U Mobile today has officially announced Huawei and ZTE as its network technology partners for the deployment of Malaysia’s second 5G network. Both companies are long-time partners of the telco, although U Mobile said that they still have to go through the tender process.
Huawei, ZTE accepted U Mobile’s call-to-action
Interestingly, Huawei and ZTE were the only companies that responded to U Mobile’s invitation to tender, according to the telco’s Chief Technology Officer, Woon Oii Yuen. This is even though the telco has reached out to network equipment and software providers from across the globe.
Hence, it is unsurprising that Huawei and ZTE have been chosen for the new project which U Mobile dubbed the Next Gen 5G network. After all, the telco have embarked on numerous 5G test projects with them, including the recent Penang Bridge trial and 5G-Advanced speed record during SUKMA 2024 in Sarawak.
Meanwhile, U Mobile has also decided to divide the country into two deployment zones for these vendors to cover. Specifically, Huawei has been tasked to cover Peninsular Malaysia while ZTE is responsible for the deployment in East Malaysia, according to the telco’s Chairman, Vincent Tan.
U Mobile still relies on local partners
While the two main vendors of the project are from China, U Mobile insists that it will still rely on local partners. During the media briefing, Woon pointed out that one such example is the high-capacity backhaul fiber which the telco has to lease from major infrastructure owners.
Aside from that, U Mobile also has to lease and share passive network infrastructure such as telco towers from various Network Facilities Providers (NFPs). He also highlighted that U Mobile are going to collaborate with multiple local contractors and suppliers for the project.
However, the telco did not reveal the name of the local partners that are going to be involved in the deployment. U Mobile aims to achieve 80% coverage of populated area (COPA) by the second half of 2026 before expanding the coverage further to hit 90% COPA within the following 12 months.
