Maxis and Huawei have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Joint Innovation Centre that’s focused on 5G-Advanced (5.5G) technologies. According to Maxis, the centre aims to explore and develop innovative solutions to improve customer experience, operating efficiencies, rapid development, industry use cases and to develop homegrown talent for industrial and entrepreneurship activities.
The telco added that the partnership aims to drive technological advancements and strengthen Malaysia’s position in the global telecommunications landscape. The exchange of MoU was held during the opening ceremony of the Malaysia Commercialisation Year (MCY) Summit 2024 and it was witnessed by Malaysia Prime Minister YAB Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, YB Tuan Chang Lih Kang.
Under the strategic collaboration, Maxis and Huawei will explore innovations in gigabit capacity to support mobile network expansion and 5G/5G-Advanced technologies such as mobile edge computing, network slicing, end-to-end network orchestration, RedCap and Passive IoT. The two companies will also explore the usage of digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to optimise network operating efficiencies.
Commenting on the collaboration, Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng said, “Earlier this year in February we were the first to showcase 5G-Advanced for the public not only for the nation but also region. The continued collaboration with Huawei is one of the many ways we are supporting Malaysia’s digital ambitions. With this latest collaboration, we want to take full advantage of 5G-Advanced by building up human capital alongside commercialised innovation for enterprises and industries. As the country’s leading integrated telco, we look forward to the next evolution of connectivity and the economic benefits it will bring to our country.”
Huawei Malaysia CEO Simon Sun said, “We are confident that this collaboration will assist in accelerating the nation’s digital transformation agenda and firmly place Malaysia as the ASEAN Technology Capital. This is the next step after our first Smart Island Proof of Concept powered by 5.5G/5G Advanced in ASEAN which took place in Labuan. Together, we are nurturing innovation and pushing boundaries to ensure Malaysia becomes the regional hub of cutting-edge technologies.”
During MCY Summit 2024, Maxis is also showcasing several 5G-Advanced applications which include education with remote classroom teaching, healthcare with remote diagnosis and rescue and manufacturing with autonomous smart sorting and assembling.
In February 2024, Maxis and Huawei had showcased their 5.5G trials with speeds of over 8Gbps. The showcase also features several 5.5G use cases for the public which include real-time high-resolution video streaming with AR layer, 3D video streaming via stereoscopic displays and RedCap (Reduced Capability) devices which enable low-cost and power-efficient wearables and various embedded devices.
