Buiding the new 5G tower along Jalan Kuchai Lama in Kuala Lumpur
PETALING JAYA: Experts are calling for a clear digital direction and quick implementation for the rollout of the dual 5G network and the MyDigital ID programme, saying that any delay is unacceptable if Malaysia were to position itself as the choice for leading industries and as Asean chairman. Malaysia, said Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) vice-president Datuk Indrani Thuraisingham, must have the proper infrastructure to support such targets.
“Since we are championing artificial intelligence (AI) development, setting up more data centres and other related fields, it is fair for the relevant authorities as well as stakeholders to prepare the right infrastructure to support these initiatives.
“It is unacceptable to delay it further as it could have an impact on our country’s economy,” she said in an interview yesterday.
Malaysia has secured billions of ringgit in investment in the past year from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure to cater to growing demand for their cloud and AI services.
The Star also reported that while the number of digital nomads in the country has doubled, Internet connectivity remains a major concern for them.Other countries such as China, pointed out Indrani, have even achieved a breakthrough in satellite-to-ground laser communications that could pave the way for sixth-generation wireless technology – or 6G – and other applications, including remote sensing with ultra-high resolution and next generation satellite positioning technology.
“They have gone beyond 5G and we need to keep up with them,” she said.
On Jan 2, China’s Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co, which owns Jilin-1, the world’s largest sub-metre commercial remote sensing satellite constellation, announced that it had achieved a 100 gigabit per second ultra-high-speed image data transmission rate in testing last weekend.
In terms of consumer rights, Indrani said industry players must deliver what they had promised to customers.
“Some of the customers are already paying for 5G connectivity and they need to deliver it.
“In certain places, even in Selangor and Klang Valley, we cannot get proper connectivity, and some still get 4G networks,” she said, adding that there are also complaints of dropped calls.
Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association president Siraj Jalil said any delay in the rollout of a dual 5G network and MyDigital ID programme only reflected the preparedness of the relevant authorities.
“We need to look back at the objectives of the initiative and why it is still delayed,” he added.
“Since (MyDigital ID) will be our future digital identity and represents our position in the digital landscape, the government needs to be clear on it, especially to the stakeholders which is the rakyat,” he said.
Citing the postponement in the integration of the MyDigital ID with the MyJPJ app, he said such disruptions create a bad perception to the users.
“If we cannot integrate our ID into a multi digital system, like JPJ, it shows that is not being set up properly,” he said, adding that this should be fixed
In October last year, MyDigital ID Sdn Bhd CEO Mohd Mirza Mohd Noor had explained that the integration of MyDigital ID with the MyJPJ app was not cancelled but merely postponed.
The delay, he explained, should be looked at as part of an overall strategy to ensure the success of this feature and to improve the user experience.
Sharing her own personal experience, civil servant Siti Nor Mardiah, 33, said a few months ago, the 5G network completely stopped working on her phone.
“When I called my mobile service provider, they said 5G comes under DNB, and not them. As a solution, they told me to use 4G instead. It has been months and I am still using 4G.
“The same goes for my home Wi-Fi, the 5G doesn’t work for some reason (and) 2.4G works better,” she said.
“What baffles me is that this is the situation in Kuala Lumpur, now I can’t imagine how the network is in rural areas.”
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Fahmi: We can learn a lot from them on improving connectivity
BEIJING: Malaysia is attracted by the success of 5G implementation in China, which currently covers over 90% of populated areas and has led to improved connectivity, especially in rural areas.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil (pic) said this is especially so with the country implementing a dual network model of 5G high-speed Internet to provide quality and inclusive telecommunications services to the people.
This was among the matters discussed by Fahmi at a bilateral meeting with China’s Industry and Information Technology Minister Jin Zhuanlong here on Thursday.“During the meeting, we had the opportunity to discuss various topics, including the implementation status of the 5G network in China and Malaysia, the challenges encountered and key improvements or insights we can learn from each other.
“One of the main challenges we face in Malaysia, particularly in the remote, rural, island and hilly areas, is where fibre installation as a backhaul solution poses significant difficulties,” he told Bernama after the meeting.
Fahmi said the discussion also touched on “direct-to-cell” technology involving low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which are seen as a potential solution to address Internet problems in remote areas and regions without Internet connection.
According to data from China’s Industry and Information Technology Ministry, the number of 5G base stations in the nation exceeded 4.04 million as of August.The figure accounts for 32.1% of the total number of mobile base stations across China, with the number of 5G mobile subscribers reaching 966 million nationwide.In Malaysia, a total of 7,191 5G sites have been developed across the country with 564 in Sabah and 551 in Sarawak, while the coverage level is now 81.9% in populated areas.
Fahmi said that during the meeting, they also discussed the 5G innovation challenge, which saw vendors as providers of equipment facilities for 5G in adapting and producing innovation.“This is interesting and I request MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) to conduct more in-depth talks, including on matters such as the use of submarine cables,” he added.
Fahmi said he hoped that the meeting could strengthen the relationship between the two ministries, thereby helping agencies such as MCMC to obtain useful input in the implementation of the 5G network.
