After handing over the first Starlink dish at UiTM, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil has announced that the second Starlink dish procured by the government has been installed at an Orang Asli village at Hulu Kemensah. He said the internet quality at the location is almost non-existent despite having 135 residents in the area.
Apabila saya turun ke sana pagi tadi, kualiti internet sedia ada sangat teruk. Hampir tiada. Sedangkan ada 135 penduduk yang tinggal di sana.
— Fahmi Fadzil 🇲🇾 (@fahmi_fadzil) August 11, 2023
Matlamat saya masih sama, iaitu memastikan baki 3 peratus kawasan berpenduduk yang masih tiada internet, diberi keutamaan. pic.twitter.com/YkK6xRBluB
Fahmi said that his goal to prioritise the final 3% of the unconnected population remains unchanged. He has also instructed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to conduct further studies on long-term solutions including erecting new mobile towers and expanding the fibre network coverage.
The Orang Asli Village at Hulu Kemensah is located behind Zoo Negara and is accessible by road. According to Google Maps, the village is a 14-minute or 4.4km drive from the busy MRR2 highway. This is far from the most remote areas in Malaysia where there are unserved populations that don’t even have basic roads or electricity supply.
Despite being close to high-dense urban areas in Selangor, connectivity for the Orang Asli village is subpar. As shown by MCMC’s JENDELA Map, mobile coverage is quite spotty with only Celcom, Digi, Maxis and Unifi Mobile providing basic cellular service.
Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government has placed orders for 40 Starlink Satellite broadband kits following a video conference meeting with Elon Musk. Fahmi said there are 3% of populated areas that don’t have access to the internet and they had discussed Starlink’s participation in rural areas.
In the same week, the MCMC granted Starlink the licence to operate its satellite broadband service in Malaysia as a 100% foreign-owned entity. According to the MCMC, Malaysia has a 49% threshold for foreign equity imposed on Network Facility and Service Provider (NFP/NSP) licence holders and this has been exempted by the government based on the assessment made on the value and benefits provided by Starlink.
Starlink’s satellite broadband service is currently available in Malaysia and they offer 100Mbps satellite broadband for RM220/month. To get started, you’ll need to purchase the satellite broadband kit which costs RM2,300 for Standard or RM11,613 for the High-Performance Kit. An RM100 delivery fee is also applicable as well.
As reported by the New York Times recently, several world leaders have expressed concerns about Starlink considering there’s little competition as well as minimal regulatory scrutiny. They are also concerned that Elon Musk might have too much power considering his erratic behaviour.
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