The government in Sarawak, Malaysia has been proactive in constructing a forest of cell towers throughout the region. However, as Soya Cincau reports, efforts to find providers to occupy the towers have been less successful, leaving the structures bare and, well, naked.
The Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication devised a digital strategy to introduce connectivity on a large scale. So far, millions have been spent to build hundreds of towers. Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzuk has announced that 125 of 600 tower sites will be operational by early June. Without telecommunications equipment installed, the remaining 475 will stand vacant, waiting for tenants.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Sarawak Multimedia Authority have expressed their intent to work together to bring digital connectivity to all Sarawakians, but admit that finding the funding will be a challenge.
Building costs in Malaysia are rumored to be unpredictable, and typically higher than costs in countries where expenses are more strictly controlled. The Sarawak Linking Urban Rural and Nation-Sarawak Rural Broadband Network initiative kicked off in December 2020 but progress has been slow, largely because of the high cost of the project. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob launched a discussion in 2022 that called for both federal and local government involvement to set standards for telecom development. Thus far, there has been more talk than action.
The Communications and Digital Minister has directed the MCMC to start negotiations between the state’s Ministry of Utility and Telecommunication and the telecommunications providers. The source speculated that a failure to effectively coordinate efforts has hampered the progress of digital outreach. Soya Cincau also expressed a concern that knowing how expensive these towers are, the public could easily view these “naked” structures as government money poorly spent.
Reader Interactions