SHAH ALAM, Aug 5 — The Selangor government, through Smartsel Sdn Bhd, is fine-tuning a new model for the reimplementation of the WiFi Smart Selangor (WSS) initiative, taking into account various factors, including changing user needs.

State Islamic Affairs and Innovation Committee chairman Mohd Fahmi Ngah said the new free WiFi model would also take into consideration usage levels at each location, infrastructure capacity, as well as a more sustainable funding and operational mechanism.

“As part of these improvement efforts, a new free public WiFi model is being developed in collaboration with local telecommunications service providers for implementation at mosques under the management of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS).

“This new initiative is not only free of charge but also comes with security features stipulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to ensure that only knowledgeable, authentic, factual and shariah-compliant information can be accessed within mosque premises,” he said at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting today.

He was responding to a question from Nurul Syazwani Noh (PN-Permatang), who sought an update on the implementation of the WSS initiative following the deactivation of the service on December 31, 2024.

Mohd Fahmi said the new model was developed after the state government decided to adopt a more sustainable and resilient service delivery model.

He said the WSS service, which was introduced in 2015 to bridge the digital divide among the people, was discontinued after the 16th State Executive Council (MMKN) meeting on May 29, 2024, approved a phased deactivation plan.

Mohd Fahmi said no WSS locations have been reactivated since the service was officially discontinued on Dec 31, 2024, involving 1,470 locations under the previous implementation model.

However, he said MCMC has established 84 National Information Dissemination Centres (NADI) across Selangor to ensure the continued provision of free internet access in rural areas. — Bernama