KAPIT, 9 AUGUST 2022 – A total of 51 Sarawak Multimedia Authority Rural Telecommunication (SMART) projects have been planned and will be built in Kapit division, said Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC).

SDEC, in a statement said 14 of the projects were implemented under Phase 1 while the rest will be completed under Phase 2.

“There are 16 locations in Pelagus, Katibas, Bukit Goram, Belaga and Murum that have received Sarawak Rural Broadband Network (MySRBN) services.

“SMART in Nanga Sekukut is among the 300 SMART sites statewide under Phase 1 that are expected to be fully commissioned in stages by 2023.

“Another 300 sites under Phase 2 are in various stages of implementation and expected to be fully completed by 2024.

“With the completion of 600 SMART sites from Sematan up to Lawas, 93.6 per cent populated areas of Sarawak will be covered,” SDEC said in conjunction with the launching of SMART at Rumah Empawie, Nanga Sekukut here today.

Minister of Utility and Communication Datuk Julaihi Narawi who represented Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg officiated the launching.

Speaking at the event, SDEC chairman Tan Sri Morshidi Abdul Ghani said the launching of SMART highlights the government’s commitment in addressing and enhancing connectivity in rural Sarawak.

“This SMART initiative at Sekukut opens the world of opportunities to the Kapit community where they can now participate in the digital economy by utilising the network provided to access e-commerce platform.

“On the other hand, other businesses can now choose Ulu Yong, Kapit as one of their business destination due to its seamless communication.

“SDEC is proud to launch this SMART and we hope the community will make full use the facility provided by the government of Sarawak positively by participating aggressively in our digital economy and improve their livelihoods”, he said.

Meanwhile, Sarawak, Linking, Urban, Rural and Nation (Saluran) is an initiative under the Sarawak government which aims to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas by improving 4G coverage in rural areas by enabling consumers to use data services and make calls seamlessly.

SMART and MySRBN are among the components under Saluran initiatives.

With the laucnhing of this SMART, all the network operators such as Digi, Maxis, Celcom and UMobile are now able to leverage on the state invested infrastructure and equipment to expand their coverage footprint to rural areas by capitalising on the Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) technology.

With this technology, the operating cost for the mainstream operators can be reduced significantly and shared equally.

Apart from providing mobile services, SMART initiative also enables home broadband service through MySRBN.

With MySRBN, the entire family can now have access to the internet, the backbone of digital economy.