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SUPER WI-FI HOMES IN SARAWAK

Published in The Star, Saturday, 12 January 2008

MIRI: In a bid to get half of Sarawak's households online in two years, 200 “super-wireless hotspots” will be set up throughout the state. This SuperWiFi project is expected to be completed before 2010, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam. It will stretch across the 1,000km perimeter from the southernmost tip of the state in Kuching to the northernmost border of Lawas. Dr Chan, who is also chairman of the Sarawak Information Technology and Resources Council said the SuperWiFi will enable wireless coverage of up to a 2km radius compared to only a few metres within normal WiFi hotspots.

“We will create between 150 to 200 of these hotspots all over the state to give connectivity to the whole state.

“Aside from households, we will also link up schools, libraries and information centres in Sarawak so that they are hooked up with global institutions of learning and information."

“We (the state government) believe that with the assistance of the Federal Government, and with full participation from the private sector and corporate bodies, we will be able to achieve our aim within two years,” he said.

Dr Chan, who is also State Industrial Development Minister and State Agriculture Modernisation Minister, said the state-sponsored WiFi network, known as “deConnexion” had received tremendous support from the public since it was launched last year. The most comprehensively linked city in Sarawak is Miri, he stressed.

“Kuching and other urban centres also have coverage."

“Rural areas like Mukah, Daro, Dalat, Betong and coastal villages are also being linked up,” he said.

The state is now stepping up efforts to extend these WiFi links to more remote districts. The vast land mass and complex geographical composition of many parts of the interior of the state presented enormous logistical challenges for the authorities to overcome, Dr Chan noted. Nonetheless, people all over Sarawak would benefit from these wireless connections as it would help them in vital tasks, such as searching for jobs online and also dealing with government departments and public services in faraway areas, Dr Chan added.