Malaysia’s leading mobile operator, Celcom Axiata Berhad signed a 4G LTE network agreement with Ericsson Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Huawei Technologies (M) Sdn Bhd yesterday, making both technology companies its main network infrastructure partners.
As part of the network agreement, Ericsson and Huawei will integrate, deploy and manage Celcom’s 4G LTE network developments. Both partners will be responsible for the Full Turnkey supply and delivery of product, equipment, system, works and services for Celcom Radio Access Network (RAN), leading to further enhance customer experience, the Telco said.
The deal is valued between RM1.8 billion to RM2.2 billion over the next 5 years.
Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad said that Celcom intends to offer “strong throughput of data” throughout 25 prime city areas in the country, targeting 95% of 4G LTE coverage by 2020.
The Celcom CEO told MalaysianWireless that both Ericsson and Huawei will build the Celcom 4G network in Klang Valley. As for other states, Ericsson will build the 4G network in Sabah & Sarawak, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang while Huawei will focus at Penang, Perlis, Perak and Johor.
As of 2015, Celcom has 3500 4G LTE sites in the country. The Telco aims to offer up to 80% human population coverage by the end of this year.
Celcom told MalaysianWirelss that it will complete its LTE-A deployment within 6-months, by 31st October. LTE-A, the short term for LTE Advanced, is an upgrade from LTE. It could offer download speeds between 75Mbps and up to 450Mbps with the right spectrum.
The Telco has already completed trials for VoLTE (Voice over LTE) in Klang Valley but did not reveal its plans to launch the service.
“Celcom has always been at the forefront of upholding its brand promise to its customers by providing ultrafast, seamless and widest network. With a strong growth in subscribers today, Celcom is taking this step in ensuring that it will provide the best network quality and Ultrafast 4G LTE data traffic,” Dato’ Sri Shazalli said.
“We have established a strong partnership with key industry players in the nation that can only enhance our network capabilities and bring the best network quality, nationwide. These key players possess the technological competency, capability in the provision of end-to-end solutions for mobile broadband network, and a proven track record in implementing 4G projects around the world,” he added.
