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MEASAT-3d to bring high-speed broadband to rural Malaysia

Malaysia’s premier satellite operator, MEASAT Global Berhad, has announced that it will launch MEASAT-3d, the most advanced satellite in its fleet, on 22 June 2022.

The satellite will close the digital gap in rural areas of Malaysia, helping bring high-speed broadband to large numbers of people living in remote parts.

MEASAT’s CONNECTme NOW will connect 10,000 sites in the next three years to serve more than two million people in remote areas that currently have no or limited access to high-speed broadband internet.

To date, MEASAT has rolled out more than 3,000 CONNECTme NOW sites nationwide, most in remote areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

In addition, other telecommunications providers can tap on the new satellite to offer data, voice and video services to the last 3 to 5 percent of the population not yet covered by fibre connectivity or wireless broadband.

“MEASAT is proud to support Malaysian government initiatives including the Jalinan Digital Negara (‘JENDELA’) plan to close the digital connectivity gap and enable a better-connected future for all Malaysians, by expanding high-speed internet coverage in under-connected rural areas,” Yau Chyong Lim, Chief Operating Officer, MEASAT, said.

“As the pandemic has fast tracked the adoption of technology and the use of broadband for education, economic activity and social interaction, we have initiated a series of future satellite initiatives to improve broadband services and cellular backhaul in the next three to five years, to accelerate the formation of a digitally-inclusive society.”

The MEASAT-3d satellite, costing around US$273 million, uses the Eurostar 3000 built by Airbus. It is scheduled to be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

It will complement the co-located MEASAT-3a and MEASAT-3b satellites at the 91.5° East orbital hotslot, replacing old capacity and building resiliency for MEASAT’s fleet.