KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — The National 5G Task Force is now in the final phase of completing its report on the implementation of 5G before submitting it to the government within the fourth quarter (October-December) of this year.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said his ministry through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) will study the report first before bringing it to the Cabinet.

"We will study the report before bringing it to the Cabinet to enable 5G implementation to be at the best level,” he said during the Question-and-Answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was replying to a question from Teh Kok Lim (PH-Taiping) who wanted to know the ministry’s plans and readiness to implement 5G broadband technology.

Besides engagement sessions, Gobind said the ministry though MCMC had also undertaken 5G Malaysia Demonstration Projects (5GDP) aimed at facilitating, building and spurring development of cases utilising 5G that have potential in the real environment and on a wider context to expand the 5G ecosystem.

Replying to a supplementary question on completing 3G and 4G while transitioning to 5G, Gobind said the government will develop the two technologies simultaneously with the 5G service.

"The government is taking the approach that even though there is a need  to improve and upgrade 3G and 4G, at  the same time, we must to look to the future for us to be ready with 5G, so we made the decision to develop all these technologies simultaneously.

"This will enable us to build an ecosystem that is more in tune for us to face the challenge of a digital world in the immediate future,” he explained,

He added that the government had launched the National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) as an effort towards ensuring rural and remote areas do not face the problem of a lack of connectivity infrastructure, including 3G and 4G.

The NFCP was launched last month to provide high speed broadband coverage that is comprehensive and a digital network of quality throughout the country within five years. — Bernama