Sabahan student Veveonah Mosibin who went viral recently for spending 24 hours in a tree can now get access to faster connectivity at the nearest internet centre (aka Pusat Internet). Following TM’s visit to her village a couple of weeks ago, the broadband provider has upgraded the Pusat Internet Kampung Pinggan-Pinggan at Pitas Sabah with 300Mbps fibre optic connectivity. This would benefit communities around the area including Veveonah.
First Pusat Internet with 300Mbps in Sabah
According to TM, upgrading the internet centre with fibre was a challenging task as Pitas is located about 140km away from Kota Kinabalu which is about a 3-hour drive. This poses a challenge in providing physical connectivity and maintenance.
TM added that the upgraded connection at the internet centre can help open up new opportunities for teachers and students in terms of online learning as well as entrepreneurs in the community. They will also provide assistance in terms of training and expertise to create create a digital-enabled community. It is also mentioned that this internet centre is the first in Sabah to enjoy speeds up to 300Mbps.
While this is a great initiative to help underserved communities, the internet centre with 300Mbps connectivity is located 11km away from Veveonah’s home at Kampung Sapatalang. It would take a 10-15 minutes drive to get there from her village. According to TM, they will continue to invest in infrastructure covering both urban and rural areas to provide connectivity which a range of solutions including Unifi Home, Mobile and Wireless.
When can Veveonah get faster access at home?
At highlighted by the MCMC, Veveonah’s home is currently covered with 3G and there are already plans to upgrade connectivity at her area under the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) that was approved last year. Pitas is listed under NFCP 1 which is expected to be completed in Q2 2021. The NFCP 1 project utilises the Universal Service Provision fund to provide 3G or 4G services to deliver average speeds of 30Mbps. The 152 planned sites under the project are expected to benefit 40,000 people and 50 of the sites are located in Sabah.
According to the MCMC’s NFCP website, there will be 13 sites for Pitas, Sabah. The installation of towers will be handled by Edotco, an infrastructure company under the Axiata group while the provision of service will be handled by U Mobile via RAN Sharing. The CAPEX and OPEX will be 100% funded by the USP fund for a period of 5 years from February 2021 to February 2025.
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