Malaysia Wins ITU's Praise For Initiatives To Expand Broadband Coverage

KUALA LANGAT (Selangor, Malaysia), Sept 19 (Bernama) -- The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has praised Malaysia's initiatives to provide collective Internet access especially in the rural areas. Its deputy secretary-general Houlin Zhao said the initiative taken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to provide the 1Malaysia Internet Centre (PI1M) nationwide, showed the country's determination to reduce the digital divide among its citizens gradually. The urban PI1M is part of the government's initiative announced during the 2013 Budget to enable the lower-income group to access high-speed Internet services as well as provide training in the field of Information and communications technology (ICT). "Malaysia has done a wonderful job (to connect people in villages) compared to other neighbouring Asean countries," he told reporters on the sidelines of the KL Converge conference here Thursday. On ITU's efforts, Zhao said the agency would initiate efforts to encourage young entrepreneurs to serve society with new innovative products sold via Iinternet through the adoption of ICT. "This is because ICT is accelerating globally over the last two decades, where till date there are almost seven billion mobile device users in the world," he said. Earlier, Zhao together with the delegates of the KL Converge conference which included, among others, five Asean ministers visited the Mah Meri Cultural Village in Carey Island here to learn the unique culture and beliefs of the Orang Asli. He also joined the delegates to hear a briefing on the 1Malaysia Internet Centre at the Orang Asli settlement in Kampung Sungai Judah in Carey Island by MCMC chairman Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi. Meanwhile, Mohamed Sharil said a total of 437 of PI1M centres are currently operating nationwide with focus in rural and remote areas where there are no Internet facilities. KL Converge, a multi-platform digital content and creative industry conference and exhibition organised by the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia, MCMC and National Film Development Corporation (Finas), runs until Friday. It is premised on the convergence of communications, broadcasting, digital technology and creative content like films, animation, music and drama. --BERNAMA