Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. Photo: MCMC

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has taken a significant step to bring the benefits of satellite connectivity to parts of its population. MCMC announced Monday that it is issuing an invitation for the installation and provisioning of broadband access services via satellite at 839 locations nationwide in Johor, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak across the country.

These locations comprise of Orang Asli settlements in Peninsular Malaysia, and remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak where  public cellular services and mobile broadband will take a considerable time to deploy, given the consideration of population density and geographical terrain. Peninsular Malaysia has 178 locations (21%), Sabah has 138 locations (17%) and Sarawak has 523 locations (62%).

This service is expected to be deployed by October 2021. It aims to provide an intermediate solution, while Malaysia waits for other alternatives. The population at each location will get to enjoy free Wi-Fi at an average speed of 35 Mbps. This program falls under the nation’s JENDELA (Jalinan Digital Negara) initiative to expand broadband coverage nationwide.