The Government will allocate nearly RM1bil from the Universal Service Provision (USP) fund for the largest single rollout of basic telecommunications services across the country.
A whopping RM946mil has been budgeted for a two-phase programme to provide services in 86 districts, Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Amar Leo Moggie announced Monday.
The latest initiative dwarfs USP programmes in previous years which were largely pilot projects, such as those last year which involved only four districts.
The USP fund currently stands at RM594.9mil, but will be topped up with an additional RM200.9mil by contributions due in July, according to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
All licensed service providers except content applications service providers are required by law to contribute 6% of their weighted net revenue derived from designated services to the USP fund.
Under the 2004 USP programme, each designated district has been allocated RM11mil -- RM8mil for capital expenditure and RM3mil for annual operating expenditure.
The USP programme was established to provide telecommunications services like public payphones, basic telephony and Internet access, in under-served areas.
The areas designated for the 2004 USP programme are in Sarawak (25 districts), Sabah (21), Kelantan (nine), Pahang (eight), Terengganu (60), Kedah (five), Selangor (four), Johor (three), Malacca (two), and Negri Sembilan (one).
The estimated service penetration rate for all the areas is below 20%, with the penetration rate in the majority of the districts -- largely in Sarawak and Sabah -- at 10% or less.
The 2004 USP programme will be rolled out in two phases. The first will be in three districts each in Sarawak and Sabah, and one each in Pahang, Kelantan and Besut; the second phase involves the remaining 77 districts.
Each district will be provided with 30 payphones and 500 individual lines.
All chipping in
A total of 16 licensed service providers registered their interest to participate in works for the rollout by the closing date on Jan 26, after the Government issued request for proposals on Jan 6, Moggie said.
"I am pleased to say the response has been encouraging," he said.
"I would also like to see the industry taking the initiative to explore new technologies to ensure the best levels of services are provided in these areas," he added.
Telekom Malaysia, its subsidiary Celcom, and Time dotCom have targeted all 86 districts, as have lesser-known service providers EB Technologies, Smart Multimedia, Inmiss Communication and Sapura Holdings.
Two other major telecommunications companies Maxis Communications and DiGi Telecommunications have registered their interest in 32 and 27 districts respectively, while wireless broadband companies NasionCom and AtlasOne are bidding for 85 and 69 districts respectively.
According to MCMC, bidding companies have proposed the use of various technologies for the rollout, including fibre and copper lines for fixed-line communications; and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), wireless broadband and wireless local loop for wireless services.
The appointment of the service providers is expected to be announced in the first week of March for the rollout's first phase, with implementation scheduled to begin in the third week of the month.
Second phase appointments are scheduled for April, with implementation beginning in May.
New MCMC chairman Datuk V. Danapalan said "MCMC is giving our firmest commitment to the USP rollout, and have made this one of our priorities for 2004."