BUTTERWORTH, April 24 — The Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) project for Armed Forces Family Housing (RKAT) nationwide is progressing encouragingly, with several locations completed well ahead of schedule, some by as much as 11 to 14 months.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said the RKAT Broadband Project is a national initiative under a strategic collaboration between the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), formalised through a memorandum of understanding signed on October 11, 2024.

The project involves more than 59,000 RKAT units across 73 military camps nationwide.

“So far, all efforts to complete the initial phase have progressed smoothly,” he told reporters after inspecting the project’s implementation at the Butterworth Air Base Camp today.

He acknowledged that there had been minor delays earlier due to security screening and vetting procedures for workers entering military camps to carry out installation works.

Also present was Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah.

Fahmi said the project’s progress reflects the government’s commitment to expanding access to high-quality, affordable high-speed internet for Malaysian Armed Forces personnel, thereby enhancing their digital well-being.

He added that cybersecurity remains a key priority, with close coordination between the Ministry of Communications, the National Cyber Security Agency, MCMC and the ATM.

“So far, the situation is under control, and there are no cybersecurity issues of concern,” he said.

He said implementation of the RKAT Broadband Project showed encouraging progress nationwide, with one military camp having fully completed the project and is already operational, while six others have finished network installation and are currently undergoing integration and testing.

Meanwhile, 62 camps are still in the implementation phase, involving civil infrastructure works and fibre optic installation.

Another five camps will begin the project once the upgrading works on their RKAT facilities are completed.

At the Butterworth Air Base Camp, one of the four RKAT projects under its administration, RKAT Perumahan Pegawai, has already been completed and is operational, covering 30 housing units, with some residents having already subscribed to the broadband service.

Under the initiative, ATM personnel residing in RKAT are offered fibre broadband packages at RM49 per month for speeds of up to 100 Mbps, with a promotional rate of RM39 per month for the first six months. — Bernama