THE STAR, MONDAY 17 MAY 2021 WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SOCIETY DAY 2021 connectivity for all As Malaysia commemorates the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, it has much to celebrate when it comes to driving digital transformation and narrowing the digital gap for the rakyat in the challenging year that was - and what’s to come for a digital Malaysia. 2 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2021 THE STAR, MONDAY 17 MAY 2021 THE STAR, MONDAY 17 MAY 2021 World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2021 2 Bridging the digital divide for the nation’s future Message from the Prime Minister Digital economy focus > Develop agile and competent dig- In the short term, the ital talent Government has undertaken > Foster an inclusive digital society various initiatives to improve > Create a trusted, secure and ethi- Malaysia’s economic landscape, cal digital environment alongside introducing key relief Implementation is divided into measures to address both the three phases: Phase One to tangible and intangible challenges strengthen the foundation of digital THE evolution of technology rapid- arising from the pandemic, which adoption starting from 2021 to ly accelerated with the turn of the have also negatively impacted the 2022, Phase Two to drive inclusive decade, creating a paradigm shift livelihood of the people. digital transformation from 2023 to where constant change is the norm The Government has also 2025, as well as Phase Three to Sabah in an increasingly digital world. taken steps to ensure that both the position Malaysia as a digital con- The onset of the Covid-19 pan- people and the country continue tent and cybersecurity leader in Gateway was demic has only served to demon- moving forward to realise the 12th the regional market from 2026 to launched in strate the intensifying need for Malaysia Plan, along the way to 2030. September last Malaysia to embrace existing and achieving the Shared Prosperity year, making emerging innovations in moving Vision as a high-income nation by Sabah the the lives of the people, who have 2030. For strong foundations biggest also quickly adapted to new norms Essential in reaching this aspira- Under the thrust of enabling dig- beneficiary and new ways of doing things in tion is boosting the competitive- ital infrastructure, a total of of the Jendela carrying out their daily activities. ness and resilience of Malaysia’s RM21bil has been earmarked for initiative. Thus, the theme of the 2021 economic growth through the digi- the implementation of the National World Telecommunication and tal economy, driven by a sustaina- Digital Infrastructure Plan ASSALAMUALAIKUM and The Government has intro- Information Society Day (WTISD) ble digital ecosystem that is pow- (Jendela), which was announced by resources for fixed and mobile and other relevant technologies. which played a significant role in Salam Sejahtera. duced various strategic plans to 2021 - “Driving Digital ered by a robust digital infrastruc- Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin access with several targets: Sabah, as the largest beneficiary shaping the entire 5G landscape Annually on May 17, the enable the people and the eco- Transformation in Challenging ture - the core of the recently Mohd Yassin on Aug 29 last year. > Fiberise 7.5 million premises of the Jendela initiative, will see with the 5G Malaysia World Telecommunications and nomic sector to embrace the Times” - is apt. launched Malaysia Digital This action plan, which will > Expand 4G network coverage aggressive telecommunication Demonstration Project (5GDP). Information Society Day tide of digitalisation, as It’s clear to see that technology is Economy Blueprint (MyDigital) in ensure that Malaysia is well-pre- from 91.8% to 96.9% in populated infrastructure development, espe- The 5GDP was introduced to (WTISD) is celebrated around Malaysia cannot be left behind indispensable in daily life, power- February earlier this year. pared to embrace 5G in the near areas cially in the 30 state legislative facilitate, build and foster the the world, and this year, it is in bridging the digital divide. ing more and more diverse appli- The blueprint charts the path to future, is aimed at strengthening > Increase mobile broadband assembly constituencies that have development of high-potential use themed “Accelerating Digital Hence, the Government in cations with time, be it the pur- strategically position the country as the country’s existing connectivity speed from 25Mbps to 35Mbps been identified as lagging behind cases in a real but controlled envi- Transformation in challenging collaboration with the public chase of goods and shopping, activ- Jendela, which will ensure that Malaysia is well-prepared to embrace 5G a