Kuala Lumpur: The launch of the Measat-3d satellite is hoped to help bridge the digital divide and lure more young people to venture into the aerospace industry.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the launch of the satellite would also improve Internet penetration rates in suburban and rural areas across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
“On this historic day, Measat Global Berhad (Measat) has launched the Measat-3d satellite in Kourou, French Guiana,” he posted on Facebook Thursday.
The Prime Minister had earlier joined 600 other guests to watch the live streaming of the launching of Measat-3d into orbit at the Dewan Merdeka, World Trade Centre here.
The Measat-3d satellite launched into orbit from French Guiana, South America.
The satellite was launched on an Ariane-5 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre, which is also called the European Spaceport, in Kourou, French Guiana, South America at 5.50 am Malaysian time (6.50 pm local time on June 22).
Also present were Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, his deputy Datuk Zahidi Zainal Abidin and several Cabinet ministers.
Measat-3d, which is Measat’s eighth and most advanced satellite, costs RM1.2 billion with a lifespan of 18 years and is expected to improve the communication services to Malaysia and regional countries.
It is also expected to bridge the digital connectivity gap and shape a better connectivity future for Malaysians in line with the government’s initiatives through the National Digital Network (Jendela) plan.
With the launch of Measat-3d, Malaysia could also strengthen its presence in the digital era based on fixed-line, mobile and satellite technologies without marginalizing any group of people.
Other telecommunication service providers could also utilise the satellite to offer data, voice and video services to three to five per cent of the population that is not yet covered by fibre or wireless broadband connections, as offered by Measat through the CONNECTme NOW satellite broadband service.
Measat-3d satellite is a Geostationary Equatorial Orbit or GEO-type satellite that has a wide coverage site and is capable of providing fast broadband services and supporting high data flow known as High Throughput Satellite (HTS).
The HTS is among the important services in the provision of high-bandwidth services, especially in rural areas.
The newly-launched Measat-3d satellite is important for Malaysia to achieve its 100 per cent Internet coverage target before 2025 and improve the quality of its broadband services, Annuar said.
He said this was because the services offered by the satellite can be fully utilised in a couple of months’ time.
“So, there are two important aspects relating to the launch of the satellite today. Firstly, it will enable us to achieve 100 per cent Internet coverage for all populated areas before 2025.
“And secondly, we will be able to improve the quality of broadband services, improve high-speed services to be as good as the fibre optic network that we are implementing in developed areas,” he said.
Annuar said the launch was a historic development and very important to the government’s efforts to fully succeed and complete the implementation of the Jendela programme and the Malaysian Digital Economy Blueprint (MyDigital).
He said the country had an expected Internet coverage of up to 97 per cent under the Jendela 1 programme which connected populated areas using the fibre optic network method, while the remaining three per cent were in rural areas.
“We definitely require the use of satellite technology for the rural areas. We are already satellite technology now but the existing satellites are offering broadband services of low capacity and low speed...mostly less than 10 Mbps (megabyte per second), but Measat-3d satellite will be able of providing broadband services of between 35 Mbps to 100 Mbps to those areas,” he said.
Annuar said the Measat-3d satellite services would be available to Malaysians after the trial period was completed about a month from now.
He said Internet access to rural areas was already in the MyDigital blueprint and his ministry had also prepared a roadmap to ensure Internet coverage reaches up to 100 per cent and an overall speed of at least 35 Mbps by 2025.
“The goals in the blueprint will be fully achieved with the launch of Measat-3d today,” he said.
