KUCHING: Telecommunication and internet services in Long Semadoh and over 40 rural areas in Sarawak will be fully restored next month with repair work on the telecommunication towers expected to be completed soon.

The Malaysian Communications Multimedia Commission (MCMC), in a statement today said operation of the telecommunication towers was affected due to disruption of the Measat-3 satellite in the area.

“Efforts to repair the towers are being actively carried out by Measat and related service providers,“ the statement read.

Last July 13, a local daily quoted Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary-general Libat Langup as saying that the telecommunication network and internet coverage at Long Semadoh had been affected for over a month.

He was quoted as saying that the journey to Long Semadoh from the nearest town, Lawas, which is more than 100 kilometres away, took between four and five hours through the hilly areas and logging road.

With the road condition, about 2,000 villagers at eight villages relied heavily on telecommunication services to obtain information, especially on the current Covid-19 pandemic, he said.