Digital push for rural Sarawak

2009/11/21

By Sulok Tawie

JULAU (Sarawak): Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud launched the Sarawak Rural Broadband Initiative (SRBI) here yesterday. It is a programme to bring high-speed Internet connectivity to rural and under-served areas of Sarawak.

The launch was held at SK St Alphonsus at the Rumah Jana longhouse.

State-owned telecommunications provider Sacofa Sdn Bhd and Internet and infrastructure provider Danawa Sdn Bhd are behind the SRBI, which offers affordable high-speed broadband connection to areas such as Pulau Bruit, Tanjung Manis, Matu, Daro, Dalat, Oya, Betong and Spaoh.

Taib said the aim of the SRBI was to uplift the living standards of the rural population through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

It is also an effort to reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas.

"We don't want the rural people to be left behind as we believe that they can increase their income through marketing farm products in their homepage, or seek knowledge on how to increase the output of their farms.

"They can also seek better markets for their handicraft products."

Taib said it would also benefit rural students in their studies.

Deputy Minister of Information, Communications and Culture Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had contributed RM10 million to the Sarawak government for planning and implementing ICT development framework in rural areas.

He said the Federal Government had allocated RM500 million for the laying of ICT and Internet infrastructure in Sarawak.

"My ministry pledges to continue working with the state government to achieve a 50 per cent household broadband penetration rate by the end of 2010.

"Currently, the penetration rate is 16.7 per cent," he said.

He hoped that the state government would assist the service providers in developing communication infrastructure such as building telecommunication towers and base stations.

He said the MCMC wanted to build 500 telecommunication towers by 2010, which was at least one tower in each of the 31 parliamentary constituencies of the state.

Gandum said SRBI deserved special mention as one of the most aggressive state-wide broadband service deployment in the country.

"In future, broadband has to be viewed as a national utility service and no longer a luxury," he said.

Gandum urged telcos not only to provide better quality service, but also offer lower rates for their Internet and telephone packages so that the public, especially in the rural areas, could afford to connect to the Internet.