Celcom Axiata Berhad (Celcom) today announced that the Telco is extending its collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Ericsson (M) Sdn Bhd (Ericsson) on 5G research and use cases.
With the latest collaboration, Celcom and Ericsson have brought a live trial 5G radio system to the Innovation Center of 5G (IC5G) which was originally set up in 2016, located at UTM’s Kuala Lumpur campus. This initiative makes UTM the first university in Malaysia to have 5G systems available to work on use cases and research projects.
The collaboration also encompasses Research & Development (R&D) in 5G Technology and Internet of Things (IoT) through the Innovation Centre for 5G (IC5G). This centre is the first of its kind in Malaysia, featuring a 5G research and development platform spurring valuable 5G learnings and fostering 5G innovations.
Earlier in April 2019, Celcom had inked a Letter of Intent (LOI) with UTM and Ericsson that triggered initial exploration of the main objective of the collaboration, which is to support the IC5G platform, leveraging on 5G technology, to proliferate use cases to solve issues and problems faced by industries and society.
The exchange of the agreement and completion of IC5G’s modernisation with the setting up of the live 5G Commercial Radio system was held in conjunction of the ASEAN Makerthon 2019. ASEAN Makerthon 2019 is a 3-day event and competition with the theme ‘Impact of 5G Revolution towards 4IR’ organised by MCMC. During the competition, participants are required to build physical prototypes in line with the theme, and it is unique in the sense that it is the first makerthon running on a 5G network. Celcom, UTM and Ericsson are the industry partners supporting the event, being held between 2-4 December at UTM KL Campus.
The exchange of the agreement was held between Muniff Kamaruddin, Chief Strategy and Value Creation Officer, Celcom Axiata Berhad, Prof. Dr. Shamsul Sahibuddin, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UTM Kuala Lumpur Campus, and Todd Ashton, Head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, in a ceremony held at Dewan Azman Hashim, UTM KL.
Also present at the ceremony were Tan Chuan Ou, Deputy Secretary General (Telecommunications Infrastructure and Digital Economy), Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia, and Dato’ Ali Hanafiah, Mohd. Yunus, Chief Corporate Officer, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. Celcom’s participation at the IC5G and the completion of its modernisation was made official at the ceremony held today.
Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad said, “Through the collaboration established earlier in April, Celcom saw the immense opportunities for the industry-academia partnership in creating a sustainable 5G development within campus environment, as an avenue for 5G research and development in Malaysia. This initiative reflects Celcom’s commitment to explore opportunities in relation to 5G key strategic areas, further supporting the development of the nation’s digital ecosystem. We are grateful to continue this journey with UTM and Ericsson, to further enable an inclusive 5G development programme to benefit other learning institutions and also multi verticals”.
Todd Ashton, Head of Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Bangladesh said, “Ericsson has been an integral part of Malaysia’s telecom industry for several decades now. For bringing 5G to Malaysia, we started working with our partners in 2015 and since then have undertaken a number of initiatives to strengthen this commitment. Together with Celcom, we have now made available our commercial 5G system for students, academia and others at UTM. I am certain this will boost our joint efforts to create 5G and IoT use cases for Malaysia.
Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar, Vice Chancellor of UTM said, “As the premier technology-focused research university in Malaysia, UTM strongly believes that technology should enrich human life, advancing the nation and bringing people closer. Since the establishment of the Innovation Centre for 5G in UTM, we are privileged to work with our industry partners, especially Ericsson, in making the 5G technology a closer reality in Malaysia and preparing our young human capital to be 5G-ready. We are delighted to welcome Celcom to come on board this academia-industry strategic partnership. Let’s work together for the betterment of Malaysian higher education, industry and the nation.”
Celcom began its 5G journey together with Ericsson on May 2017, with Malaysia’s first ever 5G trial, where a speed test was conducted, achieving a throughput of 18Gbps. Since then, Celcom in its bid to accelerate 5G realization in Malaysia, has been enhancing its core network and radio access equipment with the latest technology in the market, paving the way for innovation in Malaysia.
During the #5Gmalaysia showcase in Putrajaya, hosted by MCMC in April 2019, Celcom and Ericsson demonstrated Malaysia’s first 5G hologram call and an autonomous vehicle using 5G network amongst other use cases, further elevating innovation across industries with high speed connectivity.
In July 2019, Celcom launched the 5G Live Cluster Field Trials in Petaling Jaya with five outdoor sites and one in-building site at Celcom’s Head Office, where a throughput of 6Gbps was recorded. The live trials were conducted with the objective to test and observe the impact of 5G coverage within commercial and residential areas, taking into consideration the environmental impacts on the network and further accelerating Malaysia’s 5G roll-out.
