The Malaysian government has announced a 1 billion ringgit ($239.7 million) initiative to improve the nation's telecoms connectivity in the market in order to promote growth of its digital economy.
The allocation for the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) was announced in the government's recent Budget, the New Straits Timesreported.
It will focus on expanding Malaysia's existing terrestrial fiber infrastructure, installing new subsea cables and deploying gigabit broadband capable networks in areas of state capitals and some industrial areas.
The initiative will also involve deploying high-speed wireless broadband in rural and isolated areas, and will seek to ensure wireless spectrum is distributed more effectively to promote this goal. The government is targeting speeds of 30Mbps in rural and remote areas within five years.
Malaysian telecoms regulator the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has welcomed the initiative, which it believes will help ensure Malaysians can access high-quality broadband services at reasonable prices, according to Bernama.
The initiative is also expected to support Malaysia's emerging digital and Industry 4.0 economies.