INTERNET, COMMUNICATION COVERAGES IN PAHANG EXCEED 94 PCT - FAHMI

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- The level of internet and communication coverage in populated areas in Pahang as a whole has reached 94.68 per cent while the coverage of the facility in Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency is now at 94.84 per cent, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

According to him, the implementation of Phase 1 of the National Digital Network (Jendela) in the Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency, including the construction of two new towers in the Jenderak state constituency and one in the Jengka state constituency, has been completed and is now operational.

He said that the construction of two towers in Kerdau state constituency, namely in Kampung Tanjung Danolang and Kampung Teluk Sabak, has been completed and the works of optical fiber connection as well as electricity supply connection and installation of electronic equipment are being carried out.

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The two towers are expected to start operating by the end of this year at the latest, he said.

"All 87 existing transmitter stations have been upgraded with 6,885 out of 8,689 premises having fiber optic access and one location in Kerdau state constituency which is in Kampung Orang Asli Paya Sendayan enjoying internet service using satellite technology (BWA)," he said at a Special Chamber session in Dewan Rakyat today.

He explained to Kamal Ashaari (PN-Kuala Krau) regarding the issue of communication and internet coverage that is still weak in the Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency.

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Commenting further, Fahmi said three complaints were received by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in April for the Jenderak and Kerdau state constituencies, namely at Bukit Lada PRIMA Housing, Kampung Gunung Senyum and Felda Jenderak Utara.

He said the Mandatory Standard audit found non-compliance in PRIMA Bukit Lada housing involving Celcom, Digi and Maxis networks, while in Felda Jenderak Utara only involved Celcom network while all networks tested in Kampung Gunung Senyum complied with the standards.

"A warning letter has been issued to CelcomDigi and Maxis to make appropriate improvements...CelcomDigi has made improvements by carrying out network upgrade works for the PRIMA Bukit Lada housing location and it has been confirmed by MCMC.

"Maxis has given feedback that it will make improvements through the 4G upgrade project which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025... but personally I feel this is taking too long and I will inform the CEO of Maxis of my dissatisfaction over this delay," he said.

Meanwhile, he said efforts to increase internet access in rural areas using fiber technology were also actively implemented through Point of Presence (PoP) by making schools a hub of fiber optic broadband infrastructure that could be subscribed to by the local community.

He said that as of Oct 22, 2024 in Pahang, as many as 57 PoPs have been successfully completed for Phase One, making 6,048 premises available with fiber optic connections for the local community to subscribe to, while 382 PoPs for Phase Two are scheduled to be fully completed by the end of 2025.

"For the Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency, five PoPs have been fully constructed for Phase 1, namely one each in Jenderak and Jengka state constituencies and three in Kerdau state constituency while 23 PoPs for Phase 2 are scheduled to be fully completed by the end of next year

"A total of 520 premises are now available with fiber optic connections in Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency," he said.

-- BERNAMA