Telcos working hand in hand to ensure successful 5G rollout

Original Source From TheEdge Publish at Tue, 21 Jan 2020, 03:53AM

LANGKAWI (Jan 20): Malaysia’s telecommunications companies are ramping up efforts, investments and collaborations to support the 5G rollout in the country.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Noor Kamarul Anuar Nuruddin said the company is in a good position to help the country to deploy 5G.

TM, he noted, has the most extensive fibre coverage nationwide that is able to serve as the necessary backbone for the 5G network.

“5G without fibre is difficult. So we believe we're coming strong in 5G and we want to help the nation to improve connectivity also in areas not connected by fibre,” he said during a panel session titled “Fireside Chat 2: Paving the Way for 5G in Malaysia” at the 5G Malaysia International Conference 2020 here on Monday.

“We see 5G as an opportunity for us to extend the coverage and the base, which we can roll out at a much faster rate,” he added.

Maxis Bhd CEO Gokhan Ogut said the company is keen to bring 5G technology to Malaysia so that it will not be left behind in the future technology race.

Following this, Maxis has rolled out 5G trials since two years ago and is looking forward to the official launch of the next-generation network.

Celcom Axiata Bhd CEO Mohamad Idham Nawawi said the industry will continuously invest in the network to ensure a sustainable ecosystem.

He said collaborations between the industry players are also crucial to support the 5G deployment.

Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, meanwhile, is focusing on 5G-enabled health and tourism.

“That application can be used for so many other things but more importantly, we did it in collaboration with others,” said CEO Albern Murty.