This article appeared in TechNave on 18 July 2022.

Just over the weekend, the Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa made an announcement regarding the 5G state in Malaysia. He said that 1000 selected schools across the nation, including rural areas, are expected to be provided with a 5G network by the end of 2022.

While this is a solid plan on paper, the ministry is still waiting for the Education Ministry's approval. Annuar also told the media that he had discussed this with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) on making this work for the schools. Five or six schools have been chosen to test out the 5G network capacity too.

Besides helping schools with a better learning process, Annuar also said that the people nearby the 5G facility would benefit greatly. On the other hand, he mentioned that the community, NGOs and local leaders could help out MCMC in implementing the ‘Kembara Connectivity’ campaign. This initiative is an application download to measure internet speed.