Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (CU)_ As the Malaysian government is investing RM15 billion (S$4.9 billion) to carry out the 5G network in the country for the next 10 years, Malaysians will get quicker and broader Internet access in the coming years. As Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said at the launch of the My Digital & Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, the 5G installation will be launched in some places by the end of this year.
The PM explained about the benefits of 5G technology. He said, “5G technology will boost healthcare, such as enabling health monitoring applications for chronic patients, smart emergency assistance and special applications for senior citizens who are living alone”. He said that the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the need for faster Internet access which has prompted many staff to work from home and students to go online for their lessons.
In large states with low broadband connection, such as Sabah and Kelantan, it was reported that students have been climbing trees or hills for better signal reception. The 5G network is said to be 20 times faster than the existing 4G mobile connections. Tan Sri Muhyiddin said, “The role of digital technology has become more obvious over the last one year when the Covid-19 pandemic created challenges for countries to continue life as normal. It has never been clearer that technology is a convenient tool for advancement in the best of times, and an essential tool of survival during the most challenging of crises.”
The Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint aims to counter digital disparities in education by providing access to the Internet for all households and access to online learning for all students. According to government statistics, Malaysia’s household internet penetration rate increased from 87% in 2018 to 90.1% in 2019. However, the country still faces a shortage of high-quality internet connectivity in rural and remote areas.
Mr Muhyiddin said the government has planned the transfer of 80 percent of public data to hybrid cloud systems by the end of 2022 through its Cloud First strategy. He said, “All these cloud services will allow Big Data, AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things) and other applications to be utilized to enhance and strengthen government services”.
The PM said that so far, four CSP companies namely Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Telekom Malaysia have been conditionally approved by the government to develop and operate hyper-scale data centers and cloud services. He said, “These hyper-scale data centers, as well as hybrid cloud services, will be created to increase data storage space, thus reducing operating costs and improving analytical efficiency”.
