KUALA LUMPUR – The nationwide roll-out to overhaul high-speed internet infrastructure across public higher education institutions (IPTAs) reached 76 per cent completion as of Sept 30, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching announced today.
Engineers have successfully installed and activated high-speed Wi-Fi facilities across 408 of the 538 targeted locations under the RM634.1 million initiative, funded through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s (MCMC) Universal Service Provision (USP) fund.
Work across Phase 1 (14 locations) and Phase 2 (177 locations) is now fully complete, covering public universities along with technical training institutes under Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) and the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA).
“For Phase 3, we have selected 206 locations, with work completed at 80 of them. For institutions under MARA, work has been completed at 106 of the 110 locations selected, while work at all 31 locations for training institutions under KESUMA has been completed,” Teo told a press conference following an inspection of the project site at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Engineering Campus.
“So, work has been completed at 408 of the 538 locations, representing a 76 per cent completion rate,” she added.
High-traffic student zones prioritised
Executed under the National Digital Network (JENDELA) roadmap, the project specifically targets high-density student areas—including lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, student centers, and residential hostels.
In Penang alone, the project spans 32 sites with an estimated budget allocation of RM61.5 million. As of Sept 29, installation was wrapped up across 24 locations in the state.
Detailed roll-outs at USM have already added 822 new access points under Phase 3 as of Sept 18—740 of which were deployed at the Nibong Tebal campus, and 41 each at USM IPPT Bertam and USM Bukit Jambul.
This brings USM’s active access point total to 1,925 nationwide, joining the 1,103 units established during Phase 2.
“The installation of an additional 4,150 access points at the USM Main Campus is currently underway and is expected to be completed by the end of this month,” Teo added, noting that direct student feedback on campus connectivity has been overwhelmingly positive. – October 3, 2026