This was the second meeting between the two leaders. The first was in Putrajaya in June last year.
TM launches first-phase 5G services for unifi customers
KUALA LUMPUR:Telekom Malaysia Bhd TM) launched the first-phase of its 5G services, which includes unlimited data for existing unifi mobile postpaid customers as well as new postpaid and prepaid customers.
TM group chief executive officer Imri Mokhtar said the 5G service would reinforce the company’s leadership in fixed-mobile services for consumer and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) segments, strengthening its mobile capabilities to provide the widest and fastest all-in-one solution.
“With 5G currently covering more than 33% of populated areas throughout Malaysia, this first phase is key to growing TM’s reach and presents the opportunity for a new push in unifi’s convergence play, riding on its strength of three million households and close to 400,000 MSME customers,” he said in a statement yesterday.
In addition, TM will continue to modernise the country’s fibre network architecture, integrating automation and virtualisation technologies to boost back-end infrastructures that will support the anticipated demand for 5G.
TM recently launched its 5G Sphere, an ecosystem of leading technology and smart solution partners that will accelerate the co-creation of innovative 5G use cases, taking enterprise 5G transformation from ideation to realisation. To date, there are 39 partners in the programme.
TM said its nation-building efforts with the government will also speed up the availability of smart cities, smart industries and 5G-enabled applications, creating a more sustainable and inclusive digital society and economy. — Bernama
5G services to 12 million hand-phone user by year-end
PETALING JAYA: Some 12 million Malaysians will begin to have access to the fifth-generation (5G) mobile services by the end of this year, says caretaker Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
The announcement by Annuar comes after five out of six telcos had met the Oct 31 deadline to ink the reference access offer (RAO)with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) for the implementation of the country’s 5G network.
“Before the companies could offer their services to the public, they had to sign the access agreement before the Oct 31 deadline.
“The agreement was signed to enable the companies to fix the bundle or retail prices from DNB and subsequent price offers to the public,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
He said that among the telcos that had met the deadline were Celcom Axiata Bhd, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd and U Mobile Sdn Bhd.
He clarified that there was some confusion among mobile phone users as to the eventual rollout of 5G services in the country.
“Many complain why talk about 5G when they can’t even get the 4G or 5G services yet.
“There was confusion as the earlier mention of 5G was done generally and this referred to the development of the infrastructure where the rollout of services had yet to begin,” he said.
With the conclusion of the RAO, Annuar said that the telcos are expected to begin offering their 5G services by the end of this year to some 12 million handphone users in the country.
He noted that only those using mobile phones with 5G capabilities will be able to access the service.
Malaysia’s 5G network is being rolled out by DNB, with the five telcos taking a stake in the former and by inking access agreements with it.
The telcos are then to compete by using the same infrastructure to roll out their 5G-related services.
Currently, 5G access is available in the Klang Valley, Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Perak, Penang and Kelantan.
By MARTIN CARVALHO mart3@thestar.com.my
5G door still open to Maxis
Malaysia’s largest mobile network operator (MNO), Maxis Bhd,
will not be able to roll out 5G services to its over nine million mobile subscribers until the company signs a network access agreement
with Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB)
While the deadline to sign the access agreement expired on Oct 30, DNB chief operating officer Nasution Mohamed told StarBiz that Maxis still had the chance to ink the agreement “anytime” in the future.
“But its capacity commitment will be at a premium to those that had concluded on Oct 30.
“Maxis will have to commit to greater capacity off-take over the next 10 years, not necessarily having to pay more,” he said.
Nasution explained that Maxis had expressed its interest to be part of the country’s 5G journey via the single wholesale network (SWN) model.
“I believe it is sorting out some matters internally. Once it is settled, it can sign the access agreement,” he said.
In a statement issued late evening yesterday, Maxis said it was still assessing the governance requirements for the 5G access agreement.
“Maxis is committed to bringing this to a close as soon as possible.
“Meanwhile, the company has already been developing multi-industry use cases and forging partnerships with major players for 5G services and solutions,” it said.
The country’s 5G infrastructure is being rolled out by DNB under the SWN model. Telecommunication companies (telcos) that have signed the access agreement can tap onto the DNB-owned 5G infrastructure and spectrum by paying a wholesale price.
The telcos will then transfer the 5G access to end-users, alongside their other value-added offerings, at a marked-up pricing.
Excluding Maxis, the remaining five MNOs have executed the network access agreement for a 10-year period, confirmed Nasution.
The MNOs are Axiata Group Bhd, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Digi.com Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) and YTL Communications Sdn Bhd (YES).
The signing of the access agreements comes after Axiata, Digi, TM and YES agreed to take up a collective 65% stake in DNB this month.
The government will retain the remaining 35% stake and hold a golden share.
U Mobile and Maxis have declined to take up equity in DNB.
The access agreements were finally executed after multiple rounds of delays previously.
However, this does not mean the MNOs will immediately be able to roll out 5G services nationwide.
With DNB expecting to reach 37.9% 5G population coverage by the end of 2022, compared to the initial target of 40%, most areas in Malaysia do not have access to 5G infrastructure yet.
