not only internet coverage for the ETS service that needs to be improved, but the entire KTMB service spanning 1,700km up to Tumpat, Kelantan.
For this purpose, Fahmi has requested that MCMC, KTMB, the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC), and six telecommunications companies hold a workshop to identify internet coverage issues and blind spots across the entire KTMB network.
He had also been informed that RAC and KTMB provide certain services, including WiFi, but that a more holistic, carrier-agnostic approach is needed.
“We are not concerned about which company it is, as long as there is shared passive infrastructure such as towers or other equipment that can be utilised. “Therefore, all telecommunications companies should make use of what has already been provided,” he said.
During the journey from KL Sentral to Segamat, Fahmi conducted two internet speed tests at Kajang Station and Pulau Sebang/Tampin Station.
MCMC, in a separate statement, said the tests were to assess coverage performance and the speed of 4G and 5G networks in real time along the rail route, which is one of the country’s main transportation corridors.
MCMC said at present, 71% of coverage areas have been equipped with 5G services, and this expansion will continue in stages.
Several locations have been experiencing a decline in coverage quality and download speeds, particularly in rural areas around Negri Sembilan, Melaka, and northern Johor.
