Rokiah Mahmud
The infrastructure network of Unified National Networks (UNN) is 5G-ready for the future implementation of the next generation wireless standard, said Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah yesterday during the third day of the 18th Legislative Council session.
In supporting priorities under the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025, UNN has expanded its Single Radio Access Network (S-RAN) programme with the implementation of 80 per cent national coverage, said the minister. This meant that infrastructure network is 5G-ready and ready for future 5G implementation, he said.
The minister added that Brunei Darussalam is in the first rank among Asean member countries and in 17th rank according to Speedtest Global Index when it comes to mobile
network speed.
Meanwhile, with the establishment of the Defence Cyber Centre in August 2020, UNN has also launched its Data Centre Co-Location rated Tier 3 and cloud hosting services by the end of 2021 in line with digital initiatives to support Brunei Vision 2035, he said.
The minister said to strengthen effectiveness in government services and support the needs of the private sector, several allocations in the budget have been made, including BND13.2 million with the cost price of BND75 million under the information technology and infocommunication sector under the 11th National Development Plan such as to fund projects including Halal Certification System, National Business Services Platform and Electrical Building Tax.
“At the same time,” the minister said, BND87.4 million for information technology has been allocated under the Ministries Recurring Expenses as a whole for IT central procurement and software licensing.
Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Amin Liew said for foreign direct investment (FDI), the government will continue to attract foreign interest while at the same time generating spin-off economic activities that will lead to knowledge and technology transfer as well as business and employment opportunity for locals.
