KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is to have the fastest Internet access speed with the 5G platform in Southeast Asia via the Enhanced Malaysia International Internet Gateway (EM-IIG) High-Speed Broadband that is expected to be ready in 2022.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pix) said the RM5.45-billion project encompassed the installation of the world’s largest optical fibre involving a 110,000km line.
She said the first phase of the project was expected to be ready in November, with the Internet line linking Pengerang, Johor, to Putrajaya, where consumers can enjoy a speed of up to one gigabit per second.
“Now, at a speed of 13 megabits per second, it will take 51 minutes to download a 5GB high-definition video but with the implementation of the project, the video can be downloaded in just eight minutes,” she said in her speech at the launch of the project.
The text of her speech was read out by the Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon.
Wan Azizah said that according to cable.co.uk, the Internet speed in Malaysia was ranked 48th with an average speed of only three megabits per second and the speed was still considered unsatisfactory.
The EM-IIG, which involved the installation of optical fibre of 150 terabytes, would offer high-speed Internet access at low prices parallel to the government’s preparation towards the Industrial Revolution 4.0, she said.
“Alcatel Submarine Networks will install a 7,500km-long submarine optical fibre from the international Internet hub in Hong Kong to Malaysia and extend it to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The project will benefit people not only in this country but also subscribers from around the world when the cable is connected to the outside world,” she said.
Wan Azizah said the government would provide full cooperation for the implementation of the EM-IIG project because it would assist the growth of new high-tech industries besides generating the economy to raise the country to developed-nation status.
The EM-IIG, developed by XiddiG Cellular Communications Sdn Bhd, would reduce the digital gap between the urban and rural areas, she said.
As a social responsibility initiative, the company would provide free high-speed Internet service to all government schools, hospitals and health clinics as well as public universities nationwide, she added. — Bernama
