600 WiFi villages by year-end achievable - MCMC

BAU: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is confident that it can complete installation of all 600 WiFi (wireless fidelity) villages in the state by the end of this year. State MCMC deputy director Adiman Ajem said yesterday that more than 200 WiFi sites costing more than RM10 million had been set up throughout the state thus far. “When we first started setting up WiFi villages in the state, we had set a target of three years to complete the first batch allocation of 600 sites. “Once this number is achieved, we will set up a new target to ensure more rural people enjoy wireless service,” he told reporters when met at Kampung Jugan near here after inspecting WiFi service at the village. The visit was initiated by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to get feedback of the service from villagers. Also present was Pernec head of Sarawak zone Hamdan Hashim. Pernec is one of the appointed service provider for the MCMC Kampung WiFi initiative. Adiman added that Bau currently has about 12 WiFi sites. On the costs, he said the amount for different sites differs. Some of the key factors include terrain and strength of signal. For instance, certain areas require the installation of satellite dishes, while some only need ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service. Hamdan said he believed that the WiFi village initiative could strengthen ties between the people of different villages as online users would gather at the ‘hotspot’ to enjoy the facility. “Everybody have access to the service as long as they are within range. By meeting up at the facility centre, this certainly would promote socialising amongst the communities.” MCMC has targeted to erect at least two Community Broadband Centre (CBC) in every parliamentary constituency in the near future to bridge the digital gap among the rural communities. There are currently 34 CBCs in the rural areas in 27 parliamentary constituencies in the state. The CBC programme is part of MCMC’s strategy to boost the state’s broadband penetration, which is at 47.8 per cent, compared to the national rate of 62.4 per cent. Sarawak is ranked among the bottom four states in the national broadband penetration rate together with Sabah, Kelantan and Pahang.