The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has issued an invitation for the installation and provisioning of broadband access services under the JENDELA initiative.
The installation and provisioning will be at 839 locations nationwide across Johor, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak.
These locations comprise of Orang Asli settlements in Peninsular Malaysia, and remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak where the provisioning of public cellular services and mobile broadband will take a considerable time to deploy.
This is due to population density and geographical terrain in which Peninsular Malaysia has 178 locations (21 percent), 138 locations (17 percent) in Sabah and 523 locations (62 percent) across Sarawak.
This service is expected to be successfully deployed by October 2021 to serve as an expedient solution for connectivity while waiting for the completion of permanent solutions.
Under the JENDELA initiative, the population at each location will get to enjoy free WiFi at an average speed of 35Mbps with expanded network coverage nationwide.
All eligible and interested Licensees can register their interest and submit draft universal service plans under Regulation 5 of the Communications and Multimedia (Universal Service Provision) Regulations 2002.
On March 2, the Finance Ministry announced the Special Purpose Vehicle to oversee the 5G infrastructure and network deployment.
Malaysia is aiming to kick-start its 5G initiative in the third quarter of the year as part of the MyDigital national agenda with a RM15 billion allocation.
