TM OPTIMISTIC ON PROVIDING BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY TO 840,000 PREMISES BY YEAR-END

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 18 -- Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is optimistic on realising its target of providing fibre broadband connectivity to 840,000 premises nationwide under the National Digital Infrastructure Plan (JENDELA) by the end of this year.

Chief operating officer Azizi A. Hadi said although the target was a stretched target that is about 30 to 40 per cent higher than what the company would normally do, TM has been well prepared with the right ecosystem.

TM has put in place the materials, contractors and approvals for the smooth delivery of fibre connectivity to households and business premises, he said.

He was speaking as a guest on Bernama TV’s ‘The Nation’ programme today.

“The implementation is looking good so far based on the numbers in January, but we did see some challenges in February due to the festive season. We hope to (be able to catch up) in the second half of February and be on track to achieve the numbers for the rest of the year,” he said.

Last year, Azizi said, TM delivered broadband connectivity to 300,000 homes, surpassing the initial target given which was 220,000 premises under JENDELA. 

He reiterated the importance of speeding up the Internet connectivity in both urban and rural areas, especially after the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) last year as the demand was seen to be high and telecommunication became a critical service.

“During the first MCO, we saw a 50 per cent surge in terms of Internet traffic nationwide and the number increased with a further 15 per cent for the current second MCO,” he said.

The increase, he said, showed that Malaysians were now relying on the Internet for their livelihood, not only to work from home but also providing access for students to learn and attend classes virtually as well as watching movies online.

“With the growing demand, we also have facilities available such as the relevant applications and layers of network to monitor usage in areas where we need to upgrade the capacity along the way as we noticed data usage has also doubled during the pandemic,” he added.

The government announced the formation of JENDELA in August last year to improve digital connectivity and to set the nation’s foundation for 5G technology.

The policy will be part of the 12th Malaysia Plan from 2021 to 2025.

-- BERNAMA