Currently, 5G access is available in the Klang Valley, Johor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Perak, Penang and Kelantan.
YES was the first MNO in Malaysia to roll out 5G services from Dec 15, 2021.
This was followed by TM, which is rolling out 5G services effective yesterday via unifi Mobile.
Meanwhile, Axiata’s Celcom and U Mobile announced that their 5G services will be commercially available to customers from Nov 1 and Nov 3, respectively.
As for Digi, the commercial roll-out date is not known yet.
In a stock exchange filing yesterday, TM said the provisioning of 5G services would enhance TM’s position as the preferred partner in accelerating the adoption of fixed-mobile convergence via 5G and fixed broadband solutions.
The telco has about 2.9 million fixed broadband subscribers as of the first half of 2022.
U Mobile chief executive officer Wong Heang Tuck said in a statement that the company is supportive of the government’s vision of a SWN model for 5G deployment, whereby all operators will have access to the same network without differentiation in terms of speed and quality.
“Hence, we are delighted to have signed the 5G access agreement and be part of this network.
“We have full faith that DNB will honour the mandate of providing quality 5G coverage and capacity on an equitable and non-discriminatory basis,” he said.
U Mobile has launched a line of 5G-ready postpaid plans, namely U Postpaid 38, U Postpaid 68 and U Postpaid 98.
Axiata told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Celcom Networks Sdn Bhd, has entered into an access agreement with DNB to allow Celcom wholesale access to DNB’s 5G network.
“Under the agreement, there is no charge to be incurred in 2022.
“The DNB Reference Access Offer (RAO) published on the DNB website sets out the salient terms and conditions subject to which network facilities and network services will be provided by DNB to Celcom.
“The RAO may be updated or replaced from time to time in which case the agreement will be governed by and incorporate the terms and conditions of the RAO published on the DNB website,” it said in a filing.
Meanwhile, Digi said its unit, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (DigiTel), has on Oct 30 executed an access agreement with DNB.
Via the agreement, DigiTel will also have the option to purchase future 5G wholesale services to be rolled out by DNB, to develop innovative 5G enterprise and value-added services to serve customer needs.
“The board, having considered the access agreement, is of the opinion that the access agreement is in the best interest of the company,” it said.
While Malaysia strives to move into the 5G era, the current 4G mobile network connectivity is still found wanting in many areas in the country, including the Klang Valley.
Mobile users in areas such as Taman TAR in Ampang, Jalan Damai Jasa in Alam Damai, Cheras Hartamas and certain areas in Subang, Selangor, face connectivity issues.
Wong Sew Kin, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, Multimedia University, said there are areas within the Klang Valley that face a drop in network signals.
“Even places near my house in Bukit Beruntung, Rawang, have no signal at all let alone the internet,” he said, adding that more needs to be done for telecommunications infrastructure in Malaysia if it is to be on par with nations such as Singapore and China.
“We are venturing into 5G now but there are still problems with connectivity. We should address this to solidify our mobile network infrastructure so that we are able to make quick and steady advancement without having to worry about minor issues. It is important that we iron out the kinks.”
He added the lack of network signals can be attributed to the lack of base stations, or simply known as telco towers, in certain areas.
“As far as I know, the building of base stations has nothing to do with the government as it’s usually up to the telcos and they prioritise providing network connectivity in highly populated and commercial areas.
“However, the government can play its part by providing incentives for telcos to set up more base stations to ensure that we are fully connected,” he said.
Anusha Ravi, a resident of Alam Damai in Kuala Lumpur, told theSun she often has to direct her e-hailing drivers through the phone to her residence as the drivers are unable to use navigation apps due to the poor network signal.
A resident of Taman Billion in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, said he has faced poor network coverage for years despite being close to commercial areas.
“I have complained about this many times but nothing has been done,” he said, adding that he has to walk some distance away from his house just to make a call.
However, another expert who declined to be named, specialising in base station construction and installation, said the government is already doing all it can to ensure connectivity.
“The government, through the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s Universal Service Provision fund, provides contractors and telcos opportunities to develop network infrastructure and connectivity in under-served areas, especially rural places.
“To my knowledge, sometimes we face issues such as a drop in network signals due to lack of base stations within a certain range. Sometimes there is no land to build base stations in between.”
Telcos sometimes face problems when planning to build base stations due to protests by residents in the area.
For instance, residents in Taman Sri Puteri, Bayan Lepas in Penang, successfully lobbied for the removal of telco towers in their area recently.
Among their reasons was that the towers were too close to their homes and thus were a health hazard.
Tutela, an independent crowdsourced data company, noted in its “State of mobile Networks 2019: Southeast Asia” report last year that Thailand beat Malaysia in a test where a mobile connection was good enough for basic internet usage.
The Philippines and Indonesia came out third and fourth.
“All four countries in the report are relatively close when it comes to basic quality. Thailand takes first place, with users able to make a voice over internet protocol call – a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a broadband internet connection or check emails at least 92.5% of the time when connected to one of the country’s networks.”
The battle over 5G network suppliers is part of a broader push by the Trump
administration to check China's rise as a global technology powerhouse.PHOTO: REUTERS
