en.Wedoany.com Reported - The first phase of the National Digital Network Plan (Jendela) in Sarawak, Malaysia, has completed the construction and activation of all 636 communication towers. Among them, the Baram parliamentary constituency, located in a remote inland area, has 109 towers in operation, the highest number completed in Sarawak. The Malaysian Ministry of Communications announced the construction progress on July 14, confirming that supporting issues such as power supply, roads, equipment transportation, and fiber optic backhaul for the first phase have been resolved.
The 636 Jendela towers cover multiple urban, rural, and inland constituencies in Sarawak. In addition to 109 towers in Baram, 59 have been completed in Ulu Rajang, 35 in Lubok Antu, 33 in Limbang, 30 in Bintulu, and 27 each in Mukah and Pending. The number of towers in areas such as Kapit, Julau, and Selangau has also reached over 40. The project focuses on regions with dispersed populations, complex terrain, and areas where traditional mobile networks are difficult to cover.
Baram is vast, with some settlements only accessible via forest roads, rivers, and waterways. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) stated that a small number of towers were previously delayed in activation due to factors such as damaged access roads, adverse weather, land use permit processing, and equipment transportation by boat. Some tower sites also required the construction of new fiber optic backhaul lines and the acquisition of road access rights, while sites far from existing power grids needed simultaneous construction of power supply facilities. These issues have now been resolved, and all first-phase Jendela towers are fully operational.
Fiber optic backhaul and stable power supply are critical for activating communication towers in remote areas. After the tower structure and wireless equipment are installed, the base station cannot provide stable mobile communication and internet services without fiber optic lines connecting to the core network. Some sites in Sarawak require laying cables across forests, rivers, and low-density residential areas, involving land permits, road excavation, equipment transportation, and power access during construction.
In addition to the Jendela plan implemented by the Malaysian federal government, Sarawak has also built the SMART 600 communication tower project. As of April 30, 2026, all 600 towers planned under this project have been completed and are operational, with 29 located in the Baram constituency. SMART 600 is primarily used to expand mobile network coverage in rural and remote areas within the state, complementing the Jendela towers to enhance communication infrastructure in Sarawak's inland regions.
Subsequent network operations will be coordinated by the Malaysian Ministry of Communications, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the Sarawak Ministry of Utilities and Telecommunications, the Sarawak Land and Survey Department, and the Sarawak Multimedia Authority. Related efforts will focus on tower operation and maintenance, fiber optic backhaul assurance, power facility stability, and network quality improvement in remote areas.
