SARAWAK today rolled out its 5G test bed, the first step in its 10-year telecommunications roadmap.  

The test bed is the Kuching campus of Centre of Technical Excellence Sarawak (Centexs), a technical and skills training centre, in Santubong.

Centexs and the Sarawak Digital Economic Corporation (SDEC) will facilitate and manage the 5G test bed planning, training programmes and research.

The programme’s collaborative partners are the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), Chinese telecommunication giant Huawei, Maxis, Sacofa Sdn Bhd – a leading telecommunication infrastructure provider in Sarawak – and Valsa (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd, a communications infrastructure solutions provider.

The 5G test bed will leverage on the 5G pilot network that was allocated by MCMC through state GLC Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA), using Maxis 5G wireless radio network.

The 5G backhaul infrastructure is being provided by another state linked company Sacofa.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said the world in the next decade will be “dominated by digital technology” and described 5G telecommunication technology as the “new oil” of the world’s economy in future.

“They say ‘why talk about 5G when your 3G and 4G is not there’. (I say) you have to look into the future.

“We are going to a developed state and country and we cannot be left behind in technology.”

Abang Johari said all economic sectors of the world from 2025 will be dominated by technology.

He said with the various initiatives that are already being rolled out, the development of Sarawak’s economy from 2030 will be driven by technology.

Abang Johari said since Sarawak is using its funds to improve the state’s telecommunication network and the federal government reaping all the telecommunication levy, he has initiated talks with Putrajaya for part of the levy collected in the state to be ploughed back for further telecommunication infrastructure development. – August 14, 2020.