competitive force in the new era, by expanding the fixed-line fibre > Sunset the 3G network in in terms of telecommunication ronment, in order to expand the 5G times”. and private sectors have identi- ities relating to payment transac- in the near future, is aimed at strengthening the country’s existing con- with comprehensive plans to accel- optic network to cover almost stages by service providers until facilities. ecosystem nationwide across vari- The theme is apt given that fied three key strategies - access, tions or the operation of an organi- nectivity. erate progress towards a techno- 100% of all populated areas in stag- end-2021 to improve 4G network The crux is Gerbang Sabah ous industry sectors and industries. the world countries are still financial capability and skills - sation. logically-advanced economy. It es - from 7.5 million premises quality and support future 5G (Sabah Gateway), a submarine As at end-2020, Malaysia success- grappling with social and eco- as the focus area in addressing Beyond that, its role has also centre stage as a driving force to and urban populations. identifies six strategic thrusts: passed by end-2022 to 9 million network implementation fibre optic cable landing station in fully demonstrated 71 use cases nomic challenges due to the the challenges of digital divide drastically transformed. From revive the national economy and And it is this inequitable state of > Drive digital transformation in premises passed by end-2025. Following that will be Phase Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, that with a total investment of Covid-19 pandemic. In conjunc- among Malaysians. being a backseat enabler for empower society. affairs that the Government, the public sector Under Jendela, there are two Two. The crucial starting point of houses the Malaysian People’s RM131mil in 50 5G base station tion with this celebration and Under efforts to increase increased efficiency and productiv- But equally undeniable is Covid- through agencies such as the > Boost economic competitiveness phases that will be implemented in the country’s transition towards Cable System (SKRM) landing cen- sites comprising of nine industry the theme of the year, it is cru- access, digital infrastructure ity - old school customer relation- 19’s spillover effect, which has Malaysian Communications and through digitalisation stages. 5G, this phase will focus on bridg- tre to develop broadband facilities verticals - smart cities; entertain- cial for us to redirect Malaysia’s was expanded and strength- ship management systems, for brought to light the glaring digital Multimedia Commission (MCMC), > Build enabling digital infrastruc- Phase One, which starts from ing the digital gap from Phase One throughout Sabah. ment and media; oil and gas; tour- development towards digitalisa- ened through the national digi- example - technology has taken disparity between rural, suburban is determined to change. ture 2020 to 2022, will optimise existing and introduce fixed wireless access Managed by Telekom Malaysia ism; manufacturing and process- tion and renew our determina- tal infrastructure plan Jendela. Bhd (TM), the Sabah Gateway ing; education; smart transporta- tion to achieve this transforma- While, the commercial rollout serves as the connection point for tion; digital healthcare; agriculture tion at every level through the of 5G technology is expected to Sabah’s broadband to the outside - across seven states, namely involvement of all citizens, begin in the fourth quarter of world. Other service providers will Kedah, Pahang, Penang, Perak, improvement of Government this year. utilise the capacity available at the Selangor, Terengganu and Kuala delivery systems and technolog- On improving the affordabili- Sabah Gateway to connect the sub- Lumpur. ical transition in the industrial ty, the Government has recently marine cable exchange, telecom- The initiative took a collabora- sectors. launched the Jaringan Prihatin munication towers and various tive approach involving stakehold- Digitisation has been identi- Programme, which provides Internet devices. ers such as strategic industry part- fied as an important foundation subsidies on Internet data sub- By 2022, 419 new telecommuni- ners and various ministries, as part for the development of the scriptions and the purchase of cation towers will be built across of efforts to advance the develop- country, as well as the society. smart devices to 8.4 million B40 Sabah, while 1,972 transmitters ment of a comprehensive 5G eco- Over the past two decades, households. will be upgraded to 4G. An addi- system through a variety of new many changes have taken place The Government’s concern tional 251,166 premises will be pro- approaches, including network and in the digital world and the phe- for the B40s