KUALA LUMPUR: Telecommunications operators are fully committed to fast-track Malaysia's transition into a high-income digital society under the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) action plan.
The operators, namely Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, Maxis Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and TIME dotCom Bhd, in a joint statement today said Jendela is an accelerated improvement plan where all public and private stakeholders are equally invested to deliver.
Jendela is a shared aspiration for the whole country, driven by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in partnership with the telecommunications operators, and other agencies at the federal, state, and local council levels.
"The industry believes that collaboration among all parties is crucial to facilitate infrastructure rollout in a coordinated manner, with minimal impact on civil works, the public, the environment, and all aspects of the ecosystem.
"We look forward to working together to fulfil the objectives of Jendela and enabling widespread quality connectivity for Malaysians nationwide.
"The industry will provide periodical updates to the public on the progress of Jendela, including initiatives undertaken as part of journey towards its aspirations," the joint statement reads.
Jendela action plan announced recently by the Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin aims to accelerate the country's digital connectivity through widespread deployment of mobile, fibre and fixed wireless access, and paving the way to 5G, under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021–2025).
Jendela will be implemented in phases whereby Phase 1, which starts now until 2022, will optimise existing resources and infrastructure for both mobile and fixed connectivity to expand 4G mobile broadband coverage from 91.8 per cent to 96.9 per cent in populated areas and increase mobile broadband speeds from 25Mbps (megabit per second) to 35Mbps, among others.
Phase 1 also aims to enable as many as 7.5 million premises to access gigabit speeds with fixed broadband services.
They said fibre providers will continue to support the industry with fibre backhaul for capacity to serve higher traffic demands expected on 4G and to ensure the fibre foundation essential for future technologies such as 5G.
Phase 2 of Jendela involves utilising fixed wireless access (FWA) and other fit-for-purpose technologies to address further gaps in the digital divide, as well as priming for the nation's eventual adoption of 5G technologies, which will take place once action plans under Phase 1 are achieved.
"The industry will continue to educate the public on the potential of 5G and its capabilities, through use cases applied across verticals such as manufacturing, agriculture, education, healthcare, security transportation, consumer experience, environment and smart city development.
"These use cases will continue to be explored under the 5G Demonstration Projects (5GDP)," it said.