THE Ministry of Post, Telegraphs and Communications has unveiled plans to introduce high-speed wireless internet connections at universities and colleges in Myanmar.

Telecommunications minister Brigadier General Thein Zaw said the project entitled “Broadband Network for Education” would provide faster web services to university students.

“Local universities have been using the ‘MPT satellite terminal’ system to access the internet. We are implementing this broadband network to improve services,” Brig Gen Thein Zaw said at a ceremony in Yangon to promote the existing “e-library” service.

He did not say when the wireless service would be launched.

The government in March started an electronic library database with access terminals for students at 38 universities and colleges in the country, who can log onto the network through a satellite connection.

A wireless broadband system would channel connections through microwave towers, with users benefiting from faster download times.

Brig Gen Thein Zaw said the new system would allow students to access web content from anywhere within the school’s compound, whether inside or outside a building.

Websites that will be accessible include the online library database at www.elibrary.com.mm and www.khitlunge.org.mm a news-oriented site supported by the Union Solidarity and Development Association, Brig Gen Thein Zaw said without revealing if access to foreign websites would be permitted.

He said state telecom provider Myanma Post and Telecommunications (MPT) would lay fibre-optic cables with access capacities of 1E1 to 4E1 at the universities, where transmission points would be set up using Wi-Fi or WiMAX technologies.

Wi-Fi is a brand of wireless technology that allows for internet or peer-to-peer connections within a limited area. Most new laptops have built-in wireless network adapters.

WiMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access – refers to similar technology that can provide data wirelessly over much greater distances.

Meanwhile, Brig Gen Thein Zaw said the e-library project had gotten off to a strong start and more than 300,000 books from 15 universities were already available as “e-books”. The system would help the learning materials within reach of students in more remote parts of the country, he said.