Focus on optimising 3G and 4G, 5G will still be implemented - Saifuddin

The government will still implement the 5G technology although the focus now is towards optimising 3G and 4G usage, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

Citing the recent Chini state by-election as an example, Saifuddin said 3G and 4G access was available in the rural areas of this constituency.

“For example, in the recent Chini by-election, we did a study on internet reach there and found that some areas have connectivity, others don't...but when we discussed with telecommunications companies, (we were told) rural areas like in Chini can be reached with the use of 3G and 4G.

“I am not saying we do not want to implement 5G, just that we are reviewing the positions of 3G and 5G,” he said when replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Mohamad Alamin (BN-Kimanis) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Mohamad had asked about the ministry's strategy to achieve the target of 98 per cent broadband coverage in populated areas by 2023 with speeds of 30 megabits per second so that 5G can be implemented effectively throughout the country, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.

-- BERNAMA