KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is set to carve its name in the global arena and be on par with developed economies with the nationwide implementation of 5G Demonstration Projects (5GDP), led by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
Progress in the implementation of the fifth generation mobile technology (5G) will also redefine the readiness of the Malaysia’s industries and small and medium-sized businesses to face the fourth industrial revolution.
In a statement today, MCMC said that through 5GDP, Malaysia has laid the foundation to be at the frontier in deploying 5G in Southeast Asia.
“In a recent study by the Malaysia Institute of Economic Research (MIER), the implementation of 5G can contribute about RM12.7 bil to the national gross domestic product (GDP) as well as create about 40,000 new jobs in the next five years.
“A comprehensive 5G ecosystem is in progress with various new approaches, which include network and infrastructure sharing between service providers, policy revisions and joint ventures,” it added.
Through the technology, many innovative services will emerge, ranging from advanced virtual reality, autonomous vehicle to remote medical surgery, it said.
5G will also deliver ultra-reliable low-latency communication with improved energy efficiency and enhanced privacy and security.
MCMC said the 5GDP in Langkawi involves 35 use cases in six verticals at 25 live 5G sites, actively operating from October 2019 until March 2020, with a total investment of RM101 mil.
This constitutes more than half of a total of 72 use cases in Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur.
It said the 5G use cases in Langkawi include Smart Agriculture, Smart Airport, Smart City, Smart Traffic Light Solutions, Real Time Medical Data Transfer, 5G Live Video Surveillance, Remote Consultation and Virtual Tourism.
Additionally, there are three use cases at Langkawi Port – Digital Boundary Control, Smart Tracking for Water Vessels as well as Geo-fencing and Smart Perimeters.
Prior to the launch of the 5GDP yesterday, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had visited two 5GDP live sites, the Langkawi Land and District Office and Langkawi Police Headquarters in Kuah, which demonstrated use cases such as the 5G Command Centre, eKelas, smart agriculture solutions as well as security and smart city solutions.
“He also visited Hospital Sultanah Maliha to oversee the progress of digital healthcare use cases, namely real time medical data transfer and connected ambulance,” it said.
The launch of 5GDP was held at the Langkawi International Convention Centre, marking a major milestone for the country in advancing its digital economy agenda.
In conjunction with the launch, MCMC also organised its maiden 5G Malaysia International Conference today and tomorrow in Langkawi, featuring renowned international and local speakers and panellists from the industry.
The conference is discussing the development and prospects of 5G implementation in Malaysia and worldwide.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) says that to create a sustainable 5G ecosystem, rational spectrum allocation is needed.
Its chairman Tan Sri Dr Kamal Salih said MCMC must ensure orderly spectrum allocation to meet Malaysia’s goal of 5G rollout.
“There are Telekom Malaysia, which is the biggest telecommunication company in Malaysia, and smaller operators such as Digi, U Mobile and Celcom.
“So rational spectrum allocation would ensure a kind of stability going forward,” he said.
Kamal lauded MCMC’s move to allocate spectrum bands to a single entity comprising a consortium formed by multiple licensees instead of individual licensees.
“Basically they don’t want a kind of auction although an auction may bring higher revenue to the government,” he added.
The MCMC has identified the 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26/28 GHz as the pioneer spectrum bands for the roll-out of 5G, in light of the rapid development of the global 5G ecosystem and deployment.
The MCMC will undertake a tender process to award the spectrum by the second quarter this year.
MCMC will only make available 2×30 MHz of the 700 MHz bands and 100 MHz of the 3.5 GHz band, while the remaining frequencies of these bands will be considered at a later stage. – Jan 20, 2020 Bernama
