The internet coverage in the rural areas is still poor and parents had often voiced out their disappointment as their children’s online classes are often disrupted.
In response, the Minister of Communications and Multimedia, Tan Sri Annuar Musa had claimed that the lack of internet coverage experienced by residents in Kampung Seri Kesinai, Padang Besar is due to the condition of the terrain and tall trees in the area.
In a Twitter post, he explained that the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) went to the area to conduct an investigation on 21 October.
He also said that the Ministry will begin optimisation work on nearby towers on 25 October and expects the operation to be completed on 8 November.
Mengambil maklum laporan @UMonline mengenai masalah liputan di Kg. Seri Kesinai, Padang Besar, Perlis, @kkmm_gov melalui @MCMC_RASMI telah turun ke kawasan tersebut pada 21 Oktober 2021 & mendapati ia berpunca daripada keadaan bentuk muka bumi & pokok-pokok tinggi. (1/3) https://t.co/e6KutVCRGx
— Annuar Musa (@AnnuarMusa) October 24, 2021
“Menara Kg Baharu has been upgraded to improve the quality of 4G and the new tower in Sg Chuchuh has also started operating by providing better services and benefits for residents in Sungai Chuchuh Unicity and surrounding areas.” he said.
Meanwhile, the MCMC had issued a statement to explain the technical issues on the lack of coverage in the rural areas in Perlis.
Kenyataan Media:
— MCMC (@MCMC_RASMI) October 25, 2021
PENJELASAN TEKNIKAL TENTANG MASALAH LIPUTAN DI KG. SERI KESINAI, PADANG BESAR, PERLIS#MCMC#Perlis pic.twitter.com/vJa4pE3rU0
MCMC explained that mobile network continuity is based on the ‘Line of Sight’ principle and if this principle is not met, the coverage provided will be hindered or of poor quality.
They said the ‘Line of Sight’ defects can occur when there are obstacles such as buildings, trees or even undulating terrain.
If such incident happens, then the technical correction is to optimize the existing equipment such as the use of appropriate spectrum or build a new tower.
In the case of Kg Seri Kesinai, MCMC had listed 2 steps that will be taken to improve internet coverage in the area.
The first one being optimising the existing equipment in the nearby tower in Kg Baharu such as shutting down the 3G network and make it a 4G network entirely. This is able to ensure that signals sent by the equipment have the capacity to accommodate higher Internet data.
Meanwhile, they had built a new tower which will be used to increase coverage to Sungai Chuncuh Unicity, which is in a separate coverage sector.
The new tower will also be re-evaluated to increase the coverage sector for the Kg. Seri Kesinai.
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