Geographical constraint hampers communication in remote areas

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Geographical constraint hampers communication in remote areas

Friday, 05 November 2010 12:01

Assistant Minister of Public Health and Public Utilities Dr. Stephen Rundi Atom revealed that the geographical constraint and unavailability of stable power supply are hampering efforts by the government to provide optimum cellular coverage and fixed line services to the remote areas.

Rundi was replying to a question by Nelson Balang Rining, Ba’Kelalan assemblyman, on the installation of telephone lines for Ba’Kelalan, Long Semadoh and Long Sukang.

“Nevertheless, the government in collaboration with telecommunication industry players has taken the initiative to deploy Nano Cellular Base Transceiver Stations as an interim solution to the telecommunication requirement in these areas,” said Rundi.

He said currently, there are two locations being served by this cellular service, namely the areas surrounding a primary school and airport in Ba’Kelalan and Kampung Bario.

“Powered by generator sets and solar power respectively, these two sites deploy minimal coverage radius of up to 1,000 meters,” he said.

Rundi gave his assurance that For Long Semadoh and Long Sukang, and extended areas in Ba’Kelalan, the Ministry would propose the said locations to the Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) for consideration to be included in future cellular coverage expansion initiatives.