Penang WiFi hotspots ‘sabotaged, vandalised’
We will no longer reveal their locations, says Ooi
BY MANJIT KAUR
THE exact location of the WiFi hotspots will no longer be revealed publicly as there have been cases of vandalism where people have cut off the supply.
Jeff Ooi, the chairman of the state-appointed special task force to handle telecommunications infrastructure issues, said this was rampant especially in George Town, but did not provide figures.
One of the ways to overcome the problem, he said, was to fix WiFi hotspots at 24-hour restaurants so that restaurant owners could keep a watch over them.
“We will also not give details on the locations to avoid further sabotage and vandalism,” he said but did not provide the number of cases.
Speaking at a press conference to update the media on theWireless@Penang project and telecommunications infrastructure in Komtar yesterday, he however said that “as at end-December, there were 355 hotspots and we hope to reach the target of 750 hotspots by end of the year”.
Ooi said there was also network congestion due to peer-to-peer (P2P) download at the WiFi hotspots.
He said there were over 20,000 subscribers who were “maximising” the 355 hotspots.
“To avoid excessive download problems, we are looking at implementing auto-log off every 15 minutes,” he added.
On telecommunications towers, he said there were 849 rooftop and free-standing structures in the state.
“Those that don’t appear on the master list will be demolished, while those on the list must comply with the rationalisation process by the June 30 deadline,” he said.
He said out of the 849 structures, 285 had been approved.
On structures placed at several drains by PenangFon to offer faster connectivity using Fiber optic broadband connection unlike the conventional copper cable, Ooi said the management was adamant that the concept was approved by the previous state government and that the strategy was being used worldwide.
“We have complaints that the drains get clogged and rubbish get stuck in the fibres.
“We want to make Penang a world-class city, and using fibre optic in drains is not the right way. We are giving them time to comply with the guidelines, otherwise we cut off their lines,” he said.
PenangFon chief executive officer Robin Wong, when contacted, said the company was willing to cooperate with the state government and other agencies.
“If anyone googles and search for fibre optic, you will see that the strategy to place the structures in drains is widely used.
“Fibre is not hazardous, and the method has been used in many developed countries for better broadband service,” he added.
Jeff Ooi, the chairman of the state-appointed special task force to handle telecommunications infrastructure issues, said this was rampant especially in George Town, but did not provide figures.
One of the ways to overcome the problem, he said, was to fix WiFi hotspots at 24-hour restaurants so that restaurant owners could keep a watch over them.
“We will also not give details on the locations to avoid further sabotage and vandalism,” he said but did not provide the number of cases.
Speaking at a press conference to update the media on theWireless@Penang project and telecommunications infrastructure in Komtar yesterday, he however said that “as at end-December, there were 355 hotspots and we hope to reach the target of 750 hotspots by end of the year”.
Ooi said there was also network congestion due to peer-to-peer (P2P) download at the WiFi hotspots.
He said there were over 20,000 subscribers who were “maximising” the 355 hotspots.
“To avoid excessive download problems, we are looking at implementing auto-log off every 15 minutes,” he added.
On telecommunications towers, he said there were 849 rooftop and free-standing structures in the state.
“Those that don’t appear on the master list will be demolished, while those on the list must comply with the rationalisation process by the June 30 deadline,” he said.
He said out of the 849 structures, 285 had been approved.
On structures placed at several drains by PenangFon to offer faster connectivity using Fiber optic broadband connection unlike the conventional copper cable, Ooi said the management was adamant that the concept was approved by the previous state government and that the strategy was being used worldwide.
“We have complaints that the drains get clogged and rubbish get stuck in the fibres.
“We want to make Penang a world-class city, and using fibre optic in drains is not the right way. We are giving them time to comply with the guidelines, otherwise we cut off their lines,” he said.
PenangFon chief executive officer Robin Wong, when contacted, said the company was willing to cooperate with the state government and other agencies.
“If anyone googles and search for fibre optic, you will see that the strategy to place the structures in drains is widely used.
“Fibre is not hazardous, and the method has been used in many developed countries for better broadband service,” he added.
1 comment:
'Sabotaged, vandalised', ini boleh lah!
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