12MP: 5G to be deployed by year-end, community Internet centres to be upgraded

The government plans to bridge the urban-rural digital divide by transforming community Internet centres into Malaysian Family Digital Centres. — Bernama

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia will be speeding up the roll out of next-generation 5G networks, targeting a year-end launch, according to the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) tabled today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said in his speech at Dewan Rakyat that private sectors will invest an additional RM15bil to ramp up the deployment of 5G networks nationwide.

The 5G networks will not only offer faster speeds but also have lower latency, offering better responsiveness compared to 4G networks.

“For Malaysia to be a high-income and high-tech country, we have no choice but to accept the use of new technology and strive to create and develop our own technology.

“We also need to ensure that infrastructure is strengthened and future talent is developed to catalyse economic growth,” he said.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said in a tweet: "We have to speed up the deployment as other Asean countries are ahead of us. Our aim is to be ranked among the top two in the 5G race within three years from now. We can do it!"

Rolling out 5G for commercial use will also be one of the priorities for his ministry, he said.

An additional RM28bil will also be invested to improve the existing 4G networks, said Ismail Sabri, adding that as of August, 94% of the populated areas have 4G coverage.

“The speed of mobile broadband services has reached 29.1Mbps (megabits per second) and more than six thousand premises have been given access to fixed line broadband services,” he said.

Under 12MP, the government also plans to bridge the urban-rural digital divide by transforming community Internet centres into Malaysian Family Digital Centres.

He said the centres will also be expanded to offer training and other learning activities.

The Prime Minister said the government is also planning to create an ecosystem to improve the development of the gig economy and more efforts will be made to provide accreditation to local platforms based on international industry standards.

He added that a regulatory framework will be put in place to protect all parties, including platform providers, employees and users, and to offer better compensation for unemployment, medical coverage and savings for retirement.