PENANG will be focusing on increasing its fixed broadband penetration rate, particularly in ‘underserved’ areas.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state is committed towards becoming a Gigabit city.
“Through the Penang Connectivity Master Plan, we will be working with the telco industry and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to upgrade our digital infrastructure.
“We aim to be a 5G-ready state by 2022 when the MCMC plans to award the commercial 5G spectrums.
“We are also targeting 90% of the 56 public markets in Penang to adopt e-payments by December this year.
“We are ready for changes and we welcome new ideas,” he said on the second day of Techfest Live featuring Road-to-WCIT Malaysia on Nov 19, which showcased the WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards.
The WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards event was also broadcast live on Astro’s Hello Channel 702 at 9pm.
Chow said the local councils went on the online platform to provide their services since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Penang came up with the PGCare contact tracer initiative even before the MySejahtera was created,” Chow said.
He congratulated the Penang Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) for winning a Merit Award for the PGCare Penang Contact Tracer project.
The Penang State Secretary (Local Government Division) was also presented with a Merit Award for its initiative to reduce physical contact via cashless transaction.
Chow congratulated all the winners of the WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards.
The WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards received 129 submissions for its nine categories.
Also present at the event was Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang.