PENANG, Jan 19 (Bernama) — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said Monday hoped that the infrastructure for wireless Internet surfing through wimax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) in the whole of George Town could be installed by the middle of this year.

“This is the start of realising the dream of wireless Internet surfing in the whole state, and the desire to make Penang the first state to use the service,” he said, adding that the service would not be costlier than existing broadband services but three times faster.

For a start, seven locations on the island would be equipped with the infrastructure and seven more six months later, he told reporters after launching a test drive of wireless Internet surfing through WiMAX with the collaboration of Packet One (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (P1), here.

“In all, 28 locations will be served in the next 18 months, covering at least 70 per cent of the locations on the island and Seberang Perai,” he said.

Lim said it was hoped that WiMAX would help narrow the digital divide between people in the urban and rural areas in the state.

In September last year, the state government and P1 signed a joint-venture agreement for the installation of WiMAX infrastructure in the state under the Wireless@Penang initiative, and the first phase of the project was launched in October.

More News From Bernama

Check Out Latest P1 Promotion Here