KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has taken immediate steps to rectify the Internet connectivity issue in Kampung Pangi, Tenom as recently highlighted by teachers and the community.
The commission said their Keningau branch staff and telecommunication service provider representatives had gone on location on Aug 19.
Previously, it was reported that Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Pangi teachers who lived outside Kg Pangi said they had to return to the school located at the village, at least two times a week as they could not do online classes since Internet connectivity was an issue.
The teachers had opted to leave training modules at the school’s guard hut, where they had to either take a train, an illegal taxi or even walk to the school.
“Based on the visit, our team found there was a problem with the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) transmission system at the nearby telecommunication tower.
“MCMC thus ordered the service provider to solve the issue immediately so that the students and Kg Pangi folks can enjoy a better Internet connection.
“At the same time, MCMC has a long term plan to overcome the Internet coverage issue at this village, where a telco tower located about 0.17km from SK Pangi, will be upgraded to provide 4G/LTE service,” said the commission in a statement on Tuesday (Aug 24).
Upgrading works were expected to be completed by April next year.
Under the National Digital Network (Jendela) programme, 28 new towers would be erected in the Tenom district alone, where construction works were expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year.
“Meanwhile since April this year, 62 existing transmitter stations are being upgraded to 4G/LTE where from that, 13 have completed upgrading.
“In addition, two areas in this district will be receiving Internet coverage via satellite broadband projects.
“All these efforts are expected to provide a more comprehensive Internet connection for Kg Pangi folks and Tenom in general,” added MCMC.
