KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 13): Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd is planning to have its very own satellite in the next three and a half years to come as part of its business venture into the communications space.

Group managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah said this is also meant to help the government address Internet connectivity for the people in unserved and underserved areas.

“If we look at the geographical structure of Malaysia, we already have a major player, which is providing fibre-optic connectivity for urban areas but for the unserved and underserved areas, they also need to be taken care of.

"We hope to have our own satellite as this would put another milestone to our achievements. It would help us provide coverage for the whole of Malaysia as well as the neighbouring countries of Indonesia, the Philippines and a certain segment of Thailand," he told Bernama.

He shared that the group via its new space economy or space technology programme branded as AKSA is looking at connecting the dots within the information and communication technology (ICT) aspects of its core capabilities, such as the "communications" or "C" component.

By providing ICT services through Internet connectivity using satellite technology, he said the group is able to look into the underserved and unserved areas domestically, thus addressing the solution to the digital gap.

As part of its holistic plan, the group had set up a separate entity to spearhead the particular initiative to be driven and pioneered by an expert in this particular area, which would collaborate with other associated partners to have a wider scope of application and also to provide a more comprehensive solution to the people, he said.

In pursuing the satellite initiative, the group would implement it in two phases, he said, adding that at the current juncture, the group is signing up and leasing the bandwidth broadband from an existing international provider.

"This in only a short-term plan to help us to roll out this service. But for the long-term plan, we are already working with SWISSto12, one of the satellite manufacturers in Switzerland, and discussions have been ongoing," he said.

He added that Serba Dinamik is expected to allocate about US$3 million (about RM12.63 million) of capital expenditure in the second quarter of next year for the AKSA programme.

This would come as a combination of fundings from developed countries and from the government under the TERAJU programme as well as its own internally generated funds.

"This will be partly used to launch the satellite as part of the package. We have also worked out with the government to create a space port or space village, and these are for the future holistic plan, so that Malaysia could be positioned as a country that has this particular technology,” he said. 

On the sale of the bandwidth, he said Serba Dinamik is currently working out with telecommunicationscompanies to provide them with a comprehensive solution as their existing coverage is limited to urban areas.

“If combined with our services, there will be a wider spectrum provided and a wider scope of customers that could be tapped. 

"Other than that, we are also looking into other institutions, such as TV mobile programmes where we could help hook up services when they need Internet connectivity in rural areas.

“It is quite a wide scope of customers, and we are very bullish and are convinced that this particular business that we are embarking on now will help the company to sustain and lead in this particular area over the long term," he said. 

On the outlook of its aerospace business, Serba Dinamik is targeting the business to contribute 20% to 30% of its group activities in the long run and, for next year, it is expected to generate around 2% to 5% of the entire group’s business.

"More importantly is the job creation that the business could generate. We have committed to the government that we are going to manufacture certain parts and components of this space technology in Malaysia. 

"We are looking at 4,000 to 5,000 jobs in five years from now. This is high-value technology — the workforce created would be skillful, [and] they will have high commercial value if they want to offer their services out of the country," he added.