THE Penang government, working to improve the Penang Free Wi-Fi service, welcomes telcos to participate in the request for proposal (RFP) exercise.

Public works exco Zairil Khir Johari said the state will call the RFP exercise soon, with the aim to boost the service according to the public’s needs and demands.

“The service improvements will be extended to interior and entry points, like Penang Sentral, the Sg Nibong bus station, education institutions, hospitals and others,” he said in his winding-up speech in the state assembly today.

The state government launched the Penang Free Wi-Fi service in 2009 as part of the Wireless@Penang initiative. The initiative was the first of its kind, providing free wireless internet in public places like commercial and recreational areas. There are more than 1,550 hotspots statewide.

Zairil said the state encourages telcos to install fibre optics for high-speed internet service through smart partnerships that save on costs.

He said Penang practises an open-door policy, and there is no monopoly over telcos.

“Competition among telcos leads to better internet quality at appropriate prices.”

According to the northern region Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, Penang has among the best internet infrastructure and services.

The state’s mobile broadband penetration rate of 122.3% is higher than the national average of 117.9%. But, fixed broadband penetration is lower at 11.6%, compared with the national average of 19.8%.

“For that, rural areas with limited access will get cellular coverage improvements, from 2G to 3G, as well as better and faster mobile broadband service,” said Zairil.

“The state is committed to ensuring coverage and broadband service quality is improved from time to time, in line with economic growth, so that no citizen is left behind in the Industrial Revolution 4.0.” – November 15, 2018.