This was revealed by pro tem chairman of Broadband Stakeholders Group (BSG) cum Assistant Minister of Infrastructure Development and Communications Lee Kim Shin at a press conference after a meeting and test runs in three different locations that included Curtin yesterday.

Lee said Curtin was the first in the country to use this ‘hotzone’ technology instead of ‘hotspots’ pilot broadband project introduced in Penang.

This puts Miri on the road towards recognition as a wi-fi city, of which there are presently 108 worldwide including over 80 in the United States. Singapore and Taipei have also jumped on the bandwagon.

Lee said Curtin was the first campus in the country where students could access the internet and collections of 37,000 periodicals and academic research materials in the main campus in Perth and elsewhere in the world.

This hot zone concept dubbed ‘Super Wi-fi’ has a superior coverage area compared to hotspots that are confined mostly to buildings, prompting Lee to remark that Curtin students could now study under the tree near the lakeside with superior access speed.

The hot zone pilot project has been receiving encouraging response from users in the city centre and other places, as it has a straight line coverage of up to 1.5 km and 0.5 km for a non straight line of sight environment.

It is second only to Wi-Max which can cover a 15 to 40 km radius but this technology requires users to purchase adapters costing up to US$1,000, ruling it out for Miri. Lee said BSG was targeting an 80 percent penetration rate in Miri by the end of this two-year pilot project ending 2008, following the overwhelming response in registration.

As of March 28, a total of 82,486 had registered for the broadband drive, of which 55,608 were from Miri, underlining the biggest demand in the State with interest from Shell’s Asia-Pacific hub, Petronas and major oil and gas companies, Curtin, Kuala Baram Industrial Estate among others. BSG would be setting up another committee to undertake studies on content application and services required by the business community and potential users in the city.

Implementor Danawa Resources Sdn Bhd director and CEO Anthony Chan said 10 base stations had been erected and another 30 would follow suit under this broad band coverage project by the end of this year.