KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) invites licensees for the installation and provisioning of broadband access services via satellite at 839 locations nationwide.

The locations are spread across Johor, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Sabah and Sarawak.

In a statement today, MCMC's corporate communication department said under this initiative, the populations at each location will get to enjoy free Wi-Fi at an average speed of 35Mbps.

"This is yet another initiative under the Jalinan Digital Negara (Jendela) initiative, which is to expand coverage nationwide, complementing earlier announcements.

MCMC is looking to install broadband access services via satellite in 178 locations within Peninsular Malaysia which represents 21 per cent, 138 locations in Sabah representing 17 per cent and 523 locations in Sarawak, which dominates with over 62 per cent of the total number of locations under this initiative.

"These locations comprise of Orang Asli settlements in Peninsular Malaysia and remote areas in Sabah and Sarawak.

"The provisioning of public cellular services and mobile broadband will take a considerable time to deploy, given the consideration of population density and geographical terrain.

"This service, which is expected to be successfully deployed by October this year, serves as an expedient solution for connectivity while waiting for the completion of permanent solutions," read the statement.

All eligible licensees can register their interest and submit draft universal plans under Regulation 5 of the Communication and Multimedia (Universal Service Provision) Regulations 2002.