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Maxis ready to roll out 5G next year

PUTRAJAYA: Maxis Bhd is expected to roll out the 5G network services in Malaysia in the second half of next year.

This is as soon as the 5G bandwidth is ready, its chief executive officer Gokhan Ogut said today.

He was speaking at the signing ceremony between Maxis and Huawei Technologies earlier for the provisioning of 5G network in the country.

Ogut said currently, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) is working on the necessary spectrum and the outcome is expected to be submitted by this month before its release next year.

"It is an ongoing journey. The actual launch is depending on the release and readiness of the spectrum.

"According to the plan, it is expected to roll out on the second half of next year.

"We cannot give the exact date yet and we will be the first telecommunication company to roll out such network. As soon as we launch it, that is when the mobile plans will be available," he said.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was present at the signing ceremony, witnessed the signing ceremony between Ogut and Huawei chief executive officer Michael Yuan.

The agreement between these telecommunication giants marks a significant step towards superior connectivity for Malaysia and Huawei.

Maxis Bhd chairman Tan Sri Raja Arshad Raja Tun Uda said the agreement will enable greater readiness for Maxis to roll out 5G as soon as the necessary spectrum is made available.

"This is an important not just for Maxis, but for everyone in Malaysia as we prepare ourselves for an exciting future of next generation connectivity.

"Today's signing therefore represents significant progress in our journey and commitment to accelerate 5G in Malaysia.

"We are pleased to be working with global technology leader and our long term partner, Huawei, whose experience, expertise and capabilities in 5G complement our ambitions to be Malaysia's leading converged solutions company," he added.

Raja Arshad said Maxis has always been the leader in introducing new technologies to Malaysia.

"It was the first to bring 4G to the market."

He said 5G connectivity, upon implementation is expected to deliver 10 times higher speed than 4G mobile devices can do today.

"5G will feature superior user experience and massive capacity.

"It will also revolutionise a new era of mobile communications. It will combine big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and many other innovative technologies," he said.

Meanwhile, Huawei Carrier BG chief executive officer Ryan Ding said it was Huawei's vision to align with the government’s vision to bring 5G facilities to Malaysia because this would facilitate a fully connected and intelligent home and workplace.

"Malaysia has been making tremendous progress in connecting the unconnected and embracing new information and communication technology infrastructure development.

"With 5G technology, we foresee Malaysia will go through a phase of a rapid digital transformation.”

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