Two weeks ago, MEASAT-3d was successfully launched into space and it is capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps. The satellite has reached its intended 91.5°E hotslot and it will undergo a month of testing before commercial services are migrated over. Although the MEASAT-3d satellite is able to deliver 100% coverage throughout Malaysia, the real challenge to connecting the unconnected is actually on the ground.
To recap, MEASAT launched its consumer broadband service called ConnectMe in 2018 to provide internet in areas without fibre and 4G access. The service was offered on a postpaid model starting from RM98/month but it requires a heavy upfront investment for activation and hardware cost. To address connectivity gap in rural areas in a more cost-effective manner, MEASAT eventually introduced ConnectMe Now, a prepaid offering with zero upfront payment and zero contract. Under this model, users would just need to purchase a prepaid voucher to access the internet via a WiFi hotspot.
At the moment, MEASAT has 3,073 sites throughout Malaysia which connects approximately 300,000 users. This includes rural and interior villages of East Malaysia as well as Orang Asli settlements in Peninsular Malaysia. The satellite broadband deployments under ConnectMe Now are funded by MEASAT and it is installed in villages and settlements with approximately 100 people without 4G mobile signal. To create a sustainable ecosystem, MEASAT works closely with the local community to secure a location to install the satellite dish and wireless router, and to appoint a local agent to sell prepaid vouchers. The current ConnectMe Now satellite service offers speeds of up to 30Mbps and the prepaid vouchers cost RM10 for 1GB or RM40 for 5GB.
Connecting the unconnected is not easy
Most of these rural communities are located in hard-to-reach places that often lack basic road infrastructure or are only accessible by rivers. A ConnectMe Now setup may take one or two days, but some installations may take over a week just for transportation alone. Some of the challenging sites include Kampung Saliliran, Kampung Magandai and Kampung Tulang-Tulang in Sabah.
Ideally, a satellite broadband site is connected to the power grid but the reality is that some locations do not have a stable power source. For such situations, MEASAT has a solar-powered solution with batteries to provide WiFi connectivity. As you can imagine, this setup adds complexity to the logistics as installers have to transport solar panels, batteries as well as extra equipment and construction materials to the site.
Once a ConnectMe Now site is up and running, the benefits can be seen immediately as local communities with zero mobile coverage is finally able to connect to the outside world. Interestingly, most of the residents already own a smartphone which they typically use when visiting nearby towns. With local WiFi coverage, they are able to communicate via instant messaging and social media platforms.
Kampung Pangaraan in Sabah became extremely inaccessible after three bridges collapsed early this year. It was reported that a group of teachers had to walk for 18 hours through 30km of muddy roads just to reach the village. On 8th May this year, there were three very sick villagers at Kampung Pengaraan that require urgent medical attention. The village posted a call for help on Facebook and the relevant authorities who took notice sent a helicopter to rescue the sick individuals. This shows how internet connectivity can be a life-saving tool for rural folks.
When it comes to satellite broadband, the user experience will be different from your typical 4G or fibre coverage. Since it uses a geostationary satellite that’s hovering at over 35,000 km in the sky, it has a higher latency above 500ms and it’s also susceptible to weather conditions. However, it is more than sufficient for video streaming, video calls, mobile apps and web browsing.
With MEASAT-3d, the satellite broadband service is expected to connect 2 million unserved and underserved people in rural Malaysia. The new High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) offers 30Gbps of bandwidth which increases MEASAT’s current capacity by ten times. In order to provide higher 100Mbps speeds, the ConnectMe Now team will need to upgrade the satellite equipment at existing sites from Ku-band to Ka-band. The current JENDELA programme aims to cover 96.9% of the population with 4G coverage and MEASAT aims to connect the remaining 3-5% of the population that is not covered by mobile telcos.
MEASAT’s ConnectMe Now sites are privately-funded
During the launch of MEASAT-3d, the Secretary-General of Communications and Multimedia Ministry Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Mentek told us that there’s currently no USP (Universal Service Provision) fund or initiatives for satellite service in rural areas, as the USP fund is only for telco infrastructure projects at the moment. Meanwhile, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa recently said that MEASAT-3d will be playing an important role to improve the quality of broadband in Malaysia and it will help Malaysia achieve 100% internet coverage by 2025.
If the government wants to bridge the digital divide quickly, there’s an opportunity to extend the USP fund to accelerate the deployment of satellite sites to cover unserved settlements and communities. It has been proven as a viable interim solution while waiting for the expansion of 4G coverage in rural areas. We are told that ConnectMe Now sites are still self-funded and they are different from the satellite sites covered under the JENDELA programme.
When asked about making satellite broadband more affordable, MEASAT Global Chief Operating Officer Yau Chyong Lim said it has always been MEASAT’s objective to bring down the cost of connectivity and to make its services more affordable to the Rakyat. As the first step, they are focusing on testing the satellite, migrating customers and to increase the speed from 30Mbps to 100Mbps while keeping the same price. Over time, the next objective is to bring down the cost of the satellite broadband service.
Besides offering satellite broadband via WiFi, MEASAT-3d can be utilised to provide satellite backhaul for mobile towers in rural areas. MEASAT is also exploring the deployment of small cells which can enable mobile reception as well as a hybrid broadband model that uses satellite to complement 4G fixed wireless access.