Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Digi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd. (Digi) have agreed to work together in testing the capabilities, possibilities and limitations of Malaysia 5G network sharing between multiple network service operators. Both telecommunication companies are currently participating in the 5G Demonstration Project (5GDP) nationwide undertaken by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Under this partnership, Digi is currently operating its 5GDP sites (including on-site 5G radio network and 5G core network) in Langkawi to run its 5G use cases, supported by TM in providing fibre backhaul to these sites. Additionally, both parties are also exploring 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing in Langkawi.
At the moment, in Langkawi, Digi has implemented two (2) 5G use cases, namely virtual tourism (live streaming of HD videos) at the Langkawi International Airport (LIA), and real-time medical data transfer and connected ambulance at Hospital Sultanah Maliha. TM has already embarked on a total of 11 use cases in Langkawi covering Smart City, Smart Tourism and Smart Agriculture clusters.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Tengku Muneer Tengku Muzani, Chief Strategy Officer, TM while Digi was represented by Kesavan Sivabalan, Chief Technology Officer, Digi.
Commenting on the latest development, Dato’ Noor Kamarul Annuar Nuruddin, Group Chief Executive Officer, TM said: “We are very excited to enter into this collaboration with Digi; which reflects TM’s commitment, openness and neutrality to work together with industry players, towards achieving the Government’s aspiration for a more cost effective 5G deployment. We aspire to not only enable the ecosystem but also plan to be a neutral partner for industry players and collaboration partners towards serving a more digital society and lifestyle, digital businesses and industry verticals, as well as digital Government. The collaboration is also hoped to accelerate the delivery of 5G services nationwide and bring enormous benefits to end customers as we strive to deploy 5G services to Malaysians nationwide, in line with MCMC’s aspiration in progressing humanity towards improving the quality of lives of the Rakyat.”
“Most importantly, TM is proud to be part of the 5GDP as it enables us to demonstrate our capabilities to deploy 5G in Malaysia, where we have rolled-out the first 5G Standalone (SA) dedicated network in the country. TM, via our innovative and comprehensive products and solutions will continue to lay the foundation for Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) and enabling Internet of Things (IoT) – to serve a more digital society and lifestyle, digital businesses and industry verticals, as well as digital Government,” he added.
Concurring on the importance of industry-level collaboration for 5G, Albern Murty, Chief Executive Officer, Digi said, “Through our partnership with TM, we continue to be committed to build a robust 5G ecosystem with the industry. We have always viewed partnerships as a positive way to deliver efficient and widespread access to Malaysians, and work is well underway with several of Digi’s use case trials deployed through numerous partnerships in Langkawi and the 5G OpenLab in Cyberjaya. The findings we gather from these trials will help determine how we can rollout 5G in a more concerted way across industry, echoing MCMC’s ambitions towards a shared approach in deploying 5G for the country.”
