50 telco towers to be built in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Pitas, famously known as a district with bad internet connection after a university student climbed up a langsat tree to gain internet access for her online exams and had gone viral, is making a come back to the social media.

This time it is a video by villagers of Kampung Mengkapon that shares a creative way to get better Internet reception by building their own ‘telecommunication’ towers from bamboo poles.

They put their handphones, with the ‘hotspot’ on, inside plastic bottles and pulled it up high to the tip of the pole.

The video was widely shared on @KL_Reporter Twitter: https://twitter.com/kl_reporter/status/1314410843484770305?s=21

The viralled video has caught the attention of Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

“Following the story of the residents in Kampung Mengkapon, Pitas, Sabah who had to use various creative methods to get Internet coverage on social media, the MCMC would like to inform that various efforts have been taken to ensure connectivity in the area, as well as to provide facilities to the locals there.

“Under the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) 1, a total of 50 new telecommunication towers will be set up in Sabah. Of these, 13 new towers will be built in Pitas.

“Kampung Mengkapon has been identified as one of the locations for the construction of the tower,” it said in a statement yesterday.

According to MCMC, construction work on the new tower has already begun.

Currently, the appointed service provider is in the process of applying for approval from the Sabah Land and Survey Department (JTU) before work begins on the selected sites.

Taking into account the approval process, tower construction and transmitter installation, it is expected that the tower construction will be completed and operational within a period of six to 12 months.

“In this case, cooperation from the State Government is needed in terms of approval to expedite the implementation of this project.

“MCMC is always concerned with community complaints related to telecommunication facilities especially in rural areas and is making continuous efforts to bridge the digital divide across the country,” said the statement.

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