The Sabah Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (“KSTI”) and MEASAT Global Berhad (“MEASAT”) are expanding the deployment of the CONNECTme NOW high-speed satellite broadband service in 50 new locations across Sabah. In a symbolic installation event held in Kudat today, Sabah Chief Minister YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Mohd Noor launched the latest expansion, which will see many more rural communities across Sabah benefiting from faster internet connections. The event was witnesses by YB Datuk Haji Yakub Khan, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation for Sabah.
“The State Government places great importance on ensuring that everyone in Sabah
has access to quality internet connectivity, so they will not be left behind in the digital
age, where so much education activity, economic opportunities and even essential
services have moved online. The implementation of home-based teaching and learning
(PdPR), e-commerce and working from home in this pandemic stresses the need to
ensure that all members of society can be connected. The digitalised future holds great
promises, but we must close the digital gap to ensure everyone has fair access to
opportunities and a better quality of life,” said YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Mohd
Noor, Chief Minister of Sabah.
YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji said the RM3.5 billion allocation from the Federal
Government to improve communications infrastructure in Sabah through the Jalinan
Digital Negara (JENDELA) initiative, coupled with the efforts by KSTI and MEASAT to
drive rapid solutions in Sabah, such as with CONNECTme NOW services, is key to
helping Sabahans.
“Having rolled out the installation of CONNECTme NOW services in several remote
locations in Sabah, we have seen promising results, thus we are further expanding the
benefits with the latest rollout to 50 new locations across the state. The challenge of
providing internet connectivity in Sabah, where some remote communities still do not
have 3G or 4G speeds, cannot be overcome overnight, due to the limited radius of
terrestrial broadband networks in rural areas and the time it takes to construct a network
of telecommunication towers.
On the other hand, MEASAT’s CONNECTme NOW service can be set up anywhere in just days, helping to bring high-speed broadband connectivity via satellite to Sabah’s rural residents, so this is an important solution for KSTI,” commented YB Datuk Haji Yakub Khan, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation for Sabah.
YB Datuk Haji Yakub said KSTI will continue working with MEASAT to expand satellite
broadband coverage to rural communities in Sabah until terrestrial network coverage is
available. In the latest rollout, each new location will receive 300GB of data sponsored
by the Sabah State Government.
“At MEASAT, we are pleased to support KSTI in its initiatives and plans to provide high
quality broadband connections across Sabah to bridge the digital divide, by expanding
CONNECTme NOW services across the state to ensure that unserved and underserved
rural communities will also be able to benefit from internet access. We deeply appreciate
the support from KSTI that has enabled us to complete the network expansion despite
pandemic challenges,” said Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer of MEASAT.
CONNECTme NOW is Malaysia’s premier prepaid satellite broadband WiFi Hotspot
service by MEASAT. It provides community-focused satellite broadband services to
realise national broadband aspirations. Today, CONNECTme NOW provides over
190,000 broadband connections within unconnected communities residing outside of 4G
or terrestrial coverage areas nationwide. CONNECTme NOW employs Very Small
Aperture Terminal (VSAT) and High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology to enable
internet connectivity. These VSAT terminals along with WiFi hotspot equipment enable
villagers within a 100m radius to receive broadband services.
Villagers only pay for what they use with Prepaid Access Code (PAC) vouchers at CONNECTme NOW community WiFi hotspots, with no contract or fixed monthly charges.
MEASAT’s ability to deliver High-Speed Satellite Broadband nationwide makes it a
strategic partner to support the Government of Malaysia’s aspirations to achieve 100%
4G coverage in populated areas through the JENDELA initiative.
MEASAT has recently invested RM1.2 billion to build its next generation satellite MEASAT-3d, to further improve its capacity to support cost-effective high-speed broadband with up to 100 Mbps speeds in areas without any terrestrial network, to ensure that no Malaysian is left behind in the digital age.