Group managing director and chief executive officer Mohd Abdul Karim Abdullah said this was also to help the government address internet connectivity for the people in unserved and underserved areas.
“We already have a major player providing fibreoptic connectivity for urban areas, but the unserved and underserved areas also need to be taken care of.
“We hope to have our own satellite, as it would help us provide coverage for the whole of Malaysia as well as neighbouring countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, and to a certain segment of Thailand,” he said.
Karim said the engineering group was looking at connecting the dots in the information and communication technology (ICT) aspects of its core capabilities, such as its “communication” component, through its AKSA space technology programme.
By providing ICT services through internet connectivity using satellite technology, he said, the group would be able to address the digital gap between the unserved and underserved areas domestically.
As part of its holistic plan, the group had set up a separate entity to spearhead the initiative to be driven and pioneered by an expert.
Karim said the initiative would be implemented in two phases, adding that the group was now signing up and leasing broadband bandwidth from an existing international provider.
“This in only a short-term plan to help us to roll out this service. For the long-term plan, we are already working with SWISSto12, one of the satellite manufacturers in Switzerland,” he said.
He said Serba Dinamik was expected to allocate about US$3 million (RM12.63 million) in capital expenditure in the second quarter of next year for the AKSA programme.
This would come as a combination of funding 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. We have also worked out with the government to create a space port or space village,” he said.
On bandwidth sale, Karim said Serba Dinamik was working out with telecommunication companies to provide them with a comprehensive solution as their coverage was now limited in urban areas.
“If combined with our services, telcos can provide a wider spectrum, and a wider scope of customers can be tapped.”
On the outlook of its aerospace business, Serba Dinamik said it was targeting the business to contribute 20% to 30% to its group activities in the long run.
“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. This is high-value technology; the workforce created is skilled, they will have high commercial value if they want to offer their services out of the country,” he said.