Billion-ringgit boost for broadband - The Star

By Jo Timbuong

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and the Government are spending a total of RM15.6bil to ensure that the country will have a top-notch, competitive high-speed broadband infrastructure in the next decade.

The benefits of having such a facility for the people and the nation are expected to be worth many times that amount.

High-speed access to the Internet will provide a boost to telehealth facilities, Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said yesterday.

Patients anywhere in the country, and especially in rural areas, will be able to get specialist attention via medical systems connected to the Internet.

In the same way, children could also be educated via Internet-enabled systems that would allow teachers and students to interact despite being hundreds of kilometres apart.

Malaysians would also benefit from better access to e-government services, such as being able to pay utility bills, renew licences, file tax returns, and even lodge police reports online more efficiently.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/16/nation/21272341&sec=nation]