PRESS RELEASE BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW AT KOMTAR, PENANG, ON 1st OCTOBER 2019:
5G to Help Turn Penang into a Prominent Digital Economy by 2030
As announced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on 30 September 2019, Penang is among the six states in Malaysia in which 5G-use cases will be demonstrated, starting already this month.
The state is delighted with the announcement as Penang has been working aggressively for the past few years to make the state a smart city. This announcement is timely and a great news for those living and working here. Penang has been working on the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) platform, facial recognition in our City Councils’ CCTV, the Penang Smart Parking System, Penang Smart Street Poles, hosting the Word Congress of Information Technology (WCIT) 2020 and Techfest2020 and many more. The state is also heading towards cashless economy across the state as well as cross border trade.
Hence, Penang is most excited to be one of the leaders in piloting 5G technology. Some areas that are of great interest to us are telemedicine, manufacturing and industrial automation, smart city networks and smart agriculture. This is reflective of Penang’s economic growth nodes and of our aspiration in becoming a prominent and competitive digital economy.
Promising network speeds of up to 10Gbps with latency as low as 1-millisecond, the implication of this nation-wide rollout is huge; particularly for machine-to-machine communication and the economic benefits that will accrue from productivity gains.
To be sure, 5G technology is heavily reliant on the successful rollout of small cell infrastructure. In this, we are taking active steps to ensure that the provision of infrastructure and the associated regulations go hand in hand. The goal is to enable access to 5G networks for all Penangites by 2030.
This is in line with the Chief Minister’s Penang2030 Vision: “To Be A Family-Focused Green and Smart State That Inspires the Nation”. In order to leverage on this new technology in the coming years, the state government is in the process of establishing Digital Penang Corporation, a statutory board that will coordinate and strengthen the various digital initiatives undertaken by the government, by industry, and by society at large.
槟州首席部长曹观友于2019年10月1日在槟城乔治市光大发表文告:
5G科技有助槟城于2030年成为重要的数字经济体
马来西亚通讯及多媒体委员会（MCMC）于2019年9月30日宣布，我国将在本月开始于6个州属推展5G示范项目，而槟城也位列其中。
槟州政府对上述宣布感到高兴，因为近几年来，槟州一直积极推动州内智慧城市的发展。上述宣布可谓是来得及时，对在此生活和工作的人来说是个好消息。槟州近来积极推介数码自由贸易区（DFTZ）、槟岛市政厅闭路电视脸部识别系统、槟州智能停车系统、槟州智能街灯、并将主办2020年世界资讯科技大会和“Techfest2020”科技嘉年华等等。槟州也正朝向州内及跨境贸易的无现金经济方向迈进。
因此，槟州很高兴可以成为引领5G技术的领导者之一。我们所关注的领域包括远程医疗诊断、制造业和工业自动化、智能城市网络和智能农业。这反映了槟州经济增长节点，及希望成为重要的和具竞争力的数字经济的期许。
高达10Gbps的网络速度，网络延迟低至1毫秒，在全国范围内推行此计划的意义深远；尤其是对于机械对机械的通信，及生产率提升所带来的经济效益。
可以肯定的是，5G技术在很大程度上取决于小基站设备的成功。对此，我们正采取积极步骤，确保所提供的基设和相关法规齐头并进，放眼可在2030年达致所有槟城人都能使用5G网络的目标。
这也符合“槟城2030：重家庭 、拥绿地、精明州、耀全国”愿景。为了在未来几年内可使用这项新技术，槟州政府正成立槟州数字机构，这是一个法定机构，以协调和加强由政府、业者和社会所采取的各项数字举措。
Statement on Sdr Chow’s official Facebook page: