Page 366 - The Guide To Sarawak

364 USEFUL INFORMATION
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Sarawak is a pioneer in
ICT and the first state in Malaysia to fully implement an online e-government system. This success
has strong historical precedents. Sarawak was the first state in Southeast Asia to have an integrated wireless communications network (1918) and a
radio telephone network (1925), both designed
by Sarawakian engineer Horace Gray, who also constructed the world’s most advanced portable shortwave transmitter of its time (1926). Sarawak lagged behind in ICT during the colonial era,
but independence brought another technological breakthrough; in
1970 the Sarawak Telecommunications Department built the world’s first commercial Digital Troposcatter
Link, to carry digital
data between Sarawak
and Peninsular Malaysia. Further milestones include Sarawak’s first mobile phone network (1987), first cellular phone network (1989) and first digital cellular network (1995).
Computers were first introduced in 1961 by SESCO (see page 363),
however the Internet
only arrived in 1994. Nevertheless, by early 1995 the State Government launched a comprehensive website providing access to every government department, and later that year the Sarawak Tourism Board launched the first state-level tourism website in the entire Asia Pacific Region. In 1999 Southeast Asia’s first virtual public library, Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, was launched, followed by E-Bario, bringing the Internet
to the remotest rural communities, in 2000.
ICT IN MODERN SARAWAK
Sarawak nowadays
enjoys excellent modern ICT infrastructure, with comprehensive fixed-line telephone, broadband (DSL and cable) and 3G mobile coverage in all urban
and suburban areas and along major trunk routes. A WiMax last-mile fixed wireless service is also available in Kuching and Miri. Schools, colleges and universities have advanced computer facilities to train the next generation of ICT experts. Sarawak Shell Berhad has constructed Southeast Asia’s largest virtual reality facility
in Miri. There is even a growing ICT manufacturing sector; Sarawak’s first wafer fab was launched
in 2001 and nowadays Japanese, US, German
and other multinationals produce advanced ICT hardware in the Sama
Jaya Free Industrial Zone, Kuching, including disk drives, passive components and custom made processor chips.
Increasingly more private sector companies are investing heavily in ICT infrastructure, with satellite links bringing connectivity to the remotest locations. Consumer uptake of broadband connections
is growing at over 10% every year, and broadband penetration stood at
48% in March 2011. Public Wi-Fi networks have been implemented in Kuching and Miri, with other urban centres to follow soon. To complement private sector investment, Sarawak has been granted an allocation of RM365 million by the Federal Government
to develop network infrastructure specifically in the rural and remote areas of the state.
In parallel with the development of the
ICT infrastructure, the Sarawak Government has taken a twin-pronged visionary decision to holistically engage
the rapidly evolving
ICT industry as well as establish the necessary institutional setup to oversee, implement and support the realisation of its e-Government strategy. The former was addressed through the formation