KULAI, Sept 21 — A total of 52 out of 107 telecommunications towers under phase one of the National Digital Network (Jendela) programme in Johor have been in operation so far, said Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said the rest of the towers are expected to be operational by the end of this year at the latest, thus benefiting the people of the state to enjoy smoother internet coverage.

"Instructions from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to contractors and also service providers are to at least start operating at the end of this year.

"We ask them to follow the original plan, but if the connection to fiber takes a long time, have them connected to microwave or Starlink so that residents can get internet service,” she told reporters after a visit to the Jendela Phase One Communication Infrastructure Site at Felda Inas here today.

She also said that of the total, four telecommunication tower sites in the state have not yet received approval from the Forestry Department as the project will be developed in a forest area.

Commenting on the Jendela telecommunication tower in Felda Inas, Teo said the tower which has been operating since July 31 has a coverage radius of about 1.5 kilometres from the site, benefiting 1,639 residents in Felda.

"Through the speed test that was done, the download speed of all telco companies was higher than the minimum speed that we have set which is 7.7 megabytes per second (Mbps). We saw the slowest at 16 Mbps and the fastest at 127 Mbps download speed.

"Before this tower was built, the internet coverage here was not satisfactory but now we see there is no problem with 4G coverage. I hope we can continue to provide internet services to the surrounding residents through this initiative,” said the Kulai Member of Parliament.

Jendela aims to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban areas by connecting fiber optic lines in nine million premises with the target of 100 per cent of the best internet coverage in populated areas with internet speeds exceeding 100 Mbps. — Bernama