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BUSINESS SECTORS
MoU marked the official commencement of
collaboration work between UBD and AITI on
a series of research aiming to find out more
insight on consumer behaviour, affordability
of communication services, ICT usage and
potential future trends, service innovation and
market demands, factors influencing ICT sector
growth and opportunities and many more.
In October 2018, AITI held a Basic Digital
Literacy Workshop for village consultative
council (MPK) members in the Tutong District.
Continuing their effort to promote ICT skills,
AITI held a Basic Digital Literacy Workshop for
members of Mukim and Village Consultative
Council (MPMK), government agencies and
the general public of the Belait District. The
programme itself was divided into three parts,
with the aforementioned Basic Digital Literacy
focussing on the basic function of Microsoft
Office, while the other two centred on Digital
Marketing and Web Designing.
ICT Savviness Programme Project Manager
Mohammad Zul Hilmi bin Zaini said more
workshops would be carried out in the future
to improve ICT knowledge and increase
productivity.
Path to a Smart Nation
In a joint statement released by Minister at the
Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance
and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji
Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, and Minister of
Transport and Infocommunications Dato Seri
Setia Awang Abdul Mutalib bin Pehin Orang
Kaya Seri Setia Dato Paduka Haji Mohd Yusof
on February 27, 2019, it was announced that a
major transformation has been initiated in the
Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) sector to accelerate the nation’s digital
agenda.
Under this initiative, the network infrastructure
of all existing telecommunication operators,
Telekom Brunei Berhad (TelBru), Datastream
Technology Sdn Bhd (DST), Progresif Cellular
Sdn Bhd (Progresif) and Brunei International
Gateway Sdn Bhd (BIG) will be combined under a
newly formed wholesale network operator. This
new network operator has been incorporated
and is called Unified National Networks Sdn
Bhd (UNN). It is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Darussalam Assets Sdn Bhd. UNN is working
in partnership with Deutsche Telekom Group to
support this programme.
All existing companies will focus on retail
operations, providing competitive fixed and
mobile services to customers and will have
equal access to the network infrastructure
provided by UNN. Over time, consumers can
expect substantial improvements in the wider
availability and quality of key services at more
affordable prices, supported by a state-of-the-
art and fully secured integrated network. In the
immediate term, there will not be any change in
prices or degradation of network services.
The development of the ICT sector is critical to
creating an ecosystem which supports Brunei’s
long term digital transformation and the aims of
Brunei Vision 2035. The establishment of UNN is
a major milestone along the ICT transformation
journey as Brunei progresses towards a more
connected and digitally integrated future.
The ministers emphasised the importance for
the country to create a state-of-the-art, fixed
mobile convergent network, and for UNN to
provide training and assistance to ensure full
Bruneianisation and continue building on the
foundations for economic diversification and
creation of gainful employment.
TelBru
As the leading telecommunications provider
in the country, Telekom Brunei Berhad (TelBru)
strives to continue to provide excellent and
innovative services in line with Brunei ‘s mission
towards nurturing a tech-savvy population as
outlined in Brunei Vision 2035.
The company had a stellar 2018, through their
achievements in expanding its high-speed fibre
optic Internet coverage and delivering the latest
in technology to citizens including those in
rural areas. Moreover, TelBru has strengthened
cooperation with stakeholders including
the government and the private sector, and
internally striven for continuous enhancement
of its human capital.
Expanding Broadband Coverage
In 2018, TelBru tripled its year-on-year growth
of broadband subscriber sign-ups since the
previous year, underpinned by expanded
coverage to homes and businesses across all
four districts of the country. In line with its
mission to offer high-speed Internet access
that is affordable and reliable to the public, it
also lowered cost entry points to broadband
at the start of the year which now compares
favourably to similar entry-points in Malaysia
and Indonesia.
Latest figures of its national broadband
coverage show that approximately 80 per cent
of homes in the country are now High-Speed
Broadband (HSSB) ready with Fibre to The Home
(FTTH) connections, with 60 per cent of homes
already connected to broadband services and
counting.
With strong cooperation from stakeholders
such as the Ministry of Transport and